A 25 vol% hydrogen-blended fuel powered by a Wärtsilä engine has been tested by Wärtsilä and WEC Energy Group.
The tests, which were finished in October 2022, were carried out using a stock Wärtsilä 50SG engine at the 55 MW A.J. Mihm power plant owned by WEC Energy Group in Michigan, USA. The Wärtsilä engine continued to power the grid throughout the testing period. This represents a world-first accomplishment as it is the largest commercially operating flexible balancing engine to ever run on a hydrogen fuel blend.
In addition to taking part in the tests, the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) was in charge of evaluating the engine’s performance. EPRI’s investigation in a recently published paper supported the viability of using hydrogen (H2) in place of natural gas in an existing Wärtsilä engine. The demonstration’s outcomes also demonstrated that hydrogen can be handled and used in engine technology in a trustworthy and safe manner.
The ability of the engine to co-fire hydrogen blends was successfully shown over the course of three days of continuous testing, providing observable increases in engine efficiency and decreased greenhouse gas emissions while maintaining NOx emission compliance. The 25 vol% H2 blend resulted in a 95% engine load. This demonstrates the Wärtsilä engines’ fuel adaptability without sacrificing efficiency. Further testing revealed that a 100% engine load was possible with a 17 vol% H2 blend.
According to the EPRI analysis, this class of engines can thereby continue to operate at a better efficiency than simple-cycle petrol turbines. Due to their better overall efficiency, engines often produce less CO2 than turbines, as was the case in this study.
Opportunities exist to create hydrogen for long-term energy storage from excess renewable energy as utilities increase their use of renewable energy resources like wind and solar. Hydrogen burns as a fuel without releasing any carbon species, including CO2. According to industry announcements, the ability to produce hydrogen electrolysers could reach 60 GW/yr by 2030, up from the current level of about 8 GW/yr.
Hydrogen, among other sustainable fuels, will be essential to achieving net zero emissions and is anticipated to provide 20% of the overall CO2 reduction required in 2050.
[2] Nevertheless, the deployment of pure hydrogen as a reliable power source is not supported by the current global energy infrastructure. Therefore, it is essential to make significant investments in market-ready engines that can run on sustainable fuels to aid in the transition to net-zero. By cutting-edge research and testing of fuel-flexible engines, Wärtsilä is leading the way in the use of hydrogen as a viable fuel.
