We’re leading by example through responsible operations, reimagining our systems and taking action to have a restorative impact on the environment.
In Oberhausen, Germany, Trane Technologies created an innovation and operations hub designed to support a growing Rental Services business and advanced engineering capabilities in electrification and power electronics. Built with carbon-neutral operations in mind, the facility integrates a sustainable thermal management system, circular rental services and innovation teams in a single footprint. Together with nearby teams in Essen, the sites demonstrate how operational sustainability, electrification and circular business models can work together to support customer decarbonization and business growth.
PROJECT AT-A-GLANCE:
The opportunity:
Support the rapid growth of rental services and electrification engineering capabilities while advancing Trane Technologies’ 2030 Sustainability Commitments, reducing the environmental impact of operations, enabling lower-carbon solutions for customers and strengthening opportunities for engineering talent and innovation.
The solutions:
An integrated thermal management system eliminates the need for fossil fuel heating and cooling across the facility. Waste heat from cooling is captured and stored in a large buffer tank, where it can be reused to support equipment testing operations. The site also uses advanced Trane controls and building management systems to continuously optimize performance. Rainwater harvesting avoids using fresh water for equipment cleaning. And the facility supports an expanded circular rental services hub, capable of serving customer applications across an exceptional thermal range.
Sustainability outcomes:
- Carbon-neutral facility operations with no fossil fuel heating or cooling
- More than 500,000 kg of CO₂ emissions avoided annually through efficient thermal management and building systems
- Reduced freshwater demand through rainwater harvesting
- Circular rental model extending equipment life through refurbishment and redeployment across multiple customer applications
- Electrification innovations such as Thermo King® AxlePower reduce customers’ fuel consumption and emissions in refrigerated transport
- Expanded community partnerships to develop the next generation of sustainability-focused engineers
VIDEO: Leading by Example: Engineered for Sustainability in Oberhausen
A facility engineered for sustainability
Located in Germany’s Ruhr region, one of Europe’s largest industrial areas, Oberhausen and nearby Essen sit at the center of a region that has transformed from coal and steel production into a hub for engineering, logistics and advanced technology.
When the Trane Technologies team began envisioning a facility in Oberhausen, two needs quickly emerged.
One was practical: the Trane Rental Services business in the region was growing rapidly, requiring a larger hub to support expanding equipment fleets, testing capability and customer demand.
At the same time, the local engineering team in Essen was building new capabilities in electrification and power electronics for refrigerated transport, requiring labs and collaboration space to advance next-generation systems.
Bringing these two ambitions together shaped a broader vision for the site – a place where a circular rental services hub and an electrification engineering center could reinforce one another while supporting innovation, talent development and long-term business growth.
The team also set an ambitious goal for the facility to support the company’s 2030 Sustainability Commitments. “We had to think about how to optimize the site’s energy usage,” said Marco Henning, District Leader for Trane Germany. “It was clear Oberhausen needs to be carbon neutral.”
Designed for carbon-neutral operations and a model for customers
The resulting 14,000 square-meter business and innovation hub brings together offices, equipment workshops, training areas and engineering capabilities, and a warehouse, into a single footprint, with sustainability built directly into how the building operates.
A fully integrated thermal management system using a Trane® Sintesis Balance CMAF multi-pipe unit provides simultaneous heating and cooling across the facility without burning fossil fuels. When only comfort cooling is required, a Trane® Sintesis Advantage CXAF air-to-water heat pump recovers the heat that would otherwise be wasted, and stores it in a 50,000-liter water buffer tank. This heat is then reused to power on-site testing operations, creating a closed energy loop that reduces overall energy demand and avoids thermal energy waste.
The Trane control and building management systems allow for the complete integration of heating and cooling plants, serving the offices, rental hub and testing facilities. The thermal management system is expected to save over 500,000 kgCO2 emissions annually, equivalent to the annual heating of approximately 100 homes.
Additional features, including LED lighting, EV charging infrastructure and rainwater harvesting, further reduce resource use.
Rental Services: sustainability through circularity
Oberhausen is a major Rental Services hub, where the rental model supports a more resource-efficient and inherently circular approach to delivering thermal infrastructure for customers.
The fleet provides temporary cold storage and HVAC capacity without any capital investment, effectively turning each unit into a shared resource. Today the rental fleet spans an exceptional thermal range—from -70°C superfreezers to +120°C superheaters—supporting industrial cooling, process heating, emergency response and complex temperature-control applications such as data centers.
Instead of oversizing HVAC plants or purchasing equipment that may sit underutilized, customers can access rental systems for short- and long-term needs.
With dedicated testing, repair and refurbishment facilities on site, the Oberhausen hub keeps equipment performing at peak levels while enabling continuous refurbishment and redeployment across the fleet, extending the lifecycle of equipment and reducing the need for new manufacturing.
In addition to maintaining the fleet for Rental needs, the site provides compressor overhaul services to customers seeking to extend the life of their existing equipment, adding another sustainable contribution through resource reuse and performance efficiency.
Scaling innovation in electrification
Alongside the rental business, Oberhausen also serves as a Center of Excellence for Electrification within the company’s Advanced Concepts and Capabilities team, where engineers focus on developing scalable electric system architecture and advancing new capabilities.
Just 10 miles away in Essen, Thermo King teams design, test and manufacture the power electronics systems that enable electrified transport refrigeration. Together, the two locations operate as a closely connected innovation ecosystem where engineering, testing and real-world customer feedback come together to accelerate development and deployment.
One of the most ground-breaking outcomes is Thermo King® AxlePower, a kinetic energy recovery e-axle system that converts braking and downhill motion into usable electrical energy for refrigeration units—helping reduce fuel consumption, operating costs and emissions for truck operators.
“Ground up, we design our own power electronics. We build our own software. We integrate all the systems,” said Vikram Madineni, senior engineering manager for Batteries & Energy Storage. “This approach accelerates innovation across our business – allowing us to rapidly expand our knowledge and iterate in areas like battery technology and energy recovery solutions.”
Developing the next Generation of engineers and skilled trades
The Oberhausen hub is also an investment in people and capabilities.
The team works closely with nearby universities, bringing students into the organization through internships, graduate research projects and early-career engineering roles.
“About half of our team started that way,” said Eckardt Augenstein, Chief Architect for Power Electronics. Students often begin with research projects before joining the company as full-time engineers.
Senior engineers work closely with early-career colleagues, helping translate theoretical knowledge into practical engineering work through hands-on testing and experimentation.
Also onsite, technical trainees receive hands-on experience and instruction working on equipment from the Rental fleet and compressors workshop, with a pathway to become certified mechatronic technicians in the specialized refrigeration technology field.
Community engagement also plays a role. During the annual “Long Night of Industry” event, local residents and students tour the facility to see engineering and innovation in action.
Daniel Schranz, Mayor of Oberhausen highlighted the positive impact of Trane Technologies’ investment, stating, “This innovative center, along with the training facility on-site, will contribute to the development of Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) skills in our community, ensuring a sustainable future for generations to come.”
Internally, employee networks strengthen culture and connection through mentorship and inclusion. Electrical engineer Isobel Coenen helped launch the Women’s Employee Network for Germany, connecting employees across the organization.
“It helps to see examples and have allies,” Coenen said. “It encourages younger colleagues to follow that path.”
Tomorrow is full of possibilities, and they’re ours to engineer. – Ready to make an impact? Engineer your future with Trane Technologies.
See how we’re making sustainability scalable. – Read our latest Sustainability Report.
