Meeting global customers' demand

Research and development

The global emphasis on g-mobility and e-mobility continues to influence the direction of Hexagon’s R&D group. Of utmost importance is the drive to higher safety, greater reliability and superior product performance.

Hexagon sits in a leadership position on many international regulatory, codes and standards committees, to ensure that product innovation is considered in a safe manner without impacting overall systems performance.

Hexagon’s combined spend on R&D, engineering and innovation in 2020 was NOK 137 million. The R&D group’s activities are directly tied to Hexagon’s world-class manufacturing initiative. In 2020 its 133 product development engineers and project leaders were active in a materials study, in materials optimization studies and in manufacturing process innovation. In conjunction with Hexagon’s Operations teams, the R&D group is setting the foundation for process efficiency and stability without sacrificing product performance. They have delivered improvements in efficient composite design, permeation reduction, liquid propane storage, gas storage, hydrogen resistance and damage tolerance.

Hexagon has decided to retain fundamental materials and process research within its R&D group. Specific product design and development will be allocated to the respective business units from 2020 onwards. This change in organizational priorities will improve development alignment with the business units and result in improved speed to market and greater responsiveness to the “voice of the customer”. The centralized R&D group will utilize resources in North American and European locations and will be at the core of Hexagon’s center of excellence in fundamental materials and process research.

World class manufacturing

To maintain its leading position as a global leader of clean fuel solutions, Hexagon continues to develop world-class manufacturing capabilities to meet demand and increase its competitive edge.

The core of world-class manufacturing is manufacturing excellence. Continuous improvement eliminates waste and sets new competitive standards, with smart investments in the Group’s value streams. Those smart investments focus on increasing effectiveness and efficiency as Hexagon increases its capacity and prepares for ramping up production.

A key focus for the Group is the cultivation of strong, committed leadership at all levels and a high degree of team member engagement throughout the organization. This includes the upskilling, formal training and qualification of team members as part of their continuous development.

To further enhance its competitive edge, the Hexagon Group is investing in state-of-the-art production technology to support:

• Hexagon Ragasco, extending its digital capabilities and integrating smart technology
• Hexagon Digital Wave, continuing to develop leading-edge technology for the real-time conditioning monitoring of cylinders
• Hexagon Agility, focusing on eliminating constraints and further developing a value stream organization at its manufacturing site in Lincoln, NE, U.S.
• Hexagon Purus, implementing a manufacturing execution system (MES) as it strives for greater digitalization

Production capacity

To meet increased demand and remain competitive, in 2020 Hexagon increased its production capacity with new machines and equipment in its Kassel, Lincoln, and Taneytown plants.

Sharing our expertise

Hexagon possesses significant high-pressure technology expertise. In the arena of regulation, codes and standards it is positioned as a convener, expert, and contributor to many of the global standards for RNG, CNG, hydrogen, LPG and other industrial gases. This leadership and engagement leverages Hexagon’s wealth of knowledge about the safety and reliability of its products for the greater good.

Key developments in 2020

• Geared-up for scale at the production facilities to maintain Hexagon’s leading position in g-mobility and e-mobility
• Expanded cylinder production for heavy-duty vehicles in Lincoln, Nebraska, U.S. to meet increased demand
• Commenced transfer of European heavy-duty vehicle volumes to new cylinder production line in Kassel, Germany
• Production of hydrogen cylinders established at Hexagon Purus in Taneytown, Maryland, U.S.

Key objectives for 2021-2022

• Increase production capacity in Kassel, Germany and Lincoln, Nebraska, U.S.
• Further vertical integration with liner production in Kassel
• Joint venture CIMC- Hexagon: erection of new hydrogen cylinder production facility in China
• Erection of new production facility for hydrogen and battery systems in Kelowna, Canada
• Further development of continuous improvement mindset and culture throughout the organization

Global presence