Germany-headed Rolls-Royce Power Systems AG, part of UK-headed Rolls-Royce Holdings plc, is further developing its mtu gas engine portfolio for power generation and cogeneration to run on hydrogen as a fuel and thus enable a climate-neutral energy supply. Already today, gensets powered by mtu Series 500 and Series 4000 gas engines can be operated with a gas blending of 10 percent hydrogen. Beginning in 2022, operations with a hydrogen content of 25 percent will be possible.
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After intensive tests on test benches and pilot installations at customers in 2022, Rolls-Royce will continuously market new mtu Series 500 and Series 4000 gas engines beginning in 2023 for use with up to 100 percent hydrogen, and on a design to order basis conversion kits to allow already installed gas engines in the field to run on 100 percent hydrogen, said Perry Kuiper, President Sustainable Power Solutions at Rolls-Royce Power Systems.
Building hydrogen ecosystem capacity
In addition, fuel cells powered by 100 percent green hydrogen can play an important role in future energy supply in combination with renewable energies. At its Friedrichshafen headquarters, Rolls-Royce’s Power Systems division has installed a 250 kW fuel cell demonstrator, which will be used to test and present future carbon dioxide (CO2) free energy systems to customers.
The entire hydrogen ecosystem, including the infrastructure for supply, conversion, test benches, and future production, is also being mapped in the company’s own plants, thus building up expertise.
With its climate protection program “Net Zero at Power Systems”, Rolls-Royce’s Power Systems division has set itself the target of saving 35 percent of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2030 compared to 2019 using new technologies.
This near-term target plays an important role in the Rolls-Royce Group’s ambition to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 at the latest. In addition to new technologies, a key element in achieving these targets is the certification of mtu engine products to run on sustainable EN 15940 fuels such as e-diesel and second-generation biofuels as early as 2023.
The decarbonization of power generation requires reliable, flexible, but also climate-neutral, power plants to supplement the fluctuating generation from wind and sun. We assume that natural gas will initially be the primary fuel in the development of the hydrogen ecosystem, but we see hydrogen as technically and economically possible. That is why we continue to develop our gas engines for use with green hydrogen – whether as a 10 or 25 percent admixture or for 100 percent, eneded Andreas Görtz, VP Power Generation at Rolls-Royce Power Systems.
