After ten years at the German PtX development company Electrochaea, Hans Chr. Knudsen switched from his job as head of operations & maintenance to the Danish Safety Technology Authority on January 1, 2024. He brought his experience of building and getting a PtX plant running to the Danish Safety Technology Authority. Here he was offered a position as a caseworker. But the change did not live up to expectations.
- I thought it would be good to sit down, but when I sit in an office chair for more than five hours, I get restless, says Hans Chr. Knudsen, who resigned after three months without having another job in hand.
But qualifications and experience within PtX made it easy to move on, because his dream job came with his first application. Hans Chr. Knudsen landed a job as site manager at Stiesdal, where hydrogen production has started with Stiesdal's electrolyzer at European Energy's hydrogen plant in the Måde district outside Esbjerg. It's a change that suits him very well.
- This is exciting and something completely different than at Electrochaea, where we had a meeting when there were obstacles. Here things go quickly, and we go out and do something instead of holding a meeting. A lot is 'learning by doing', and then we solve problems very quickly. And things don't come to a standstill, says Hans Chr. Knudsen, referring to the Stiesdal spirit:
- Here it says at the entrance: Keep it simple. It has to be good and safe at the same time.
High safety
And safety is absolutely fine when working with hydrogen.
- We wear antistatic T-shirts for 1100,- DKK each and fire-retardant clothing as the outer layer. When there is pressure on the plant, everyone has sensors on each one. There are sensors placed all over the site, says Hans Chr. Knudsen, while he shows around the electrolyzer at the hydrogen plant in Måde.
There are several reasons why safety is so high. Hydrogen cannot be smelled, and even a hydrogen flame is not necessarily visible.
- When working with regular gas there is a risk of an accident, with hydrogen there is a risk of a catastrophe, explains Hans Chr. Knudsen, who also gave us careful safety instructions before we entered the site, even though the plant is not pressurized at this time.
The first hydrogen has been produced
The Stiesdal electrolyzer, which is shaped like a windmill, has already produced the first hydrogen.
- It's like putting down a wind turbine tower and making an electrolyzer inside it, explains Hans Chr. Knudsen about the round shape, which may one day mean that hydrogen will be produced inside a wind turbine tower offshore. And Danish companies are involved all the way.
- The electrolyzer part itself is made by Danfoss, and all the electronics come from KK Wind Solutions, he says.
Even though there is no pressure on the plant this June day, the plant can produce.
- We have already produced hydrogen, and it was actually midnight hydrogen, after we had worked on it all day, says Hans Chr. Knudsen, who stayed at a hotel in Esbjerg that night rather than taking the trip home to Kibæk.
Working for one of the big ones
When Hans Chr. Knudsen rationalizes, he has landed the dream job.
- For me, Stiesdal is like Mærsk or Danfoss, and it really was: "Could you get there". Henrik Stiesdal is one of the greats in my eyes, and he also has the understanding and respect for craftsmanship, says Hans Chr. Knudsen, who leaves no doubt that he has landed on the right shelf:
- I'm the type who has to go out and put on my safety shoes and look forward to getting to work. That's how I feel about this.
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