Page 16 - Energize July 2021

NEWS

PIONEERING TEST PROGRAMME FOR PURE HYDROGEN ENGINES

he technology group Wärtsilä has renewable energy. Being able to modify the engines in the future to utilise carbon neutral
begun testing its thermal balancing fuels, such as green hydrogen and green hydrogen-based fuels, means that utilities can
Tengines using pure hydrogen and invest confidently now to enable the 100% renewable system required by the middle of
expects to have an engine and power this century, without risking stranded assets.
plant concept capable of running on 100% Håkan Agnevall, CEO Wärtsilä, said: “This is a milestone moment in the worldwide
hydrogen by 2025, enabling the transition energy transition. Global societies will have to invest billions into the infrastructure
to decarbonised energy systems around needed to develop green hydrogen, but that investment is reliant upon having market-
the world. ready engines which can run on the fuel once it is readily available. Our modelling shows
Green hydrogen is forecast to deliver that a significant amount of thermal balancing is required by the middle of this century
13% of global energy demand by 2070 , to achieve the transition to 100% renewable energy. By developing engines today which
1
but at present there are no commercially can run on hydrogen tomorrow, we are future-proofing energy systems to become 100%
available engines which can effectively use renewable by 2050.”
the fuel, potentially jeopardising global net Wärtsilä’s grid balancing portfolio, consisting of power plants, energy storage and
zero ambitions. energy management systems, effectively manages high shares of renewables and creates
Wärtsilä is now pioneering a the conditions to produce carbon-neutral future fuels which can decarbonise energy
milestone testing programme for its intensive sectors, from power to mobility.
balancing gas engines to be converted to Wärtsilä is one of the world leaders in deploying thermal balancing and energy storage
use pure hydrogen as fuel. The project technology, delivering the essential flexibility required to rapidly accelerate the global shift
in Vaasa, Finland, will assess Wärtsilä’s to 100% renewable energy systems. It has installed a total of 74 GW of power plant capacity
existing 31 gas engine technology to find in 180 countries around the world, including a growing percentage of thermal balancing
the optimum parameters for running and more than 80 energy storage systems. Wärtsilä’s engines are capable of ramping up
on hydrogen. Wärtsilä’s gas engines are to full load in two minutes and can currently use natural gas, biogas, synthetic methane or
currently used for flexible balancing hydrogen blends, with a blending possibility of up to 25% hydrogen already proven today.
power generation for power systems with In parallel, Wärtsilä is running engine testing for ammonia and methanol, two
high levels of renewables. alternative future fuels which will support the decarbonisation of the shipping sector and
Green hydrogen, developed from help the International Maritime Organisation to achieve its target to cut the sector’s GHG
renewable energy using electrolysis, and emissions by 50% by 2050.
green hydrogen-based fuels will provide
long duration energy storage to work References
alongside renewable generation and 1. https://www.iea.org/reports/energy-technology-perspectives-2020/technology-needs-
short-duration storage (such as lithium- for-net-zero-emissions
ion batteries) to create reliable and fully 2. According to Wärtsilä’s Atlas of 100% Renewable Energy, which models energy systems
decarbonised energy systems. from a greenfield scenario to illustrate the ideal renewable energy scenario.
According to Wärtsilä’s energy system
modelling, over 11 000 GW of wind and Contact Wayne Glossop, Wärtsilä, Tel 021 511-1230, wayne.glossop@wartsila.com,
solar power is required in the G20 alone www.wartsila.com
in order to create 100% renewable energy
systems. It will require 933 GW of carbon
neutral thermal balancing capacity to
enable the addition of this amount of
renewable energy and stabilise these
future power systems. 2
The ability to modify existing
engines to utilise hydrogen and
hydrogen-based fuels when they
become widely available is crucial
to achieving global decarbonisation
goals. The internal combustion engine
is a key technology in enabling the
growth of renewables today, providing
the flexibility required to support the
intermittent generation of wind and
solar. Many countries are investing
in new, highly efficient engines to
support the sustainable acceleration of

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