Siemens Vitality is teaming with UK energy big SSE to develop a combustion system that can permit its flagship SGT5-9000HL fuel turbine to run 100% on hydrogen whereas sustaining the flexibleness to function with pure fuel and blends of the 2.
The 2 firms on Dec. 9 launched “Mission H2 Energy,” a challenge that can assist the decarbonization of SSE’s 849.45-MW Keadby 2 Energy Station in North Lincolnshire, which started operations in March 2023. The facility plant, whose effectivity of 64.18% was verified by the GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS in Could 2024, holds the title for probably the most highly effective mixed cycle energy plant and probably the most environment friendly mixed cycle energy plant.
The “multi-million-pound co-investment” below Mission H2 Energy introduced on Monday responds to a number of pressing and well timed components. Whereas the UK is dedicated to reaching internet zero by 2050 and decarbonizing its energy sector by 2030, it acknowledges that it’s going to want dispatchable low-carbon energy because it makes the transition. In March, the UK dedicated to supporting the constructing of recent fuel energy stations, together with unabated fuel technology a minimum of into the 2030s, as a “backup to make sure vitality safety and scale back prices has been acknowledged by the Local weather Change Committee.”
In line with the Nationwide Vitality System Operator (NESO)—a authorities group that formally launched on Oct. 1 to offer an impartial and holistic method to the UK’s challenges—all present net-zero pathways point out a job for pure fuel in business and energy technology, together with via the adoption of carbon seize and storage (CCS) or a shift to hydrogen.
Final yr, nevertheless, the Division for Vitality Safety and Internet Zero (DESNZ) instructed the shift to hydrogen was turning into extra pertinent, citing stakeholders that mentioned hydrogen-to-power (H2P) might reply extra flexibly than energy CCS. “Some stakeholders additionally see a job for H2P in offering zero carbon baseload technology. Finally, the long run function for hydrogen will depend on numerous components, together with however not restricted to the long run technology combine and the quantity of renewable, extent of [demand-side response], and deployment of storage and interconnection within the electrical energy system,” its report famous.
NESO’s November 2024–launched Clear Energy 2030, in the meantime, envisions that fuel energy’s share might fall from about 33% in 2023 to lower than 5% in 2030 if demand flexibility ramps up, although it suggests round “35 GW of unabated fuel (broadly according to the dimensions of the prevailing fleet) might want to stay on standby for safety of provide.”
In the meantime, it suggests as much as 2.7 GW of hydrogen to energy and fuel CCS could possibly be feasibly constructed within the nation by 2030, though these sources might present simply 0% to three% of its 2030 provide. For now, “Giant-scale hydrogen storage seems unlikely earlier than 2030, and relative prices for hydrogen and fuel with CCS are unsure,” the report notes. “Contracting preparations ought to be developed with the expectation that these vegetation function flexibly, moderately than working repeatedly. Extra might be wanted past 2030 and might be advantageous if delivered earlier, doubtlessly enabling a decrease value 2030 system that takes stress off different supply challenges,” it says.
A Future-Trying Funding
In line with SSE, funding in Mission H2 Energy underlines the facility firm’s “dedication to transition away from the usage of unabated fossil fuels in electrical energy technology and speed up hydrogen initiatives which might assist the supply of a clear energy system by 2030 alongside the broader decarbonization of business.”
“It isn’t sufficient for builders to easily discuss an ambition to transition from fuel to hydrogen—delivering a clear energy system requires daring motion which is why we’re getting into into this collaboration with Siemens Vitality, a long-standing accomplice of SSE,” mentioned Finlay McCutcheon, SSE Thermal managing director. “We all know hydrogen-fired energy stations might be a necessary factor of the vitality combine in a internet zero world and Mission H2 Energy will assist us speed up their deployment via engineering excellence.”
McCutcheon famous SSE is already closely invested in hydrogen initiatives throughout the worth chain, together with each blue and inexperienced hydrogen manufacturing, and large-scale hydrogen storage. “Our initiatives might be pivotal in offering versatile backup to renewables and whereas we nonetheless must see a fast acceleration in coverage and deployment, the necessity for this know-how is past query—it’s a matter of when not if and this partnership might help us attain that vacation spot as quickly as potential,” he mentioned.
As a part of its hydrogen-to-power portfolio, SSE is notably growing the Keadby Subsequent Era Energy Station with accomplice Equinor within the neighborhood of the Keadby Energy Station in North Lincolnshire—a web site that at present hosts the 1996-built 732-MW Keadby 1 and the highly-flexible 849.45-MW Keadby 2 CCGT challenge. The Keadby Subsequent Era Energy Station is anticipated to comprise “one excessive CCGT unit and related infrastructure,” however it is going to be designed from the outset to run 100% on hydrogen, pure fuel, or blends.
In tandem, SSE growing the 913-MW Keadby 3 CCS Energy Station on the web site, a gas-fired plant that might be geared up with CCS. “By acquiring consents for each low carbon CCGT know-how choices (i.e. CCS-enabled within the type of Keadby 3 and hydrogen-fired within the type of [the Keadby Next Generation Power Station] on the positioning, SSE can proceed to assist the UK’s safety of provide in accordance with authorities coverage, and be able to develop a low carbon CCGT as quickly as a business choice will be made primarily based on market certainty across the availability of both a CO2 pipeline or a hydrogen provide,” the corporate mentioned in a current submitting.
SSE mentioned the Keadby web site’s location throughout the East Coast Cluster—a collaboration between Zero Carbon Humber, Internet Zero Teesside, and the Northern Endurance Partnership—provides to Mission H2 Energy’s strategic significance. The East Coast Cluster (ECC) in Northeast England, a major UK initiative aimed toward decarbonizing the UK’s Humber and Teesside industrial areas, is anticipated to start out development in mid-2025. Earlier this week, notably, the Northern Endurance Partnership (NEP) and Internet Zero Teesside Energy (NZT Energy) introduced monetary shut for 2 main CCS initiatives at Teeside, together with for NZT Energy, an 860-MW gas-fired built-in challenge (that includes a GE Vernova fuel turbine) that would turn into one of many world’s first commercial-scale gas-fired energy stations geared up with carbon seize when it begins operation in 2027.
A Main Enhance to Siemens Vitality’s 100% Hydrogen Fuel Energy Technique
For Siemens Vitality, the prospect of showcasing an efficient combustion know-how that may flexibly function on 100% hydrogen for its flagship SGT5-9000HL fuel turbine marks a serious increase.
As Siemens Vitality consultants have advised POWER, the corporate started the event of the 9000HL—its largest, strongest, and most effective heavy-duty fuel turbine mannequin—round eight years in the past, with the objective of making a high-performance engine to compete within the J-class market. However, moderately than taking a revolutionary method, the corporate leveraged its in depth expertise, drawing on hundreds of thousands of working hours with confirmed H-class and E-class engine architectures. The evolutionary step sought to reinforce efficiency and effectivity in comparison with Siemens Vitality’s earlier 8000H mannequin.
A key a part of the 9000HL’s improvement has concerned a rigorous testing and validation course of. Siemens Vitality has utilized a devoted rig testing facility exterior of Berlin to completely consider the combustion system, pushing it past the anticipated working vary to make sure reliability. The upfront testing helped the corporate ship a sequence of notable “firsts” in fast succession, consultants famous.
In April 2020, the corporate marked first hearth of a 60-Hz SGT6-9000HL fuel turbine at Duke Vitality’s Lincoln Combustion Turbine Station in North Carolina. The 411-MW SGT6-9000HL, put in in April 2020 on the greenfield simple-cycle fuel energy plant, continues validation testing as Duke Vitality makes use of the ability for peaking energy wants. In August 2022, notably, the Duke Vitality challenge acquired two Guinness World Data for the best energy output of a simple-cycle unit and the best ramp charge—greater than 100 MW/minute.
Keadby 2’s 593-MW SGT5-9000HL, its first 50-Hz 9000HL, marked first hearth simply weeks later, in Could 2020. “Serial quantity two” for the 60-Hz 9000HL started business operation in March 2023 (weeks after Keadby 2 marked completion) at Cooperative Vitality’s R.D. Morrow Sr. Producing Station in Mississippi. That challenge marked the primary baseload deployment of 9000HL know-how and its deployment at a brownfield web site. (The Morrow challenge received POWER’s prestigious Reinvention Award in 2024 for its repowering significance and Cooperative’s in-house execution of the advanced challenge.)
Siemens Vitality, which rolled out a roadmap to ship 100% hydrogen-capable fuel generators in 2020, has additionally marked a succession of developmental milestones. In 2023, it celebrated the profitable take a look at of an SGT-400, an industrial fuel turbine powered by 100% inexperienced hydrogen, as a part of the HYFLEXPOWER mixed warmth and energy (CHP) challenge in France. Siemens Vitality provided the electrolyzer for the challenge and developed the dry low emissions (DLE) combustion know-how for the SGT400 fuel turbine. Final yr, it additionally efficiently carried out a mixing take a look at at Constellation’s 753-MW Hillabee Producing Station in Alabama that confirmed the plant’s Siemens Vitality’s SGT6-6000G heavy-duty fuel turbine might safely function on a mix of 38% hydrogen, marking a document.
The newest SGT5/6-9000HL fuel generators incorporate the Superior Combustion for Effectivity (ACE) system, which allow them to realize combustion of as much as 50% hydrogen by quantity, Siemens Vitality has famous. The superior can-annular combustion system notably options 25 premix burners, which enhance gas and oxygen mixing, whereas additionally enabling fuel turbine turn-down to 30% minimal environmental load.
By 2030, giant fuel turbine DLE methods are focused to be able to working on 100% hydrogen. The corporate has famous it might make use of a number of key know-how enablers to get the advanced methods to 100%, together with excessive constancy computational fluid dynamics, which allows a clearer image of the flame construction, additive manufacturing, to incorporate new supplies for superior premixed combustion swirlers, and high-pressure combustion testing.
The Mission H2 Energy collaboration, notably, will see “further services constructed at Siemens Vitality’s Clear Vitality Centre in Berlin to permit testing of the know-how for big fuel generators to happen,” SSE mentioned on Monday.
“We’re delighted to be constructing on our current partnership with SSE and growing plans to assist kickstart the zero-carbon hydrogen financial system,” mentioned Darren Davidson, Vice President of Siemens Vitality UK&I. “The UK Authorities desires to ship clear energy by 2030, and hydrogen will be an necessary a part of that vitality combine. We lately welcomed UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer to our Siemens Vitality web site in Berlin. This partnership is a superb instance of how we will share data and work collectively to ship on vitality safety,” he mentioned.
Davidson harassed the strategic benefit of collaboration with business. “We live in a transformative time for the vitality sector,” he mentioned. “This new collaboration is a major step in reaching the purpose the place giant fuel generators can run on 100% hydrogen.”
—Sonal Patel is a POWER senior editor (@sonalcpatel, @POWERmagazine).
