In Germany, 2G Energy AG, a leading manufacturer of gas-driven combined heat and power (CHP) systems, has been selected as the winner of the most innovative project of the energy revolution in the "Industry" category at the renowned Handelsblatt Energy Awards 2018/2019. 2G Energy submitted a CHP plant system that the company had developed itself and which is operated with pure hydrogen.
The jury at the renowned Handelsblatt Energy Awards selected the 2G Energy hydrogen combined heat and power (CHP) project is the winner in the “Industry” category. Presented during a gala in Berlin, Germany on January 23, 2019, the Energy Awards have been held since 2013. This year the Awards formed part of the Energy Summit organized by the national business daily Handelsblatt that attracted over 1 200 participants from business, politics and the media.
The award from the high-caliber jury consequently underscores the pioneering role 2G Energy plays in the energy revolution, including its in-house development of a purely hydrogen-powered CHP plant.
We think that hydrogen is an important storage medium for the time-delayed use of electricity generated from renewable sources. 2Gs CHP plants can convert the renewably produced hydrogen back into heat and electricity in a highly efficient, economically attractive and technically robust wayHan, said Christian Grotholt, CEO of 2G Energy AG.
Adapted standard natural gas CHP
Technically, 2G Energy’s research and development team has succeeded in adapting a standard natural gas CHP so that hydrogen (H2) is harnessed not only to generate electricity and heat on a comparably economically viable basis but also to operate highly efficiently while generating almost no carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions.
Its engine efficiency is higher than that of natural gas-driven CHPs thanks to rapid hydrogen combustion. The Münsterland based company has brought its hydrogen CHPs to the production stage within a short timeframe thanks to deploying standard components and already offers H2 CHPs in the 80 kWe to 280 kWe power performance range at prices comparable to those for natural gas-powered plants.
According to the company, running costs are also comparable thanks to the utilization of standard gas engines, which means that the usual maintenance intervals for CHP units and a lifecycle of 60 000 operating hours also apply to the hydrogen CHP units.
In addition, the CHPs are integrated into the existing close-meshed service infrastructure and 2G’s digital monitoring and control capabilities, which enhances availability and cost-effectiveness for operators. The systems are fully deployable in virtual power plants (networked large-area power plants).
Manages gas variability
The application areas of 2G Energy hydrogen technology for industry, trade and energy suppliers span a broad range of gas types: they can be utilized with other high hydrogen content gases such as those in chemical industry waste products, or with variable gas mixtures such as sewage gas from wastewater treatment plants (WWTP), landfill gas (LFG) and biogas.
By contrast with fuel cells, the combustion engine is insensitive to pollutants in gases. This makes the hydrogen CHP technology that 2G Energy has developed a tried and tested alternative to fuel cell technology, which, according to the current status of knowledge the company says is not available for such purposes.
By using long-term storage in existing natural gas networks and storage facilities, 2G’s hydrogen CHP technology provides electricity generated from wind and solar power plants with the requisite flexibility and baseload capacity to ensure supply security.
In addition, both the generation of hydrogen as well as conversion into electricity and heat generation are virtually free of CO2 emissions. In Haßfurt, Stadtwerk Haßfurt is deploying a 2G Energy hydrogen CHP in a groundbreaking project for renewable regional energy supplies: the electrolyzer for hydrogen production is operated with electricity from a local wind farm.
Renewable electricity, a hydrogen storage facility, and a 2G Energy H2 CHP form a decentralized and flexible basis for the secure supply of electricity and heat to regional consumers.
