First hydrogen-powered gas turbine tested

A European consortium has successfully tested the first gas turbine powered entirely by hydrogen, opening the way to cutting CO2 emissions in energy-intensive industries such as cement production.

The consortium includes French energy company Engie, the German Aerospace Center, German energy company Siemens Energy, British company Centrax and many universities in Europe.

Hydrogen is considered a potential alternative to fossil fuels. (Illustration photo).

The project, called Hyflexpower , funded by the European Union (EU), was tested at the Smurfit Kappa paper packaging plant near the French city of Limoges.

The experiment used a Siemens Energy SGT-400 gas turbine with a combustion system adapted to hydrogen fuel, according to Engie Vice President Frank Lacroix. The sponsors said the experiment showed that hydrogen has the potential to rapidly decarbonize energy-intensive industrial sites, such as cement, steel, oil refineries and any sector where decarbonization is complex.

The head of the Hyflexpower project at Engie Group, Mr. Gael Carayon, said this is the first project in the world to operate a turbine using 100% hydrogen fuel to produce electricity, bringing long-term benefits when being able to convert existing turbines into clean energy turbines.

However, Mr Lacroix said hydrogen has the property of generating heat 'faster' and 'hotter' , requiring manufacturers to pay attention to safety standards. He said the next step would be to move beyond electricity production to heat production, which could benefit the aviation and shipping sectors.

Hydrogen is considered a potential alternative to fossil fuels , the main cause of greenhouse gas emissions that cause global warming. Hydrogen is produced through the electrolysis of water and is only considered "green" hydrogen if it uses electricity produced from renewable energy. The development of this fuel source is facing many technical challenges, high costs and infrastructure shortages. Experts also debate the ability of hydrogen to reduce greenhouse gas emissions because this issue depends on the production method.