SBG Specialist Seminar 2023

Over the past few days, we have been addressing the question of which alternative fuels we will need to focus on in the future and what challenges this will pose for the industry and our plants at our specialist seminar.

We had many exciting presentations that brought us up to date on hydrogen, ammonia and their utilisation, as well as several presentations that dealt with the digitalisation and automation of plants and implementation processes. The consensus was that AI will also have an impact on our industry, making our work easier in many areas and providing us with assistance.

But artificial intelligence was not the only main topic of discussion on the first day. Rudi Karpf gave a presentation on demographic change in emission control and prepared our participants for the changing interests of the upcoming generations, Gen Y and, in part, Gen Z. It was particularly exciting to once again consider the clearly different interests of the baby boomer generation compared to those of Gen Y. We can only recommend taking a look at this topic at this point.

During a lively evening event with lots of discussions and conversations on the topics of the day, we were also entertained by our long-standing guest and friend, cabaret artist and entertainer René Steinberg, before returning to the technical presentations on the second day.

The second day focused primarily on exploring how the insights gained on day 1 could be put into practice. The use of alternative fuels such as hydrogen and ammonia was particularly exciting. Dr Giese from the Gas and Heat Institute (GWI) in Essen gave a presentation on how ammonia behaves during combustion in contrast to hydrogen and natural gas. Saacke, which also works with the GWI and provides resources, gave our participants some insights into burner technology. We were also able to gain the perspective of a turbine manufacturer through the presentation by Siemens Energies.

Finally, we were given some insights into the utilisation of residual materials such as substitute fuels and sewage sludge and the future of these areas, before we were able to announce at the end of the second day that we would of course be inviting participants to the specialist seminar again next year.

With this in mind, please make a note of the date in your calendar, as we are already inviting you to the InterCity Hotel in Duisburg on 25 and 26 November 2024. Until then, we wish you all the best.