RWE, Kawasaki Fire Up Europe’s Largest Hydrogen-Ready Gas Turbine

RWE and Kawasaki Heavy Industries (KHI) have commissioned a 34 MW gas turbine at RWE’s Emsland gas-fired power station in Lingen, Germany, and are beginning trial operations on up to 100% hydrogen. The companies describe it as Europe’s largest fully hydrogen-compatible gas turbine.

The turbine can run on natural gas, hydrogen, or any blend of the two. Kawasaki’s combustion systems are designed for safe, stable operation across the full range of natural gas and hydrogen mixtures, up to pure hydrogen. The technology was previously tested in smaller plants, and Lingen marks the first time it has been scaled up to the 34 MW class.

“What we have achieved in Lingen in partnership with Kawasaki is unique in Europe,” said Nikolaus Valerius, chief executive officer of RWE Generation. “The new turbine will generate up to ten times as much power as previous hydrogen turbines. The operational experience gained will be key for the deployment of even larger turbines. This is an important milestone on the way towards ensuring that this technology can reliably supply hundreds of thousands of households with electricity in the future.”

Hydrogen for the trial comes from the neighboring GET H2 Nukleus electrolyzers, which split water using electricity from renewable sources. Over the next several months, the field trial will test industrial-scale power generation under the operating modes and load conditions expected of flexible power stations on a grid dominated by wind and solar power. In that role, hydrogen-ready turbines could provide backup power during prolonged periods of low renewable output. RWE recently won a tender from Germany’s Federal Network Agency for flexible power stations.

The project is supported by Japan’s New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO). Around 130 guests attended the commissioning ceremony, including Lower Saxony Minister-President Olaf Lies, Japanese Ambassador to Germany Mitsuko Shino, and representatives of KHI, NEDO, and RWE.

“Today’s ceremony marks far more than the beginning of a single project. It represents an important step toward the realization of a hydrogen-based society,” said Motohiko Nishimura, president of the Energy Solution & Marine Engineering Company at KHI. “In cooperation with RWE and NOW, and thanks to the support of NEDO, the necessary technologies and frameworks, and partnerships have come together, enabling us to take this important step forward here at the Emsland Power Plant. The gas turbine installed for this project can run on any blend of hydrogen and natural gas, from 0% to 100% hydrogen. This flexible approach enables the hydrogen-natural gas co-firing ratio to be adjusted according to hydrogen availability and cost, making it possible to balance economic efficiency with environmental performance.”