Rolls-Royce has said it will launch versions of its gas engines that will run on 100% hydrogen in 2023, along with conversion kits for existing engines.
The company referred to its ‘mtu’ gas engine portfolio, sized between 128kWe and 2.5MWe and used for power generation and cogeneration.
It said gensets powered by mtu Series 500 and Series 4000 gas engines can already be operated with a gas blending of 10% hydrogen and from 2022, operation with a hydrogen content of 25% will be possible.
“After intensive tests on test benches and pilot installations at customers in 2022, Rolls-Royce will continuously market newmtu Series 500 and Series 4000 gas engines beginning in 2023 for use with up to 100% hydrogen, and on a design to order basis conversion kits to allow already installed gas engines in the field to run on 100% hydrogen,” said Perry Kuiper, president sustainable power solutions at Rolls-Royce Power Systems.
“The decarbonisation 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% admixture or for 100%,” said Andreas Görtz, vice president power generation at Rolls-Royce Power Systems.
The company is also investigating hydrogen-fuelled fuel cells and has installed a 250kW demonstrator at its Friedrichshafen headquarters. The company said “The entire hydrogen ecosystem, including the infrastructure for supply, conversion, test benches and future production, is also being mapped” in its plants.