For the first time, Bimbo Portugal successfully baked bread using a hydrogen-powered oven.
In 2022, hydrogen was proposed as the fuel of the future in bakeries, when the concept was introduced with fully realized tunnel oven technology developed by AMF Den Boer. The modular Multibake® VITA Tunnel Oven effectively eliminated emissions commonly produced by baking ovens by using green hydrogen to activate its burners, for entirely ‘green’ baking.
“The results confirm the feasibility of hydrogen technology as a sustainable and viable alternative for industrial tin and hearth bread production with zero carbon emissions.”
AMF Bakery Systems specialists
For Bimbo Portugal, the future is here, now. In collaboration with AMF Den Boer, the bakery successfully carried out industrial-scale bread baking using hydrogen as fuel. The project is in line with Bimbo’s decarbonization strategy and its goal of achieving carbon-neutral operations – and a significant milestone in this direction.
A big step forward
A tray oven operating since 1998 at Grupo Bimbo’s Portugal facility was retrofitted with Direct Hydrogen Fired (DHF) burners, in a project carried out by AMF Den Boer, in cooperation with Kiwa Technology. “The baking zone 2 was originally equipped with conventional Direct Gas Fired (DGF) natural gas burners,” AMF explains (pictured below). This zone was retrofitted with Direct Hydrogen Fired (DHF) burners and operated successfully throughout two weeks of continuous testing.
To run the tests, 12 natural gas burners and controls were temporarily replaced with 12 Hydrogen (H2) burners, each 16 kW (54,000 BTUs maximum output each). The DHF burners were mechanically designed to match typical DGF burners, and were installed in the same locations, for a fast and efficient retrofitting process. As a result, “The complete conversion to H2 was achieved within two days,” AMF highlights.
Natural gas-fired blue flame burner in visible light, showing low/mid/high capacity
With this setup, a maximum output of 192 kW (655,000 BTUs) was achieved. Moreover, the hydrogen DHF burners were also designed to match the thermal capacity and control range of the original natural gas direct gas-fired (DGF) burners.
Shop testing of the H2 burners (with invisible flame) in the AMF Den Boer Plant in Nieuwleusen, the Netherlands
Mobile hydrogen gas supply connections outside the baker
HMI H2 burner zone monitor and Hydrogen burner
Zone 2, featuring 12 retrofitted hydrogen (H2) burners | all pictures © AMF Bakery Systems
Once the DHF burners were successfully installed, the baking zone became operational, meaning production could commence, using 100% hydrogen (H2) heat in the baking tunnel. Throughout the two-week trial period, product quality was continuously monitored. In parallel, the hydrogen (H2) system was closely supervised, including the temporary external gas supply to the bakery and all associated in-house gas safety measures.
“The hydrogen’s clean combustion enabled the oven to operate at a lower overall temperature. In addition, the natural gas consumption in the remaining oven zones was slightly reduced.”
AMF Bakery Systems specialists
A wide range of products were baked using hydrogen combustion during these two weeks. Some technical challenges encountered were mainly related to burner ignition – and were solved. Despite these setbacks, the oven zone consistently reached target baking temperatures, without affecting product quality at any point.
Product performance was the first, but not the only result monitored: the baking trials also showed the energy efficiency of the setup, while achieving the temperature set point. “The hydrogen’s clean combustion enabled the oven to operate at a lower overall temperature. In addition, the natural gas consumption in the remaining oven zones was slightly reduced. Safety systems, including leak detection, purging, ventilation, and emergency shutdowns, were successfully validated under real production conditions,” AMF specialists detail.
Testing results: Green light for hydrogen baking
While further engineering improvements are needed before permanent implementation, this project proves that hydrogen baking is technically feasible, offering a promising path toward carbon-neutral ovens.
The successful two-week test proved the concept of bread baking using hydrogen (H2) gas as a heat source. It demonstrated that the process performance is comparable to conventional baking methods with respect to product quality, safety, and sensory characteristics. “The results confirm the feasibility of hydrogen technology as a sustainable and viable alternative for industrial tin and hearth bread production with zero carbon emissions,” AMF concludes.
AMF Bakery Systems has won multiple innovation awards for its Multibake VITA hydrogen tunnel oven by Den Boer, including distinctions at CFIA and Sirha Europain, in 2022, when journalists and professional jury members ranked the hydrogen tunnel oven as the best equipment innovation of the year. “A true future-proof development in bakery equipment that will bring zero-emission baking, with green hydrogen and investment for decades to come,” underlined Eric Tellier, Sales Director France, at the award ceremony. Today, the DHF burners are patent-pending inovations, (US and International patents).
AMF Den Boer’s R&D develops solutions working closely with customers and suppliers to improve efficiency and achieve sustainable results, the company highlights its approach to new developments. “We are committed to applying groundbreaking solutions in pursuit of our goal: establishing a 100% lights-out, climate-neutral bakery.”