Media is full of climate-smart mining, and the trend of the world turning to renewable energy for a carbon-neutral future. As a German company founded in 1830, NEUMAN & ESSER  (NEA GROUP) has been amidst the European energy transition and initiatives to move away from fossil fuels and look to renewable sources (solar, wind and hydropower) for conversion to electricity and/or green hydrogen and ammonia.  In energy transition, as in conventional oil and gas production, reciprocating compressors are an irreplaceable keystone for efficient production and operational reliability.

With a century of experience in hydrogen compression and modernising and converting compressors, energy transition is not a new topic for us. The scale of the transition and the added dimension of energy security in more complex integrated electricity mixes are an extension of what we have seen in the past. With many new players entering the market from all disciplines, operators’ success now more than ever hinges on a few key factors. It is these elements which are needed to make smart energy transition work sustainably:

• System-wide solutions thinking

Matching output requirements with on-site hybrid energy conditions and incorporating all interdependencies for robustness must go hand in hand.

• Keystone competence

The knowledge needed to configure, install and manage a keystone system like compressors over a long lifetime are crucial for operational reliability.

• Securing investment

A future transition to renewables or other gases and energy sources should be incorporated from the start to secure investments and provide flexibility.

• Modernisation of existing systems with new technologies

We are not limiting ourselves only to equipment for compression of gases. We are providing our partners with the conversion of (for example) heavy duty trucks and buses from diesel to hydrogen. This can be well applied in the mining industry especially.

It takes constant adaptation of the skill base to excel at these key factors. At NEA GROUP, this translates not only to adding new companies to the GROUP to enhance our offerings. Moreover, we invest in our project management and consulting capabilities, assisting customers in finding the perfect match (and not more) for their needs. It drives us steadily to evolve from traditional compressor and compressor system supplier to integrator of complex solutions across various disciplines.

As a premium supplier to the compressor industry, NEA GROUP is committed to responding quickly and reliably to the needs of the market with tailor-made designs and new developments. It is a keystone competence gained through thousands of compressors delivered across the world, many of which have been in operation for 75 consecutive years.

Our proprietary design programme KO³ serves to harness and consistently extend this competence for our customers. It is the benchmark of a modern compressor design tool for reciprocating and diaphragm compressors alike covering all our brands and third-party OEM licenses we manage. The ultimate requirement of any compressor design is reliability for decades of its operation. That’s why all measures must be taken to not overload any critical component. This is especially mandatory for designs according to API 618.

To this end, KO³ incorporates our comprehensive technical core know-how, culminating in a fully automated design process. This provides three advantages:

Dramatically reduced overall order-related engineering time

Exclusion of human errors in individual designs

Complete adherence to standard design rules

These advantages undermine the high reliability and safe operation NEA GROUP compressors are so well known for.

As an example of this design process, we are now in the process of delivery and installation of a 6-crank, 5-stage horizontal compressor of almost 900 kW motor shaft power for a green hydrogen application in South Africa.

We also work intensely on the modernisation project of several refineries in Nigeria, revamping and modernising several critical hydrogen compressors to “zero hour condition” applying state-of-the-art technologies on this old equipment.

Many other projects in Africa are being developed and executed with a strong local content concept matching our company philosophy.

Adding to the keystone competence and system-wide solutions thinking, our system knowledge flows into the enhancement of our digital platform solutions. They support service engineers in monitoring, analysing and diagnosing machine health. Full integration and data collection from all components gives operators the real-time monitoring and trend indication needed to maximise operational availability and minimise downtimes.

As in any family, NEUMAN & ESSER as a family business is in it for the long-run. To us, supporting the mining industry in its “smart energy” transition is a question of sustainability for the next generation.

NEUMAN & ESSER

Leading manufacturer of

• piston and diapraghm compressors
• electrolyzers and reformers
• grinding and classifying systems
• sealing elements for oscillating and rotating systems

Solutions provided for

• all major applications in the Oil & Gas markets
• Chemicals & Petrochemicals Industries
• Food & Beverages
• Circular Economy, Renewable Energy and the entire H2 Economy including H2 Mobility.

Group structure

• 1,300 employees
• four production sites in Germany as well as two in the USA
• 19 companies for sales and system engineering
• service facilities at 10 strategic locations around the globe