MHPS successfully tests Gas Turbine fueled by 30% hydrogen fuel mix

Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems has successfully passes a firing test using a 30% hydrogen fuel mix currently developing a large scale gas turbine for use in power generation. The test results confirmed that by using MHPS’s proprietary burner, which was newly developed to burn hydrogen, stable combustion can be attained even when hydrogen is mixed with natural gas. 10% reduction in Co2 emissions was attained compared to natural-gas-fired power generation.

The hydrogen-mixed firing test was carried out at MHPS’s Takasago works, using actual-pressure combustion testing facilities, as part of a project of Japan’s New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO) aimed at developing technologies for realizing a “hydrogen society.”

The firing test conditions called for a turbine inlet temperature of 1,600℃, equivalent to 700 megawatts (MW) of output, using the premix combustion of the natural-gas-fired J-Series gas turbines, which provides power generation efficiency above 63%.

Efforts are underway under the Ministry of Economy,Trade and Industry and the Cabinet Office  to develop hydrogen as one of the nation’s core energies. Research and development of gas turbines fueled by hydrogen currently focuses on small and medium-size gas turbines for small-scale thermal power plants suited to distributed power generation or area cogeneration.

Image Source: MHPS