For the first time ever, a gas turbine that runs solely on renewable hydrogen was tested by a European group led by Siemens Energy and ENGIE. This milestone, which falls under the HYFLEXPOWER project funded by the EU, aims at showing the potential of hydrogen as a green and accessible energy carrier for electricity and heat generation as well as presenting alternative means of reducing carbon emissions in hard to abate sectors.
HYFLEXPOWER project reaches another milestone as tests of the 100% hydrogen turbine are carried out in France
Testing of the HYFLEXPOWER initiative is taking place at Smurfit Kappa’s paper packaging facility in Saillat-sur-Vienne, France. The site is equipped with a Siemens Energy SGT-400 industrial gas turbine. This turbine has been adapted to work on hydrogen fuel. One of the main milestones of the project has been the completion of a transition from 30% hydrogen blend to 100% hydrogen operation of the turbine.
This development not only proves the potential of hydrogen but also confirms that existing gas-fired plants can be converted to hydrogen-based technologies. This very progressive and ingenious method brings several applied technologies like electrolysis, hydrogen storage, and conversion in one place.
The main advantage of this integration is that it enables the productive and effective use of renewable hydrogen, which has set the benchmark for future industrial decarbonisation projects. This imposition on the use of hydrogen is believed by Siemens Energy to be the economical turning of a clean, previously rejected region of energy into practical industrial applications.
Siemens energy achieves historic milestone of running comprised of 100% pure hydrogen gas turbine
Utilizing a turbine with green hydrogen is a challenge by no means a minor one. The characteristics of hydrogen, its speed of combustion and flame temperatures, though, pose serious problems in terms of material resistance and safety.
The project team managed to turn these challenges into opportunities by implementing new low-emission dry combustion technology and safety measures in the operation. Moreover, the hydrogen production capacity required the deployment of a 1MW electrolyzer and storage in almost a ton’s worth of tank.
This is an important step in technology development because it helps to overcome the challenges experienced when using hydrogen in production processes, especially in energy-intensive industries such as the pulp and paper industry, cement industry, and steel industry.
This project demonstrates that the current infrastructure can be repurposed for hydrogen use, thus providing opportunities for industries that wish to decrease their carbon emissions during operation while maintaining the same level of productivity.
HYFLEXPOWER project expands to address enhancing total decarbonization of industries by establishing emission-free heating systems
The triumph of the HYFLEXPOWER project is merely the first step within the reaching of the intended goals. The consortium intends to escalate the level of the technology, which means that electricity would not be the only product manufactured, but also industrial heating.
Many sectors of the industry still struggle with emission-free heating and heat generation technology appears to solve this challenge. The potential to utilize hydrogen for both electricity and heat generation from renewable energy sources such as wind and solar energy is revolutionary in the way industries will adapt to green energy.
In accordance with the advancement of the project, the consortium plans to increase the parameters of the technology and survey the opportunities for its commercialization. This project also has potential to help achieve climate objectives because it utilizes clean hydrogen at any industrial facility. Additionally, it is well in line with the European Commission’s overall aim of facilitating the shift to clean energy and helping industries achieve net-zero.
The HYFLEXPOWER initiative represents a great leap forward in the use of renewable hydrogen in industrial processes. This improvement illustrates the capability of hydrogen ‘to change’ the sectors which are difficult to decarbonize. It plans to implement and commercialize it on a larger scale, thus offering a more sustainable future for industries not only in Europe, but all over the world.
