changes What’s driving the process industry

3 questions for Michael Kaiser

Michael Kaiser heads Endress+Hauser’s flow management systems business. In the interview he talks about the precision and reliability of Coriolis technology, the shift towards digitalization, and the future of transparent bunkering processes. 

Text: Christine Böhringer
Michael Kaiser, an information systems engineer, heads Endress+Hauser’s flow management systems business.

The first LNG bunkering systems from Endress+Hauser are being used in Singapore. Is that a coincidence?

No. Singapore is already the world’s largest bunkering port and aspires to leadership in LNG bunkering as well. Moreover, its regulators are committed to quality and reliability because of the colossal sums of money involved. That’s why, in 2017, Singapore became the first jurisdiction in the world to mandate the use of high-precision Coriolis technology in heavy fuel oil bunkering. Our Coriolis metering solution subsequently became one of two such systems certified for this new custody transfer process. Today we lead the market and have amassed a great deal of bunkering experience.

What difference has the introduction of this flow metering solution made?

Previously, measurement was mostly manual, with methods like tank gauging tapes used to read fill levels. That made measurement processes imprecise and error-prone. And unlike our systems, those processes couldn’t detect whether volumetric readings were artificially inflated by entrained air. More ports are now mandating the use of Coriolis technology for bunkering. In custody transfer operations, we’re noticing a general push for greater transparency – not least in terms of measurement quality.

What other trends do you see on the horizon?

Concerning transparency, digitalization is another growth area. In Singapore, for example, cloud availability of bunkering data is set to become mandatory. By integrating cloud-based measurement data, digitalization will give customers greater insights into the bunkering process and hence new optimization scope, for example in terms of energy efficiency.

Published 08.01.2025, last updated 20.01.2025.