With the ramp-up of carbon capture and storage (CCS) and carbon capture and utilization (CCU), Europe's first CO₂ pipeline networks, compressor stations, storage facilities, and industrial process chains are emerging—along with completely new requirements for materials, tightness, and the design of metal-sealed valves.
This is where Hartmann Valves GmbH from Lower Saxony comes in: The company offers welded high-integrity shut-off valves and optimized wellheads for CO₂ transport, storage, and processing.
CO₂ projects: Safe storage
With CCS, CO₂ is captured, compressed, transported, and permanently stored underground. The integrity of the entire system is crucial to its success – from capture to high-pressure pipelines to the wellhead and into the reservoir. Hartmann Valves supplies project-specific wellheads and metal-sealed valves that are designed for high pressure and temperature requirements and ensure reliable shut-off.
"Safety and tightness are our top priorities. Our metal-sealed valves are designed for applications under extreme conditions and ensure safe shut-off, even with supercritical CO₂,“ explains Werner Hartmann, Managing Director of Hartmann Valves. ”We are specifically transferring our decades of development and manufacturing experience in the field of high-pressure and special valves for hydrocarbons to CO₂ storage technologies."
Corrosion-resistant materials such as nickel-based alloys and high-strength steels prevent leaks and material aging. Complemented by precise monitoring, risks can be minimized and operating costs significantly reduced.
Using CO₂ as a raw material – Carbon Capture and Utilization (CCU)
In addition to safe storage, the use of CO₂ as a valuable raw material is also becoming increasingly important. In processes such as methanol or e-fuel synthesis, urea production, concrete curing, or as a refrigerant (R744) in large heat pumps, CO₂ is part of closed process chains—with high requirements for pressure maintenance and tightness.
Hard-coated seat surfaces made of tungsten or chromium carbide, precisely manufactured ball-seat pairs, and robust drive systems ensure permanently reproducible tightness – even with frequent switching cycles and extreme pressure changes.
“We are consistently applying the expertise we have developed over many years in metal-sealed valves and high-pressure systems to the requirements of future CO₂ infrastructures. In this way, we are creating reliable solutions for safe and efficient CO₂ transport and storage systems,” emphasizes Christian Hartmann, Managing Director responsible for Research & Development at Hartmann Valves.
Experience gained in oil and gas production, refineries, chemicals, and geothermal energy, where CO₂ is used as a scaling inhibitor, among other things, is also incorporated into the development process.
