Rolls-Royce launches mtu hydrogen solutions for power generation

Image courtesy Rolls Royce.

Rolls-Royce is further developing its mtu gas engine portfolio for power generation and cogeneration to run on hydrogen as a fuel. 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, operation with a hydrogen content of 25 percent will be possible.

“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% hydrogen,” said Perry Kuiper, President Sustainable Power Solutions at Rolls-Royce Power Systems.

“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,” explains Andreas Görtz, Vice President Power Generation at Rolls-Royce Power Systems.

In addition, fuel cells powered by 100% 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-kilowatt fuel cell demonstrator, which will be used to test and present future 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.