The first plant of its kind
Missing benchmarks make reliable scopes, budgets and schedules harder. The early-phase forecast is not a formality here but the actual basis for the decision.
Industries · Energy & infrastructure
Hydrogen & Electrification
We control electrolyser and electrification projects at existing sites – from the idea to commissioning and integration into ongoing operations.
- Early phase
- many projects before the final investment decision
- First-of-a-kind plants
- without the benchmarks of established industries
- Interfaces
- Power connection, substation, steam network, existing plant
- Funding deadlines
- hard dates that evidence depends on
Market
Ramp-up of a new infrastructure
Hydrogen and electrification are key to industrial transformation. The ramp-up is slower than planned – many projects have been postponed, and the first large plants at refineries are under construction. There, green hydrogen replaces grey hydrogen made from natural gas, demand comes from quotas for renewable fuels, and a core network and import routes are to connect production and consumption.
At the same time, the market is young: many projects have yet to reach a final investment decision, and costs and funding conditions are shifting. For projects, this means the sector is driven more by investment than by shutdowns, with many interfaces, from the power connection through electrolysis and compression to integration into the existing site.
The electrolyser is quickly installed. It only goes into operation once the grid and the site are ready.
Challenges
What is different here
Many interfaces
Electrolysis, grid connection, compression, storage and the tie-in to existing assets have to come together – every interface is a potential break point in the schedule.
Safety from the start
Hydrogen places high demands on explosion protection and permitting. These requirements belong in early planning, not in execution.
Commissioning and ramp-up
Commissioning new technologies is demanding and schedule-critical. It belongs in the schedule as a phase of its own, with its own duration and its own responsibility.
Funding and evidence
Funding programmes tie payments to milestones, and green hydrogen must be certified as renewable. Both require documentation that runs alongside the project from the start.
Electricity instead of natural gas
Electrolysers, electric boilers, high-temperature heat pumps and electrically heated furnaces replace natural gas with electricity. Grid connection, substation and power purchase agreement therefore belong in the schedule from the start – with their own partners and their own dates.
Typical tasks
Your task – and what we offer for it
On the left: what operators in this industry come to us with. On the right: the service that covers it.
The investment decision needs reliable figures
Bottom-up estimating instead of lump sums – with a stated range instead of false precision.
The funding deadline is non-negotiable
Planning and control with measured progress – so that an evidence deadline is not missed because of faulty schedule logic.
The general contractor builds – who represents our side?
Project control on the operator's side – keeping quality, schedule and cost in view with the general contractor, across all interfaces.
The tie-in has to go into the next shutdown
The tie-in to the running plant becomes part of the shutdown – with its own activities in the schedule and a fixed window.
We're switching steam and heat to electricity
Site Management & Construction Management
Building and integrating electric boilers, heat pumps and a substation on an operating site – all trades under one control.
The project is growing – its control has to grow with it
Control over the entire course of the project – scalable with progress.
We are short of people for the project team
Schedulers, project controllers and construction supervisors – vetted and for exactly the months you need them.
Clients
Clients from this industry
- Air Liquide
- BASF
- BP
- OMV
- OMV Petrom
- Sasol
- Shell
- TotalEnergies
- Yara
A selection of our clients in this industry. View all clients
Related services
Shutdown or project?
In this industry we support you in both worlds. From here you can go on to the services that belong to it.
Turnarounds
From the TAR-Check through scope and scheduling to leading the entire shutdown.
Go to servicesCapital projects
From feasibility through estimating and project controls to site management and overall responsibility.
Go to servicesFrequently asked questions
Questions answered
Do you support the tie-in to existing plants?
Yes. The tie-in links project logic and shutdown logic: the tie-in window is usually fixed years in advance and is the hardest deadline of the project. The entire schedule is built backwards from that date.
Do you also support electrification projects?
Yes. Electric boilers, high-temperature heat pumps and electrically heated furnaces replace natural gas with electricity. Technically, that is different from an electrolyser, but for project control it is the same case: grid connection and substation set the date, the tie-in to steam and heat networks often falls into a shutdown, and many trades work at the same time on an operating site. We also cover electrically heated cracking furnaces under Petrochemicals & Crackers.
How do you deal with a lack of experience data?
By showing the uncertainty instead of covering it up: alternative scenarios are named, and the schedule reflects the uncertainty instead of ignoring it. Where in-house experience is lacking, we work with comparable projects and with ranges instead of false precision.
Why are project controls so important in H₂ projects?
Because the critical dates lie outside the construction site: with the grid operator who provides the power connection, with the general contractor and its own interfaces, and with the funding body that checks milestones. Early-warning indicators make deviations there visible while there is still time to react.
Do you help with meeting funding deadlines?
Yes. Public funding is often tied to hard deadlines and evidence. We make sure that these deadlines are separate activities in the schedule, that the evidence is available in time and that a funding deadline is not missed because of faulty schedule logic – SMI checks the schedule for exactly that.
Do you work independently of manufacturers?
Yes. We manage independently of the electrolyser and technology supplier. ep-cm is owner-managed and does not belong to any group with executing companies – our contribution is planning, control and project controls discipline, not selling plant technology.
Terms such as electrolyser are explained in our glossary – along with 58 more terms from the turnaround and project business.
Let’s talk about
your project.
Get in touch – we will respond within one working day, with people who know this industry. The initial call is free of charge.
Book an initial callPrefer to talk directly? +49 (0)211 5667 7754