With his team, Stephan Wald (left) researches new, inte­grated solu­tions for the heating sector. (Photo | Christa Henke)

It’s over six hours by car from the ebm-papst heating compe­tence center in Land­shut and the new loca­tion in Lower Saxony. It was chosen for a good reason: It’s close to many big customers and has good infra­struc­ture and access to young talent such as students from the Osnabrück Univer­sity of Applied Sciences, which conducts research in elec­tronics and drive engi­neering. And if there’s a need to consult with our Dutch subsidiary ebm-papst Heating Systems, that’s not far away.

Stephan Wald, head of devel­op­ment at the new facility, is new at ebm-papst but has a lot of expe­ri­ence in the heating sector. He spent many years with a well-known producer of combus­tion controllers and gas valves, where he was respon­sible for devel­oping a variety of inno­v­a­tive heating product lines. In his new posi­tion, Wald finds the team’s mix appealing: young talent and expe­ri­enced devel­opers working together to break new ground.

Though there are already elec­tronic and self-cali­brating systems on the market, there is still plenty of room for effi­ciency improve­ments. The compo­nents from Land­shut and Osnabrück offer outstanding syner­gies for advance­ments in combus­tion tech­nology. Wald sees an impor­tant benefit here: “Free from old ballast and with a wide range of exper­tise in combus­tion, elec­tronics, and blower and valve tech­nology, we have a unique oppor­tu­nity here to find new answers and take this market in new direc­tions.”

Para­digm shift in energy effi­ciency

Heads of the devel­op­ment center: Hans-Joachim Klink, Head of Plat­form Devel­op­ment in Land­shut, Stephan Wald, Head of Devel­op­ment for Heating in Osnabrück, and Stefan Brandl, Managing Director in Land­shut and Chairman of the Board of Direc­tors of the ebm-papst Group since January 2017. (Photo | Christa Henke)

Wald compares the move from pneu­matic control to elec­tronic gas-air composite systems with the tran­si­tion from carbu­re­tors to elec­tronic injec­tion in combus­tion engines. Following the system change, there were contin­uous effi­ciency improve­ments in the elec­tron­i­cally controlled engines.

Since the opening of the world’s gas markets and the wide range of gas quality and compo­si­tion that became avail­able as a result, there are many good reasons for smart elec­tronic combus­tion control that ensures low-emis­sion combus­tion and optimum energy use. Stephan Wald and his team are on their way.