In February 2022, the APEX Group welcomed the Federal Minister of Economics, Robert Habeck, to its headquarters in Rostock-Laage. He was accompanied on his inaugural trip to Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania by the Minister of Economic Affairs, Infrastructure, Tourism and Labor, Reinhard Meyer, and Claudia Müller, the Federal Government’s Coordinator for Maritime Affairs and Tourism. After APEX Managing Directors Mathias Hehmann and Peter Rössner received the delegation and introduced the company, the participants toured the premises and production facilities of the APEX Group. Habeck was convinced of the energy future of green hydrogen: “There will now be a very rapid ramp-up in a short time. Politicians must create the legal basis, but also provide financial support. Among other things, the EU has defined hydrogen production as a project of particular strategic interest (IPCEI – “Important Project of Common European Interest”).
The APEX Group has received another prestigious award. At the tenth edition of the “German Renewables Award” of the Cluster Renewable Energies Hamburg (EEHH), the Mecklenburg-based company won in the category “Hydrogen Innovation of the Year”. A top-class jury with representatives from business, science and research awarded the hydrogen hub on the company premises in Rostock-Laage. According to the judges, this covers the entire range of hydrogen use in an “exemplary manner”. The hydrogen hub in Rostock-Laage offers a complex infrastructure that reflects all technical aspects and economic framework conditions for the future development and operation of hydrogen energy solutions.
The APEX Group will cooperate closely with the Wolftank Group in the future. The Rostock-based company and the leading expert in the field of environmental technology have concluded a cooperation agreement to convert filling stations to a CO2-neutral supply. With their cooperation, both companies aim to make a competitive contribution to the decarbonization of the German market and its neighboring markets. The aim of the cooperation is to ensure an interdisciplinary technology transfer between hydrogen solutions for mobility and solutions for the decentralized green energy supply of industrial and district solutions. Future cooperation will focus on hydrogen filling stations for commercial vehicles and buses (with 350bar) and passenger cars (with 700bar) as well as integrated solutions for upgrading existing filling stations.
Numerous civil engineers for technical building equipment (TGA Planer) visited the APEX Group in Rostock-Laage in September 2021, as guests of Viessmann, the leading manufacturer of air conditioning and energy solutions. The family owned company Viessmann regularly presents the engineers with the latest developments in terms of climate-neutral energy supply. In addition to solutions from Viessmann, the main focus in Rostock-Laage was on hydrogen-based energy concepts. Viessmann and APEX Group demonstrated the functionality of CO2-neutral systems. In addition, the participants were able to investigate the linkage of hydrogen-based solutions through sector coupling (hydrogen as a fuel as well as ice storage systems with heat pumps, building and mobility concepts, etc.).
Große Ehre für die APEX Group: Das Unternehmen präsentiert sich ab Oktober 2021 im Deutschen Pavillon auf der Expo 2020 in Dubai. Die APEX Group zeigt ein innovatives Speichersystem, das erzeugungsbedingte Schwankungen von Wind- und Sonnenenergie ausgleicht und somit eine stabile Energieversorgung erreicht. Das Exponat wurde gemeinsam mit dem ebenfalls aus Mecklenburg Vorpommern stammenden Hersteller von Batteriespeichern WEMAG sowie dem Ministerium für Energie, Infrastruktur und Digitalisierung entwickelt. Auf der so genannten „Energy Terrace“ können Besucher zudem vor Ort in einem interaktiven Spiel ihre Fähigkeiten als Energiemanager selbst ausprobieren.
Manuela Schwesig opened the “Business meets Hanse Sail” meeting in the Hanseatic and University City of Rostock on the weekend with a clear call: “Come and join us in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.” The Minister President called on representatives to establish their businesses in our State. “Those who focus on renewable energies, hydrogen and clean industry are always welcome”, she said.
Schwesig has long advocated the expansion of renewable energies in northern Germany. Most recently, during the conference of the northern German minister presidents in June at APEX Group, she set the goal for making northern Germany a “skilled region for climate-neutral energy use”. After the meeting, Schwesig set sail on the Baltic Sea with business representatives: An important political goal, she said, is to strengthen sustainable businesses and the many new jobs these will create. The establishment of “clean sustainable industries” in this country is very close to her heart.
The EuroMinds business summit discusses the most important issues of our time – and the APEX Group will be in attendance. Several representatives – pioneers of the green energy turnaround – will be attending the high-profile conference on the 5th and 6th of August 2021, bringing together business, politics, science and the media. On ten panels, the topics to be discussed vary from the consequences of the Corona pandemic to climate & environment to values and attitudes within our society. The APEX Group, proudly one of the conference’s main sponsors, will invite it’s representatives to the stage to discuss various topics, including mobility, energy (turnaround) and climate & environment.
The Ministerpräsidenten of the five Northern German States chose APEX Group to host their yearly held conference. The premises of the hydrogen company was fittingly selected as the topic of renewable energy and climate change was on top of the agenda. With their substantial production of wind power the five coastal states play a crucial role for a successful energy transition in Germany. The conference concluded in a powerful statement underlining the willingness of Hamburg, Mecklenburg-West Pomerania, Bremen, Lower Saxony, Schleswig-Holstein to become an international competence hub for the production, transport and commercial use of green hydrogen. „Hydrogen technology gives us a great opportunity to win new companies with attractive jobs for our region while at the same time delivering an important step towards climate change,” emphasizes the host of the conference Mecklenburg- West Pomerania head of state Manuela Schwesig towards the press.
Mecklenburg-Vorpommern receives its first hydrogen bus today. The rebus Regionalbus Rostock GmbH starts the test operation with an H2 bus from the Solaris company. The company APEX will be supplying green hydrogen from solar energy from Q3 2021 with the first public filling station for trucks and buses in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Hydrogen is considered to be the solution for achieving the ambitious climate goals. Mecklenburg-Vorpommern is already a pioneer in many areas of application – now local public transport is also finding its way into pollutant-free technology.
Rhodius Group signs rental contract for 20 years with APEX Energy in Germany’s first climate-neutral industrial park in Rostock-Laage. The Rhodius Group is investing a double-digit million amount in machines and systems for the newly established ‘Welding Technology Solutions’ division. 60 modern workplaces for lightweight assemblies in robot and laser welding and cutting technology are created on a production area of 3,300 square meters and an administration building of 760 square meters. “In addition to our main plant in Laage-Kronskamp, we were looking for future-proof and expandable production areas,” says site manager Peter Glomba. “The concept of the APEX industrial park convinced us from the start,” reports the project manager Alexander Bausch. “Other location advantages, such as the proximity to the motorway and the direct vicinity to the airport, were decisive. Above all, however, the concept of the climate-neutral industrial park with self-sufficient electricity and district heating supply fits into the long-term strategy of Rhodius and its customers ”.
We congratulate Patrick Kupfer from Laage on successfully completing his master’s degree in renewable energies at Stralsund University. With his work on the simulation of a hydrogen storage system (title: Simulation and Design of an APEX H2 Energy Storage System), he successfully passed his exam at the Stralsund University of Applied Sciences under the technical direction of Professor Johannes Gulden. His work is an important milestone for the industrial use of hydrogen systems for commercial applications. Mr Kupfer was supported in this by APEX Energy Teterow GmbH, where he also works. The CEO of APEX Mathias Hehmann says: “The promotion of scientific research is a central component for the successful implementation of the location advantages of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern in the global energy transition.” We are pleased to welcome Patrick Kupfer, another committed graduate, to our team.