Focus on Germany: Dieffenbacher | 27
Above left: Johannes Ohlsson is head of product divison solid fuel fired power plants Above right: Wolfgang Lashofer is the new managing director for Dieffenbacher Energy
generate electrical power, so Dieffenbacher bought a waste heat boiler from Bertsch. Like most operators in the energy systems
sector, Dieffenbacher has been doing the design and engineering on the projects and working with manufacturing partners, while producing some key parts in-house at Eppingen.
Mr Lashofer explained that the technology offered by BERTSCHenergy was completely different and aimed at supplying mainly big power plants, using biomass or gas heat to produce steam to power turbines for generating energy and process heat. Dieffenbacher began discussions with the
company about a possible acquisition in early 2022, when the latter became financially distressed and its financiers were looking to restructure the business. When it went into bankruptcy at the end of 2022, Dieffenbacher stepped in to acquire the assets.
About 95% of the former BERTSCHenergy
workforce has been retained at the Bludenz, Vienna and Poland locations. Dieffenbacher’s energy department now has three main product groups – solid fuel fired power plants (biomass, RDF or other waste material), which could be aimed at panel plants or industrial power companies. This is the largest sector and is headed by Mr Ohlsson, remaining part of business unit wood. Secondly, there is the product group gas and liquid fuel fired power plants, while the third is service and lifecycle management. Dieffenbacher was obviously keen to retain the BERTSCHenergy order pipeline. “Dieffenbacher offered to all the BERTSCHenergy customers the ability to finalise their projects and offer service,” said
Mr Lashofer. Two major projects were acquired in Germany and two in Austria. The move has effectively taken Dieffenbacher’s existing expertise in refractory line combustion chambers and thermal oil systems, and extended it to steam generation. “When we did an MDF plant we supplied thermal oil heat and generated steam by thermal oil, but depending on investments and layout there are also reasons to generate steam directly,” said Mr Ohlsson. “We were searching how to do this and then in 2021 there was increased demand from customers who said they don’t want to generate just process heat, they also want to generate electric power.” The trend towards green energy – the use of biomass and other alternative fuels instead of fossil fuels – is another factor driving customers to make investments. Sustainability, a big driving force for both customers and Dieffenbacher, was highlighted by the company’s CEO Christian Dieffenbacher at the recent 2023 Ligna exhibition.
“There is now a great opportunity for Dieffenbacher to have access to more customers and a wider spectrum of the sector outside the wood-based panels industry,” explained Mr Lashofer. “Bertsch was not a major player in the WBP sector. It had supplied two plants to Kronospan, but was mainly supplying power plants to the energy industry for industrial purpose and also waste recovery boilers for big power plants. “It was a completely different field of activities and, of course, this is a nice opportunity for Dieffenbacher to strengthen
its technology in the WBP industry to enable Dieffenbacher to quote a high-end [energy- generation] solution. But the major business will come from outside the WBP business – from the energy and paper industries, as well as other applications.”
Mr Lashofer explained that some WBP
customers in Europe and the Americas were already operating independent power plants, which supply heat for the factory processes and also selling it to others, as well as producing electricity for the grid. He cited a European customer as having a huge installation – running power stations based on biomassand waste wood. Others in Europe are doing the same.
Dieffenbacher Energy will also use its new- found experience to target power stations switching from coal to gas. This move away from coal to gas is backed by the German Federal Government and Dieffenbacher Energy already has some orders in this sector.
“If they switch from coal to gas, there are already steam turbines that could be used. The heat from the newly installed gas turbines can be recovered to produce steam in order to generate electricity and use the remaining process heat for central heating systems for the community.” There are also trends to burn alternative biomass materials – rejects from the paper industry and RDF (refuse-derived fuel) and plastics to produce steam, heat and electrical energy.
“It is a wide field of opportunities,” added Mr Lashofer.
While the supply of large power plants will make up the greater share of turnover for Dieffenbacher Energy, the business does not intend to compete with the international
www.wbpionline.com | December 2023/January 2024 | WBPI
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