GP JOULE joins forces with nobilia, Europe’s largest kitchen manufacturer and a market leader

nobilia is placing its trust in GP JOULE. By linking up with the renewable energy supplier, Europe’s largest kitchen manufacturer intends to accelerate its decarbonisation strategy, starting at its site in Verl in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Transporting kitchen components currently makes up a large part of nobilia’s carbon emissions, but this is set to change. Working together with GP JOULE HYDROGEN, the company plans to set up local, zero-emission hydrogen infrastructure complete with hydrogen production facility, filling station and vehicle fleet. The project forms part of a comprehensive energy supply concept being drawn up by GP JOULE that will also cover electromobility, heat and electricity generation. The initiative will be unveiled at nobilia’s in-house expo in Verl from 17 to 25 September, where a team from GP JOULE HYDROGEN will be on hand to answer questions.

The kitchen manufacturer currently has around 200 HGV cabs in its logistics fleet. Some 400 highly skilled drivers carry roughly 3.15 million cubic metres of freight a year, covering 20.6 million kilometres between them. According to its own figures, the company’s transport operations thus account for about 40 per cent of its carbon emissions. So this is undoubtedly the right place – and time – to start. nobilia’s partner GP JOULE brings over ten years of hydrogen expertise alongside practical experience gained from hydrogen clusters that it has already put in place. “We developed our all-in package for zero- emission transport precisely for scenarios such as that here at nobilia,” explains André Steinau, Managing Director of GP JOULE HYDROGEN. “It gives companies an easy route into hydrogen technology, because we take care of the green hydrogen and the corresponding filling station close to their premises as well as the HGV cabs themselves. The green-hydrogen infrastructure and zero-emission HGVs will help bring nobilia a great deal closer to its objective of a much smaller carbon footprint.”

The plans will see his company build and operate a hydrogen filling station for nobilia’s own lorries as well as other companies’ HGVs and buses plus – at some point in the future – cars fitted with a fuel cell. The fuel supplied at the filling station will be hydrogen that GP JOULE produces locally from renewable sources, making it climate-neutral. No harmful gases are emitted on the road either, as the only thing that comes out of a fuel cell vehicle’s exhaust is water vapour. A framework agreement signed recently between GP JOULE HYDROGEN and Clean Logistics will ensure that the new lorries are supplied on time despite long delivery times at present. Visitors to the in-house expo will be able to see the “Fyuriant” – as this particular hydrogen-powered HGV is called – for themselves. André Steinau is highly impressed by nobilia’s venture: “We’re really excited about our  partnership with nobilia and the huge momentum that the project will also inject into the region.”

Comprehensive energy supply concept
Besides the gradual decarbonisation of its logistics operations, nobilia is also targeting other aspects of its energy use. Thus GP JOULE is devising a comprehensive energy supply concept that will include factors such as heating, in-house electricity generation using solar panels and wind turbines, and the storage of this electricity. The concept brings the various technologies together in an economically viable way and demonstrates how a site can be transformed to make it climate-neutral. “We at GP JOULE combine all manner of different disciplines under one roof, from generating electricity through to putting it to good use in manufacture, mobility, heating and hydrogen,” says Dr. Christian Roßkopf, Head of GP JOULE CONSULT. “This enables us to draw up a technology-agnostic analysis with a clear focus and link it in to our wide-ranging experience, so nobilia is getting a tailored energy solution that fits it and its requirements like a glove.”

Electromobility – electricity for cars
Passenger transport is also being taken into consideration. First of all, the electromobility specialists from GP JOULE CONNECT will supply the site with mobile, pop-up charging infrastructure for the duration of the in-house expo. Going forward, GP JOULE CONNECT will also advise and support nobilia with the gradual electrification of its vehicle fleet as well as helping out with implementation by planning, installing and operating the necessary charging infrastructure. “nobilia is a shining example of what modern, farsighted companies are doing,” notes Manuel Reich, Managing Director of GP JOULE CONNECT. “It’s an exciting project that’s tackling the ‘zero-emission transformation’ in a highly focused way. This is the ideal combination of battery-electric and fuel-cell-based mobility – it’s the best of both worlds.”

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About GP JOULE
Established in 2009 out of a firm belief that a 100 per cent renewable energy supply is achievable, GP JOULE has since grown into a system provider for integrated solar-, wind- and biomass-based energy solutions and a partner for the supply of electricity, heat, hydrogen and electromobility. This makes it a pioneer of sector integration. The medium- sized group of companies employs around 500 people in Germany, Europe and North America. GP JOULE won the 2019 Schleswig-Holstein Industry Environmental Prize and the 2020 German Renewables Award. GP JOULE HYDROGEN has over ten years’ expertise in hydrogen research and development. As a full-service provider for 100 per cent climate-friendly mobility, it offers everything from producing gas from renewable sources, storing it and transporting it through to building and running hydrogen filling stations as well as mobilising customers, acquiring vehicles and securing funding.

Press contact
Jürn Kruse
Corporate Communications 
GP JOULE Group
j.kruse(at)gp-joule.de 
Phone +49 (0) 4671-6074-213 
Mobile +49 (0) 160-1540265

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