Volante International

Combined-cycle power plants that leverage gas and steam turbines simultaneously have been around for decades. With a lower environmental impact than fossil fuels, these systems continue to meet today’s stringent sustainability demands. Drawing on his years of experience, Dr. Christian Müller decided to recreate the energy efficiency and sustainability benefits of combined-cycle power plants when he established Volante International. Only this time, he planned to tap into the power of hydrogen energy.

Volante specializes in hydrogen power-to-gas and power-to-fuel projects and fuel cell and electrolyzer installations and is focused on delivering the benefits of Industry 4.0 to customers.

Müller’s decision to focus on hydrogen energy bore immediate results as Volante was soon contacted by Hitachi Zosen Inova in Zurich and Drees&Sommer in Germany.

In 2021, Volante successfully supported Hitachi Zosen Inova with the process design and authority approval for the building permit for their first 2MW hydrogen production plant in Switzerland.

“Hydrogen has become a vital part of the new energy concepts because it is available in abundance in water, compared to other limited resources like oil,” says Müller, managing director of Volante International.

In addition to being a renewable source, hydrogen energy can be stored in vast amounts, unlike traditional battery power. The production process is free of greenhouse gas emissions and helps tackle solar radiation challenges. Solar and wind energy also offer similar benefits and can be harvested in large quantities to produce electricity.

Combining the advantages of solar, wind, and hydrogen energy, Volante has designed the Blu-Energy Cubicle for off-grid power production. The product is simple and rugged and applicable for remote locations like deserts.

The Blu-Energy Cubicle was first developed for use in Europe for remote applications like festivals, presenting a suitable alternative to noisy and polluting diesel generators. The team quickly realized the cubicles could be used to power villages there that lacked energy systems. These 40-foot-high, shippable cubicles contain everything needed to provide sufficient energy for a village of up to 50 people.

Each cubicle contains solar and wind energy equipment that can be assembled in a few days. Equipped with a battery, they can provide power in remote settings.

Volante also provides fuel cell installation services. In one instance, a producer of lithographic machines used in chip production approached it to integrate a fuel cell into their production process to store the hydrogen used at their testing facility.

Headquartered in the Netherlands, Volante International operates with two subsidiaries, Volante Swiss and Volante Africa.

Volante Swiss caters primarily to the power and chemical industries and is focused on providing supply chain marketing value to its customers in Germany and Italy.

Operating out of Dakar, Senegal, Volante Africa aims to further green energy adoption and develop infrastructure for power and water.

The focus on sustainability at Volante goes beyond its products. The whole concept of the business, including logistics, manufacturing set-up, marketing, and the supply chain, is centered around this value.

In addition to being a renowned energy industry veteran, Müller is a WSET Level 3 sommelier and operates Volante Wines. His interest in wines was developed during his expeditions around the world.
With over 25 years of experience and expertise in the energy space, he is taking Volante to new heights.