Hitachi Energy expands German power transformer facility to address demand
Bad Honnef transformer facility. Image courtesy Hitachi Energy
Hitachi Energy has announced an investment of more than €30 million ($32 million) in the expansion and modernisation of its power transformer manufacturing facility in Bad Honnef, Germany.
Expected to be complete in 2026, the project will see the facility expand to over 15,000 square meters. Combined with process enhancements, the upgraded facility is geared towards optimising operational performance and boosting manufacturing capacity to address growing demand.
Operational since 1906, the facility in Bad Honnef is one of the Swiss energy tech major’s key manufacturing locations in Europe, producing large power transformers, which form critical components of the electrical grid used to step up or down the voltage level for efficient transmission and distribution.
Over the years, the factory in Bad Honnef has delivered transformers to many of the leading TSOs, utilities and industries in Europe, such as those included in the strategic partnership with TenneT.
“Electricity will be the backbone of our entire energy system. In the global power system of 2050, we need around four times the power generation capacity and transfer of up to three times as much electrical energy compared to 2020”, said Bruno Melles, business unit transformers managing director at Hitachi Energy.
“The Bad Honnef facility is one example of our commitment to expand our global footprint and capacity at speed to meet accelerating demand driven by the energy transition.”
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Power transformer demand
The facility’s upgrade is expected to generate up to 100 new jobs in the region and address the rising demand for transformers for Europe’s power system stemming from increasing levels of renewable energy and electrification.
Additionally, according to Wood Mackenzie authors, demand for transformers has been increasing due to their high lead times and supply chain constraints.
According to the research and consultancy group, power transformer lead times have been increasing for the last two years – from 115 weeks in 2021, to 130 weeks on average in 2023.
Large transformers, they state, both substation power and generator step-up (GSU) transformers, have lead times ranging from 80 to 210 weeks, and some manufacturers, such as Hitachi Energy, have announced plans to expand capacity to meet this growing demand.
According to Hitachi, Energy, the factory’s expansion also reflects a wider scaling up of the company’s capacity in Europe.
In 2023, the company expanded production in Sweden with an additional 2,000 new jobs over the next two years, in addition to the acquisition of power electronics companies eks Energy and COET.
