A newly developed large engine was operated entirely with hydrogen for the first time in Spain and was able to successfully feed electricity into the grid. The test is considered an important step on the way to climate-neutral power plant solutions for industry. The system was developed to generate flexible, emission-free energy on a large scale in the future.
The European Union has undertaken a far-reaching restructuring of the energy system with the goal of climate neutrality by 2050. In order to achieve these targets, the expansion of renewable energies must be massively accelerated in the coming years.
At the same time, this transformation poses significant challenges for the energy system. The feed-in from renewable sources such as sun and wind can fluctuate greatly depending on the weather and season.
It is precisely for these lulls that flexible backup capacities are needed that can be accessed at any time and can compensate for short-term fluctuations in the electricity supply. In addition to modern storage technologies, this also includes controllable power plants that can be operated with climate-neutral energy sources such as hydrogen.
Such technology has now been launched in Spain. In the Wärtsilä laboratory in Bermeo, a large engine that runs on 100 percent hydrogen and can feed electricity into the Spanish grid was put into operation for the first time.
Large hydrogen engine is the first of its kind in the world
The test in Bermeo, Spain, is based on a record-breaking engine from shipping. The Wärtsilä 31 was released as a marine engine in 2015 and went straight into the Guinness Book of Records as the world’s most efficient four-stroke diesel engine.
“As countries rapidly advance the expansion of wind and solar energy, one of the biggest challenges of the energy transition is to sustainably ensure reliable electricity supply even during periods of low renewable generation or peak demand,” explains Rasmus Teir, Director of Technology Strategy & Decarbonization at Wärtsilä. “Our Wärtsilä 31H2 hydrogen engine today runs on 100 percent hydrogen and feeds electricity into the Spanish national grid.”
The company is proving that large hydrogen engines can deliver flexible, sustainable energy on demand, which is necessary for future systems based on renewable energy. According to the manufacturer, the power plant in which the Wärtsilä 31H2 engine is installed is designed to supply fast-growing and energy-intensive industries.
These include, among others, data centers, manufacturing companies and industry. With the help of a power plant based on large hydrogen engines, locations can be supplied with sustainable electricity independently of the grid and flexibly.
Why hydrogen electricity is not really green yet
Wärtsilä’s research and development laboratory in Bermeo has been working on this development since 2020. First, mixtures were prepared to which more hydrogen was gradually added.
The laboratory was now able to operate the engine completely with pure hydrogen under full load. Unfortunately, the facility is not yet completely green.
Because as José Ramón Isasi, director of the center in Bermeo, told the Spanish newspaper El Economista said, it is currently “not green hydrogen”. The hydrogen used is “produced through an electrolytic process using electricity that does not come from solar energy”.
This means that for now only the combustion of the hydrogen itself is CO2-free. However, the very hot combustion produces nitrogen oxides that must be treated in order to reduce emissions. Climate-neutral production is aimed for in the future, but has not yet been implemented.
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