thyssenkrupp nucera, a provider of technologies for electrolysis plants, is set to establish its first company-operated central assembly hub for electrolyser cells in VGP Park Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal.
With the assembly hub, it plans to strengthen its European value chain while at the same time significantly advancing the automation of cell assembly. The assembly hub will enable faster and more efficient cell assembly while significantly increasing capacity, initially assembling cells for alkaline water electrolysis. thyssenkrupp nucera has now signed the lease agreement for the more than 7500 m2 building.
“For us, the assembly hub is a milestone in automation and assembly efficiency,” said Dr Werner Ponikwar, CEO of thyssenkrupp nucera. “By centralising and semi-automating cell assembly, we are increasing our capacity and closely integrating assembly and service. The investment in the assembly hub is also a clear commitment to Europe as an industrial location and a further contribution to strengthening the European hydrogen economy.”
Construction of the building will begin in winter 2026. Upon completion, thyssenkrupp nucera will install an assembly line, and cell assembly at the assembly hub will start in 2028. The assembly hub will serve electrolysis projects across Europe and neighbouring regions. Starting in 2028, cells for Moeve's Onuba project will initially be assembled there. thyssenkrupp nucera is investing between €10 million and €14 million in the assembly hub. The project is supported by approximately €3.7 million in funding from the Portuguese government under the COMPETE2030 programme.
The assembly hub will also simplify cell assembly for customers, as customers will no longer require their own assembly infrastructure, reducing their planning, personnel, and resource requirements. Ready-to-install cell packages also reduce complexity at the project site while providing greater flexibility and higher operational readiness. Customers will also benefit from the advantages of the assembly hub when it comes to service, applied both to ongoing operations and to cell replacement.
To date, the individual cell elements for scalum®, the standardised 20 MW unit for alkaline water electrolysis, are assembled in decentralised customer-operated workshops and subsequently installed at the respective project site. Manual and decentralised assembly can result in long assembly times per cell and thus limits available capacity. With the assembly hub, thyssenkrupp nucera will in future consolidate these assembly steps at its own central location. Thanks to its production-line structure and automation, multiple cells will be processed in parallel and throughput times reduced.