In Germany, Rolls-Royce Power Systems AG, a subsidiary of Rolls-Royce Holdings plc technology group based in Friedrichshafen and 2G Energy AG, an internationally leading manufacturer of gas-driven combined heat and power (CHP) systems for decentralized energy supply, have recently signed a cooperation agreement for the mutual purchase of gas generators for CHP plants.
According to a statement, Rolls-Royce Power Systems will be supplied by 2G Energy gas generators and CHP modules in the 250 to 550 kW power range, both including and excluding heat extraction. Equipped with its own controls and other specific components, Rolls-Royce will market them under its MTU product and solution brand.
In return, 2G Energy will purchase MTU Series 4000 gas generators from Rolls-Royce with an electrical output range of 776 to 2 535 kW for its CHPs for the decentralized generation of electricity and heat.
Christian Grotholt, CEO of 2G Energy AG, sees the partnership as the fruit of many years of development work at 2G aimed at combining high efficiencies with low lifecycle costs in engine development.
The combination of environmentally compatible energy conversion, high availability and low service costs enables plant operators to run CHP plants on a sustainably profitable basis. This is the guiding principle for our CHP solutions, which are designed to meet rising operational flexibility requirements. We see these CHPs with gas engine technology for natural gas, biogas or hydrogen as a backbone technology for the economic implementation of the energy revolution, said Christian Grotholt.
Grotholt expects the partnership with Rolls-Royce to further strengthen 2G Energy’s market position in the electrical power range from 50 to 550 kW, which should lead to further progress in delivering customer benefit.
We will further pursue the expansion of our technological leadership through continuous research & development work beyond gas engine technology to include software development and the digitalization of plants and processes, Groholt said.
Within the foreseeable future, the 2G Energy products will replace Rolls-Royce’s low-power cogeneration units, which were previously based on the proven MTU Series 400 gas engine.
The strategic partnership with 2G complements our product range with energy-efficient and environmentally compatible CHPs and represents a further strategic step towards becoming a solution provider, commented Dr Petar Pelemis, Vice President Corporate Strategy & Product Management of Rolls-Royce’s Power Systems division.
A reciprocal service agreement is associated with the procurement partnership, whereby the service organizations receive the rights to the comprehensive servicing of the respective other manufacturer’s products. This ensures optimum service for all engines integrated into the systems of both cooperation partners.
Rolls-Royce CHP’s, based on gas generators in the output range of currently 220 to 11,800 kW, are ideally suited as components of microgrids, i.e. self-sufficient power grids that combine renewable energy sources with battery storage and, for example, gas-powered generators. Thanks to intelligent controls, they optimally harness the energy sources available in the microgrid, thereby avoiding climate-damaging CO2, noted Andreas Görtz, Vice President for Decentralized Energy Systems at Rolls-Royce.
If the gas engines are powered by biogas or synthetic fuel produced with electricity generated from renewable sources, these combined heat and power plants, either on their own or as part of microgrids, make important contributions to environmentally compatible energy supply.
The fact that 2G has decided to rely on MTU gas generators with our successful Series 4000 in the upper power range furnishes further proof of our outstanding technological position and will further strengthen our position in the gas generator market, ended Andreas Görtz.
