The world's first gas turbine that runs entirely on hydrogen

Gas turbines are used in airplanes, trains, ships, generators, pumps, compressors and many other places. They can run on a variety of fuels, but about 90% are running on natural gas - a fossil fuel that produces CO2 when burned, and rises into the atmosphere when lifted from the ground and creates effects. greenhouse 80 times worse than CO2 in 20 years.

Professor Mohsen Assadi (left), engineer Bjarte Hetlelid (centre) and Dr Reyhaneh Banihabib (right) with the world's first gas turbine running entirely on hydrogen.

In the race to zero emissions by 2050, people need to change or eliminate gas turbines. Several companies, including General Electric (GE), are looking to transition to burning green hydrogen as a clean fuel source. GE has more than 100 turbines that run on at least 5% hydrogen fuel by volume, and is aiming for 100%.

Researchers at Stavanger University, Norway, claim they have been creating a 100 percent hydrogen gas turbine since mid-May of this year, New Atlas on June 10 reported.

Stavanger University operates its own small gas power plant, and the plant's gas turbines generate both heat and electricity. The plant also supplies hot water to heat laboratories in the surrounding area. Excess electricity will be routed to electricity supplier Lyse's local heat and power grid. All energy is used efficiently.

"We have set a world record for the combustion of hydrogen in a micro gas turbine. No one has been able to produce this level before," said Professor Mohsen Assadi, who led the research team. He and Dr. Reyhaneh Banihabib, engineers Magnus Wersland and Bjarte Hetlelid from NORCE research institute operated the plant. They demonstrate that hydrogen can be used in existing natural gas infrastructures.

"The efficiency when running a gas turbine with hydrogen will be a bit less. However, the big benefit is taking advantage of the existing infrastructure. Also, this way of energy production does not emit CO2," Assadi said.

The new research focuses not only on tuning the combustion chamber for hydrogen, but also on adapting the old fuel system and natural gas infrastructure to handle this very different gas. The team is taking a closer look at the plant's limitations and looking for ways to increase capacity to generate as much clean energy as possible.

Such projects will provide an efficient conversion solution that will both help maintain old turbine equipment and convert to zero-emission fuels. However, for them to become economically viable, the price of green hydrogen needs to fall sharply and a carbon tax needs to be imposed on cheaper fossil fuel methods.