Reducing production time by 50 percent while speeding up design and customization cycles by 20 percent

Overcoming remote energy solution challenges

Bad-grid, remote and off-grid locations often face significant challenges powering essential infrastructure. Diesel generators are a common solution, but they are costly, logistically complex, high maintenance, vulnerable to fuel theft and environmentally unsustainable. As industries increasingly prioritize clean energy, hey urgently need alternatives for providing independent, profitable and reliable power.

H2 Core Systems recognized this gap and set out to deliver a modular hydrogen solution capable of meeting diverse customer needs, from remote telecom stations to research facilities and manufacturing sites. Their objective was to design compact, highly efficient hydrogen energy systems that could generate and store clean energy locally.

Designing these systems posed considerable engineering challenges. For example, every component (electrolyzers, compressors, fuel cells, storage tanks, piping and sensors) needs to fit precisely within compact cabinets. Additionally, technicians needed to route hydrogen and cooling lines accurately to ensure operational safety and efficiency. H2 Core Systems also needed to offer flexibility for standard solutions and fully customized systems to meet unique project requirements. Integrating parts from multiple suppliers, which they often delivered in STEP file format, added another layer of complexity.

“We serve customers with very specific needs, from storing excess solar energy for winter use to powering off-grid telecom antennas during blackouts that can last more than 72 hours,” says Thorsten Claussen, head of mechanical engineering at H2 Core Systems.

A digital twin of the H2 PowerCore.

Using Designcenter X Solid Edge to turn complex designs into reality

To address these challenges, H2 Core Systems relied heavily on Siemens Digital Industries Software’s Designcenter™ X Solid Edge® software, which is part of the Designcenter suite and became the backbone of their digital product development process. They also used the Teamcenter® Share app. Designcenter Solid Edge and Teamcenter are part of the Siemens Xcelerator business platform of software, hardware and services.

Using Designcenter X Solid Edge enabled H2 Core Systems’ engineers to visualize entire assemblies in 3D before physical production, ensuring every component, pipe, valve and sensor fit perfectly and eliminating costly errors. By leveraging the software’s synchronous technology, the team could make on-the-fly adjustments to 3D models. This was essential for customizing standard systems to meet specific customer requirements, such as adding additional electrolyzers, rerouting pipes or integrating new sensors.

The ability to import and incorporate parts from multiple suppliers also proved invaluable. Engineers could quickly assemble these components into larger system models without extensive manual adjustments. Additionally, H2 Core Systems leveraged KeyShot, which is integrated within Designcenter X Solid Edge, to create highly detailed, realistic renderings of their hydrogen systems. They used these visualizations for marketing materials, technical publications and user manuals, helping communicate complex design concepts clearly to customers, stakeholders and internal teams.

Cloud-based collaboration further enhanced productivity, enabling multiple engineers to work simultaneously on the same project while keeping design data, drawings and quality management documentation centralized and secure.

“Everything is digital now,” says Claussen. “We don’t rely on paper drawings anymore; all design, quality management and documentation lives in the cloud.”

Using Designcenter Solid Edge for design at H2 Core Systems.

Delivering results that matter

By integrating Designcenter X Solid Edge into their design workflow, H2 Core Systems deployed over 200 hydrogen energy systems across international markets, including South Korea, Australia, Brazil, India, France, the United States and Canada. They can now produce and ship standard systems within days, while delivering fully customized units efficiently to meet unique project requirements. Additionally, H2 Core Systems reduced manufacturing errors and eliminated costly production surprises using digital 3D visualization and collision detection, ensuring that systems are built correctly the first time.

Thanks to the combination of cloud-based collaboration, flexible 3D modeling and integrated visualization tools, H2 Core Systems has accelerated its innovation, allowing engineers to focus on optimizing designs rather than manually revising drawings. With Designcenter X Solid Edge, the company reduced production time by 50 percent, sped up design and customization cycles by 20 percent and achieved an overall growth rate of 70 percent.

“Beside container solutions, we´re building very small units, so we need to see that everything fits in a small area,” says Claussen. “Using Designcenter X Solid Edge helps us create these complex systems quickly and get them right the first time. Leveraging Designcenter Solid Edge gives us a good overview of a system before we build it in real life. We fit all the components in 3D, route our piping and run collision checks to ensure everything works, eliminating any manufacturing surprises.”

Additionally, by using Teamcenter Share, H2 Core Systems accelerated innovation with cloud-based workflows, ensuring engineers focus on design rather than manual revisions.

“What we especially appreciate about Designcenter X Solid Edge is the ability to collaborate on the same project from anywhere, its strong performance and how quickly we can edit assemblies,” says Claussen. “Plus, with Teamcenter Share, we can easily send parts to production or customers, who can then verify measurements directly.

“Using Teamcenter Share makes it easy to quickly send small assemblies to production or to customers, helping us simplify our processes. The digital twin – the ability to create full 3D assemblies – is extremely important to us because we plan our systems down to the smallest detail. This allows us to speed up workflows, prefabricate piping and detect potential collisions early in the design phase.”

Electrolyzers at scale.

Creating modular solutions for every customers’ needs

H2 Core Systems’ modular hydrogen energy systems allows customers to generate clean energy locally and store surplus power for future use. Each system integrates electrolyzers, compressors, fuel cells, energy storage units and water purification systems into compact, transportable units. The company’s modular approach enables fast delivery of standard configurations, while flexible design and the Designcenter X Solid Edge synchronous technology support highly customized solutions. This adaptability allows the company to respond to specific customer requests, from additional outputs to modified power supplies to extra sensors.

The company has successfully deployed these systems across various applications, from telecommunications to research institutes and brick manufacturing. This versatility is a direct result of H2 Core Systems’ commitment to combining advanced engineering with cloud-based digital tools.

“Bringing our alternative energy solutions to the market, we in sales are dependent on responding to individual requirements promptly and with modular, scalable energy systems,” says Ulf Jörgensen, chief executive officer (CEO) at H2 Core Systems. “This acceleration is based on fully digitalized, dynamic and efficient collaboration between sales, engineering, production and documentation. With its innovative solutions, Designcenter Solid Edge enables this collaboration and significantly reduces our time-to-market.”

The H2 PowerCore final product, the electrolyzer and fuel cell.

Shaping the future of clean energy

By integrating modular hydrogen energy systems with advanced software and hardware tools, H2 Core Systems has scaled sustainable energy solutions globally. As demand for clean, reliable energy continues to increase, the company is well positioned to deliver innovative systems to bad-grid, remote and off-grid locations. Leveraging cloud-based
Designcenter X Solid Edge enables faster design iterations, increasingly efficient customization and more reliable production. This ensures H2 Core Systems can continue to expand its impact in the growing hydrogen market.

“By combining modular hydrogen energy systems with Siemens’ advanced software and hardware tools, like the TIA Portal and Siemens S7 1200, we can continue to deliver independent, profitable and sustainable worldwide, quickly adapting to customer needs and scaling our impact,” says Claussen. “We use Designcenter Solid Edge to fully digitize our dynamic product and production planning. Thanks to the innovative solutions for distributed teams and high variability, we can significantly accelerate our development processes and production preparations and thus considerably reduce the time-to-market of our hydrogen-based energy systems.”