Interview with Claus Nonninger about won project at Frankfurt Airport

You won a contract for 38 ionair systems at Frankfurt Airport (FRA) – how did you do it?

Well, as far back as 2011, Frankfurt Airport had a reference ionair® facility installed. The efficacy in regard to improving the quality of the ambient air was subsequently tested by Hessen Technical Inspection Authority (TÜV), with impressive results. This was the starting point for the decision to deploy ionization technology on a larger scale.

The first enquiry for the new Terminal 3 reached us in 2017 – the final order followed seven years later.

What, specifically, was installed?

In total, we supplied 38 ionair systems. The smallest facility processes 700 m³ of air per hour, while the largest one processes over 56,000 m³ per hour. Overall, our systems treat more than 710,000 m³ of incoming air per hour.

What challenges had to be mastered?
The building site at Frankfurt Airport is one of the largest in Europe. Terminal 3 has been designed for up to 25 million passengers annually, with a total area of over 400,000 m² on various levels.

Over 2,500 people work on the construction site daily – and, as an estimate, around 2,400 of them speak hardly any German. However, that was never a real problem: They are all in the same boat, and help one another out wherever necessary. One of the greatest challenges was actually the freight elevators. Sometimes we had to wait for four to five journeys before there was any space available to also travel in the lift.

How do you envisage the project will proceed from here?

Since the summer of 2025, the ionization systems have been fully installed. As the ventilation systems are, however, not yet in operation, it has not yet been possible to carry out the programming and commissioning.
With the impending pilot operation of the terminal, we will once again be involved and will put the systems into operation.

What experience have you gained from the project?

ionair Deutschland GmbH is currently celebrating its five-year anniversary – in fact, it could be said that we are still in the development phase.
Indeed, this project was the first one for us on this scale. We were, in the process, able to benefit greatly from the expertise and support provided by our Swiss parent company. The collaboration with the partners involved on-site was extremely professional and empowering as well.
A significant insight, however, was that our original time schedule was too ambitious. For future projects of this nature, we will plan in greater time buffers, in order to be better able to respond to any unexpected developments, as based on our experience, these arise time and time again.

About the person:

Claus Nonninger is a leader and specialist who has acquired extensive experience from a variety of different roles. He was appointed CEO of Ionair Deutschland with effect from July 1, 2020. In this position, he is responsible for the expansion and marketing of the «ionair» brand in Germany. «ionair» provides odorless, hygienic, and comfortable indoor air. Claus Nonninger is a graduate engineer in Mechanical Engineering (University of Applied Sciences), and for more than 20 years he has specialized in market launches of new products and technologies, the development of marketing hierarchies, and the expansion of partner and reseller networks. Prior to joining Ionair, Claus was exclusively involved with small and medium-scale enterprises led by entrepreneurs.