RWE announced that it would add at least 2 gigatonnes (GW) of gas-fired power plant capacity to support the energy transition with flexible power as part of its “Growing Green” strategy. These new plants will be given a clear decarbonization path. RWE is developing a roadmap to prepare existing plants for clean operations.
The next step is for RWE Generation SE (RWE) to build a hydrogen-powered gas turbine in Lingen, Germany, in collaboration with Kawasaki Heavy Industries (Kawasaki), one of the world’s leading turbine manufacturers. It will be used to test the hydrogen-to-electricity conversion process at RWE’s Emsland gas-fired power plant. The project is one of the first in the world to use a gas turbine to convert 100% hydrogen into electricity on a large scale. The plant, which has a capacity of 34 megawatts (MW), could be operational by mid-2024.
The Kawasaki gas turbine offers maximum fuel flexibility: it can run on 100 percent hydrogen, 100 percent natural gas, or any combination of the two. This is necessary because the amount of green gas available for reconversion will fluctuate frequently during the hydrogen economy’s ramp-up period before continuous operation with it is possible.
During the pilot project, the turbine will be tested at various operating load ranges ranging from 30% to 100%. This corresponds to typical gas turbine load curves that can be expected in a power grid with a growing share of renewable energies, which are subject to fluctuations due to weather conditions.
It is planned to use two Kawasaki combustion systems during the course of the project. Both have already been put through their paces in 1 MW variants in a demonstration project in Kobe, Japan. These technological principles would be scaled up to industrial scale for the first time in Lingen.
When it comes to the future of hydrogen, RWE has everything under one roof: from green electricity production and the know-how to produce and store green hydrogen to energy trading, which can provide the fuel to industrial customers as needed. RWE is already involved in over 30 hydrogen projects in collaboration with strong partners.
The Lingen site is critical to RWE’s hydrogen strategy: as part of the GET H2 project, the company plans to construct the first 100 MW electrolysis plant there by 2024, which will produce green hydrogen using North Sea offshore wind power. This plant’s capacity will be increased to 300 MW by 2026 and to 2 GW by 2030. The GET H2 project’s goal is to collaborate with national and European partners to build the critical mass required to kick-start the development of a supra-regional European hydrogen infrastructure and a strong European hydrogen market.
