Power-to-heat plant with heat storage.

Leonhard Kurx and EnergyWest have successfully commissioned their joint power-to-heat plant with integrated thermal storage at the Sulzbach-Rosenberg site (D). Now that all installation and commissioning work has been completed, the system is supplying industrial process heat based on renewable electricity, marking an important milestone on the path to decarbonizing energy-intensive production processes.

The plant combines a 3 MW electric heater with an ENERGYNEST ThermalBattery™ featuring a storage capacity of 12 MWhth. The system is directly integrated into the site’s existing thermal oil infrastructure and primarily uses electricity from the directly connected ground-mounted photovoltaic system to provide high-temperature process heat on demand.

Once operational, KURZ will generate more than 3 GWhth of clean heat annually, covering over 70 percent of the heat demand for a production line at the site. More than 40 percent of the heat demand will be met by stored heat. At the same time, natural gas consumption will be reduced by more than 3.5 GWh per year, resulting in annual CO₂ savings of over 700 metric tons.

With this project, KURZ is advancing its sustainability strategy and consistently pursuing the goal of climate-neutral production. The company already exclusively uses electricity from renewable energy sources at its German sites. The successful commissioning of the power-to-heat plant now marks another important step toward the decarbonization of industrial heat supply.

“Sustainability is deeply embedded in our corporate DNA and shapes every aspect of our business operations and innovation. With the successful commissioning of this plant, we are taking another important step on our path toward climate-neutral production. The project demonstrates how innovative energy solutions and industrial competitiveness can go hand in hand,” said Ralph Hopfensitz, Executive Senior Vice President of Global Technology at LEONHARD KURZ.

“With this successful commissioning, we are proving that the decarbonization of industrial process heat is no longer a concept for the future, but can be implemented economically today," said Alex Robertson, CEO of ENERGYNEST "Together with KURZ, we have implemented a solution that enables the flexible use of renewable electricity and replaces fossil fuels. This project demonstrates how the industrial energy transition can succeed in practice - with immediately measurable results in terms of emissions reduction, energy efficiency, and security of supply.”

The solution is one of the first industrial power-to-heat projects in Germany to combine high-temperature heat with integrated thermal energy storage. It demonstrates how companies can flexibly utilize renewable electricity, increase energy efficiency, and economically replace fossil-fuel-based process heat.

The project was funded by the Federal German Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK) and serves as a model for scaling up electrified heat supply in industry. Its successful implementation underscores the potential of power-to-heat and heat storage as key building blocks of a climate-neutral industry.

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@LEONHARD_KURZ @KURZUSA @UnnGmbh @PresseBox #PAuto #Storage #Germany

Transparent touch and force.

Leonhard Kurz subsidiary, PolyIC, a leading provider of printed electronics solutions, is collaborating with Nanomade to develop a new solution for the next generation of interactive surfaces in human-machine interface (HMI) applications. Nanomade is now presenting the joint project of both companies for the first time at Touch Taiwan 2026, showcasing the world’s first fully transparent film that combines capacitive touch detection and highly sensitive force measurement in a single system at exactly the same location. The combined sensor enables transparent, flexible, and illuminated user interfaces - without any limitations on function, design, or industrial scalability.

Transparent Force & Touch Architecture.
PolyIC produces transparent, flexible capacitive sensor films with printed, transparent, and conductive electrodes. Nanomade has developed a proprietary, transparent nanoparticle-based ink that enables ultra-sensitive force measurement. By combining both components, the companies have developed a sensor that, thanks to its ultra-thin, transparent force-and-touch architecture, offers functionalities that go beyond those of conventional capacitive touch sensors. The light transmission of the sensor and its optical clarity further expand the design possibilities.

Seamless integration brings new design freedom.
Minimalist designs with integrated lighting effects and seamlessly integrated displays are becoming increasingly common in product design. Conventional sensor technology often reaches its limits in terms of both design and functionality. The new sensor from PolyIC and Nanomade meets these requirements for transparency, flexibility, and functionality. It can be integrated into fully transparent or ‘hidden-til-lit’ user interfaces and can also be incorporated into curved and three-dimensionally shaped control elements. Manufacturers can use it without the need for costly new developments or complex additional component integrations.

Additional features that simplify the utilization of user interfaces in everyday life and enhance the user experience include the ability to operate the interface while wearing gloves, as well as reliable performance in damp or wet environments. The sensor can distinguish between contact and targeted pressure, enabling a differentiated evaluation of touches and thus reducing false activations. It also enables safety-critical applications where two physical quantities must be evaluated independently of one another.

Applications.
The transparent force-and-touch sensor film is suitable for a wide range of applications across various industries, such as the automotive sector. Furthermore, the solution is suitable for medical devices that combine force sensing with touch functionality. With the new transparent Force & Touch sensor film, PolyIC and Nanomade are expanding the technical and design options for HMI applications where the combination of transparency, light, and intelligent force measurement is relevant.

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@NanomadeConcept @LEONHARD_KURZ @PresseBox @UnnGmbh #HMI #Automotive

Change in leadership.

Walter and Peter Kurz have retired from the operational side of the business and take up advisory functions as Chairman and Deputy Chairman of an Advisory Board at thin film and finishing technology enterprise Leonhard Kurz. Dr. Andreas Hirschfelder, previously Senior Vice President of the Business Area Plastic Decoration, becomes the Chief Executive. Dr. Hirschfeld has been with the company for 26 years, working in various roles including as CEO of the subsidiaries PolyIC and BURG DESIGN. Since 2018. A Doctor of Organic Chemistry he has also been responsible for the Business Area Plastic Decoration as Senior Vice President and a Member of the Management Board.

Dr. Andreas Hirschfelder

“I’m delighted by the confidence the Kurz family have placed in me. Continuing the company's success story is both an honor and an incentive – especially in the challenging times we currently live in. But I am convinced that, as an international team, we can meet this challenge and continue to delight our customers in future,” said Dr. Hirschfelder

In a joint statement, Walter and Peter Kurz stated, “We are handing over a highly innovative company that is financially very healthy. We have every confidence that Dr. Andreas Hirschfelder will lead Kurz to continued success.”

Since the early/mid 1970s, Walter and Peter Kurz have developed their family business, which was founded back in 1899, into one of the world’s most successful experts in attractive, functional surface finishing. The decorative, functional layers applied to carrier foil are used in countless everyday products such as cosmetics packaging, wine bottle labels, household devices, and in plastic components for cars. One mainstay is the creation of security features, for example for documents. The Kurz Group is represented in more than 30 locations worldwide and employs over 5,500 people.

In recent years, the Group has consolidated its position as a trailblazer in the sustainable finishing industry. For example, in 2021 Kurz joined the UN Global Compact Network, the world’s largest, most important initiative for sustainable, responsible company management. A comprehensive sustainability report was published in 2022. Their range of products and services is also continually being made more environment- and climate-friendly.

The newly founded Leonhard Kurz Advisory Board will comprise Walter Kurz, Peter Kurz, Andreas Kurz, Dr. Katharina Kurz, Anja Kurz and two external members. This will ensure that the company continues as a family business.

The company Management Board is also being partly reorganized as a result: Thomas Hertlein, previously Executive Vice President of Kurz Transfer Products USA, becomes a Member of the Executive Board of the Group from the beginning of the 2023 fiscal year. Rainer Süßmann succeeds Dr. Hirschfelder as Senior Vice President of the Business Area Plastic Decoration. Both add their strength to that of existing Management Board members Werner Adel, Markus Hoffmann, Ralph Hopfensitz and Dirk Bockwinkel.

 @LEONHARD_KURZ @KURZUSA @PresseBox #PAuto #ThinFilm