GEA33861 Power To Gas - Hydrogen For Power Generation
GEA33861 Power To Gas - Hydrogen For Power Generation
GEA33861 Power To Gas - Hydrogen For Power Generation
ABSTRACT
The desire to reduce carbon emissions from traditional power generation assets is driving an increase in power production from renewables.
However, an issue with large increases in renewable power generation is the lack of dispatchability; without adding storage or firming
capability, increases in renewables can strain a power grid. Gas turbines can be used to fill this gap, but there are questions about the long-
term use of these assets in a carbon-free energy ecosystem.
An advantage for gas turbines is that they are able to operate on hydrogen(H2), which does not provide any carbon emissions when
combusted. This includes both new gas turbines and existing units which can be converted to operation on a high H2 fuel.
This paper will provide an update on how gas turbines can support a low or reduced carbon electrical grid by operating on a wide variety of
lower carbon fuels, including current hydrogen capabilities of GE gas turbines, requirements for upgrading existing turbines for operation on
hydrogen fuels, and potential future technology options.
INTRODUCTION
The desire to reduce carbon emissions from power generation is creating a fundamental paradigm shift in the power generation industry.
A direct result of this shift is an acceleration in the installed capacity of renewable power sources, including solar and wind. For example,
~86% or 21 GW of the new power installations in Europe in 2016 were from renewable sources [1]. With the large and rapid increases
in installed capacity of renewable sources, there are concerns about the need to dispatch large blocks of power quickly to provide grid
stability given the interruptible nature of some renewables. In these situations, the grid regulating agencies used dispatchable power
generation assets (i.e. gas turbine power plants) to balance supply and demand.
Although these assets are dispatchable and needed for grid regulation, there are questions being asked about utilization of these plants
in a potential future, carbon-free energy ecosystem. There are multiple approaches for low-carbon or carbon-free fuels, including the use
of hydrogen for power generation [2]. Modern gas turbines are capable of operating on a wide range of H2 concentrations, with multiple
commercial power plants having considerable experience. Thus, gas turbines operating on hydrogen could provide the needed grid firming
while at the same time generating significantly less carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions.
In an energy ecosystem that relies on H2 as a fuel for power generation, large volumes of H2 will have to be generated. There are
technologies available today that can generate these large volumes of H2, including steam methane reforming and electrolysis of water; see
Figure 1. Steam methane reforming is the main production method for most of the hydrogen that is generated in the world today. But this
process generates CO2, so the use of carbon capture technologies would likely be required for this to be part of a carbon-free ecosystem.
Electrical Grid
Solar
Refineries and Residential Customers
Petrochemical Applications
Electrolysis of water is not a new concept. But using it to generate the volumes of hydrogen required for power generation will require
a large amount of energy, which could dramatically increase the cost of the hydrogen and the resulting power. An alternative solution
for generating the large volumes might be to generate H2 from an electrolysis using renewable energy. This solution represents a
fundamental paradigm shift in the power generation industry; the rapid increase in installed capacity of renewable sources is creating
excess power, leading to curtailment and in some situations creating a negative impact on electricity prices. Using curtailed power from
renewable sources could potentially supply the power needed to generate what is being called “green H2”, hydrogen generated from
electrolysis using renewable energy.
This paper will examine the concept of producing and using hydrogen in gas turbines as an enabler for a reduced carbon (or carbon free)
energy ecosystem.
PRODUCTION OF HYDROGEN
Hydrogen can be generated from a variety of feedstocks and chemical processes, as shown in Figure 2. These include (but are not
limited to) photosynthesis using algae, steam methane reforming (SMR) of natural gas, partial oxidation of crude oil, gasification of coal,
and electrolysis of water. The next sections will provide details on steam methane reforming and electrolysis as potential pathways to
generating hydrogen for power generation.
HYDROGEN
A clean, flexible energy carrier.
SOURCES OF ENERGY
Hydrogen can be produced using
diverse, domestic resources.
PRODUCTION PATHWAYS
Hydrogen can be produced using
a number of different processes.
Electrolysis Biological Direct Solar Steam Methane
Water Splitting Reforming
Based on these equations, for each mole of methane used, one mole of CO2 and four moles of H2 are produced. Using the molecular weights listed in
Table 1, for each kg of methane consumed, ½ kilogram of H2 and 2.75 kilograms of CO2 are produced. (For every kilogram of H2 produced, 5.5 kilograms
of CO2 are generated.) Putting this into perspective of the volumes required for power generation, a single 6B.03 gas turbine operating 8,000 hours per
year would consume approximately 33 million kg of H2 (per year). If the hydrogen was generated via SMR, this would produce ~178,000 metric tonnes of
CO2 per year. Table 2 shows the rate of CO2 production when scaled to hydrogen production for some gas turbine platforms.
Molecular Weight
Elements, Molecules Formula
(grams/mole)
Hydrogen H2 2
Carbon C 12
Oxygen O2 32
Methane CH4 16
Water H2O 18
Carbon Monoxide CO 28
Carbon Dioxide CO2 44
129
GE-10 11.2 ~1,140 ~6,250 ~50,000
(122)
350
TM2500 34.3 ~3,120 ~16,950 ~135,600
(332)
473
6B.03 44.0 ~4,170 ~22,900 ~183,000
(448)
857
6F.03 87 ~7,550 ~41,500 ~332,000
(813)
2,197
7F.05 243 ~19,500 ~106,500 ~852,000
(2,083)
2,677
9F.04 288 ~23,600 ~130,000 ~1,040,900
(2,537)
4,560
9HA.02 557 ~40,200 221,000 ~1,800,000
(4,322)
Although generating hydrogen via SMR creates carbon dioxide, there are a number of projects that are considering this pathway to
generating hydrogen by combining it with carbon capture and sequestration (CCS). Examples of projects considering generating hydrogen
with SMR are the H21 Leeds City Gate and the Magnum Vattenfall project. In the case of the City of Leeds project [6], it is estimated that
2.4 billion m3 of hydrogen would be produced annually to provide heat and electricity to roughly 660,000 people. As part of this system,
a 90% carbon capture system is being considered which will capture approximately 1.5 million tonnes of CO2 annually. The Magnum
Vattenfall project in the Netherlands has proposed to upgrade an existing gas turbine to operate on 100% hydrogen [7], [8]. The plan as
proposed is to generate the hydrogen from natural gas, and the resulting CO2 will be captured and stored in underground bunkers.
Open questions remain on transporting the hydrogen and storing the hydrogen at the power plant.
The challenge of these projects is the goal of creating carbon-free power using a technology that requires large scale sequestration of
CO2. But, there are technologies that can generate H2 without generating CO2.
H2O → H2 + ½ O2 (3)
Based on this reaction for each mole of water used, 1 mole of hydrogen and one-half mole of oxygen are generated. Using the molecular
weights listed in Table 1, each gram of water used will generate 0.11 grams of hydrogen and 0.89 grams of oxygen. (Notice that the total
mass is conserved.) In other words, generating 1 gram (1 kg) of hydrogen requires 9 grams (9 kg) of water, assuming no losses in the
electrolysis process. With this information, it is possible to compute the water required to support the power to hydrogen concept. Table 3
shows the water required to generate enough hydrogen to operate different gas turbines on 100% hydrogen. For reference, an Olympic size
swimming pool contains 2500 m3 of water; this means that an electrolyzer generating hydrogen for a GE-10 would use an equivalent volume
of water in approximately 250 hours (just over 10 days). Supplying hydrogen for a 9F.04 would use an Olympic pool of water every 12 hours.
Operating a gas turbine on a hydrogen/natural gas blend instead of 100% hydrogen reduces not only the hydrogen flows, but the amount
of water required to generate the hydrogen. For example, operating a 9F.04 gas turbine on a blend of 5% (by volume) hydrogen with natural
gas would require ~ 3.2 m3/hour (~840 gallons/hour) of water to generate the required hydrogen.
Electrolysis also requires electrical power to split apart the water molecules. The amount of power required is defined by the higher heating
value (HHV) of hydrogen divided by the electrolyzer system efficiency [9]:
The HHV for hydrogen is 12,756.2 kJ/Nm3 (141,829.6 kJ/kg); this is equivalent to 3.54 kWh/Nm3 (39.39 kWh/kg). Assuming a 65% efficiency
electrolyzer system, which represents commercially available technology, transforming water to hydrogen requires 5.45 kWh/m3 (60.61
kWh/kg). Using the GE-10 gas turbine as an example, per Table 3 the hydrogen flow rate is ~11,700 m3/ hour. To generate enough H2 to
operate the GE-10 for 24 hours, the electrolyzer system would consume ~1.54 GWh of electricity. The electric power requirements for
multiple turbines are shown in Table 3. Increasing the electrolyzer efficiency will reduce some of the power needs, as would operating the
gas turbine on a blend of hydrogen and natural gas.
Thus, large sources of power and water will be required to create a hydrogen ecosystem using electrolysis of water. The next section
examines the availability of renewable power to support this concept.
Not only was the total (or absolute) amount of power from renewable sources increasing, but the percentage of power from renewable
sources relative to total power on the grid was also increasing. Table 4 shows the growth in renewables in multiple countries in Europe
between 2004 and 2016. It is interesting to note that many of the countries with the smallest increase in renewable penetration (i.e.
Iceland, Sweden, and Norway) already had high rates of electricity generated from renewable sources in 2004. This growth in installed
renewable capacity continued in 2017. According to Wind Europe, an additional 6 GW of solar was installed, along with 15.6 GW of wind
power capacity, in 2017. The installed wind power capacity in Europe is now estimated at 169 GW [11].
A key to using renewable sources to generate hydrogen is having excess power, above and beyond that which is needed for electrical
demand. One way to gauge this capability is with curtailment of renewable sources. Table 5 shows wind curtailment for Germany, Ireland,
Italy, and the UK between 2012 and 2016; data was not available for all countries in all years.
600
500
ELECTRICITY GENERATION FROM
RENEWABLE SOURCES (TWH)
400
300
200
100
0
1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016
Wood and Other Solid Biomass Biogas and Bioliquids Wind Power Solar Power
Percent Growth in
Country 2004 Share (%) 2016 Share (%) Renewables 2004-2016
United Kingdom 1.1 9.3 745%
Netherlands 2.0 6.0 200%
Italy 6.3 17.4 176%
Germany 5.8 14.8 155%
Denmark 14.9 32.2 116%
Spain 8.4 17.3 106%
France 9.5 16.0 68%
Iceland 58.9 72.6 23%
Sweden 38.7 53.8 39%
Norway 58.1 69.4 19%
Given the significant growth in the use of renewable power sources, there is potential to use excess renewable energy to support a power
to hydrogen system. However, the power required for electrolysis of water to supply hydrogen for power generation (Table 3) for a F or HA-
class gas turbine is larger than the curtailed renewable power shown in Table 5. Thus, creating an energy ecosystem that generates large
volumes of hydrogen for use in power generation will require much larger amounts of renewable power.
Governmental support has ranged from white papers to international summits. A white paper published in mid-2018 by the Hydrogen
Strategy Group, which is chaired by the Chief Scientist of Australia, examined a vision in which the production of hydrogen supports
(domestic) zero carbon electricity generation as well as the export of hydrogen [13]. The Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry
published a basic hydrogen strategy document [14] that describes the importance of hydrogen in reducing the country’s greenhouse
gas emissions, as it could be a completely CO2 free energy source. Included in the document is the statement that Japan will “develop
commercial-scale supply chains by around 2030 to procure 300,000 tons of hydrogen annually.”
In late October 2018, the Japanese government sponsored a Hydrogen Energy Ministerial Meeting. The event was the first international
ministerial meeting “to hold discussion on the realization of a hydrogen-powered society as its main subject [15]. One of the outcomes of this
meeting was the signing of a Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) between the Japanese Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) and
the New Zealand Minister of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE). The framework of the MoC is to “encourage the governments,
industrial players and research institutes of both countries to collaborate, aiming to promote cooperation in the field of hydrogen” [16].
In parallel there are companies developing and/or running small scale projects as a step towards understanding the technical and economic
feasibility of building and scaling up larger power to hydrogen systems. The US National Renewable Energy Lab is demonstrating the
technical feasibility for power to hydrogen with an integration of wind turbines, photovoltaic arrays, and an electrolyzer system to generate
hydrogen [19]. ITM Power has multiple small-scale installations in Europe that are already providing hydrogen for power from renewable
energy sources; in one case the hydrogen is injected into the local gas distribution network, and in the other it is stored and used with
fuel cell to provide back-up power [20], [21]. In addition, the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) is planning a trial of a new
electrolysis system in the city of Adelaide; the hydrogen generated from the electrolyzers will be injected into the cities gas distribution
network [22]. Long-term goals are to use renewables power for electrolysis to generate hydrogen for export [23].
Report & Forecast Period Forecast Period Forecasted Cost Range ($/MMBTU)
Hydrogen for Australia’s future [13] 2018 30.4 – 46.8
2018 EIA World Energy Outlook [17] 2018 35.2 – 52.8
METI Basic Hydrogen Strategy [14] 2030 27.2 (30 Yen/Nm3)
METI Basic Hydrogen Strategy [14] Beyond 2030 18.2 (20 Yen/Nm3)
Hydrogen for Australia’s future [13] 2050 14.6 – 19.6
As a reference, Henry Hub natural gas spot prices in the US are in in the range of $3-4/MMBTU, and estimated landed LNG prices
today range from $9.39/MMBTU – $10.95/MMBTU in Europe, and $10.86/MMBTU in Asia [18]. ($ are USD)
Operating a power plant on a fuel whose cost ranges from 3x to 10x the current cost of natural gas will increase the cost of
electricity (LCoE) by similar factors.
H2 + ½ O2 → H2O (5)
Using 100% hydrogen as fuel for a gas turbine will lead to a significant reduction in carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions relative to operation on
natural gas or other hydrocarbon fuels. CO2 emissions attributed to the fuel will be zero, although the plant will still emit a very small amount
of CO2 as there is approximately 0.04% (by volume) CO2 in the air that will be emitted with the products of combustion. For example, a gas
turbine operating on 100% (by volume) H2 fuel will see a CO2 reduction of ~99% relative to the CO2 emission on 100% methane.
There are also cases where H2 blending with natural gas is being considered to reduce CO2 emissions as a near-term alternative to
operating on 100% natural gas. In these cases, the amount of CO2 reduction will be a function of the percentage of H2 in the fuel. The
amount or percent H2 in the fuel can be measured on a volume, mass, or heat input basis. There is a significant difference in the H2 flows
based on these methods due to the difference between hydrogen’s energy density on a mass and volume basis as shown in Table 6.
Typically, flows into a gas turbine are quoted on a volumetric basis, but the key factor in determining emissions for a fuel blend is the relative
heat input from the fuel constituents, especially as methane and hydrogen have very different energy densities. This is an important distinction
as adding small amounts of hydrogen to the fuel (on a volumetric basis) will have a smaller impact on carbon dioxide emission reduction. Figure 4
shows the relationship between volumetric flow and heat input (mass flow) for a system using a blend of methane and hydrogen.
80 80
% CH4 (BY HEAT INPUT)
CH4
40 40
H2
20 20
0 0
100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0
% CH4 (BY VOLUME FLOW)
Figure 4: Relationship between mass flow (heat input) and volumetric flow for a methane/hydrogen fuel mix.
Using this information, the relationship between the amount of H2 in the fuel (by volume) and CO2 emission reduction can be defined; as shown
in Figure 5 this relationship is clearly non-linear. The gas turbine requires a constant heat input and since H2 has a lower volumetric energy
density, a blend on a heat input basis contains less hydrogen (relative to a blend on a volumetric basis). As an example, a 9F.04 gas turbine
operating on methane at ISO conditions will emit ~38.8 kg/sec (~86 pounds/sec) of CO2. Switching this turbine to fuel that is a 5% / 95% (by
volume) blend of hydrogen and methane requires the same heat input, but due to the difference between mass and volumetric energy density
of hydrogen, this ends up as a 0.65% / 99.35% blend of hydrogen and methane on a heat input basis. This results in a CO2 emission of ~38.2 kg/
second (~84.3 pounds/sec), which is roughly a reduction of ~1.5% in CO2 emissions. Taking this one step further, to attain a 50% reduction in CO2
emissions a blend that is ~75% (by volume) hydrogen would be required.
Instead, if the flows are set as a percentage of the turbine heat input, the relationship between H2 and CO2 reduction is linear as shown in
Figure 6. To attain a 50% reduction in CO2 emissions requires a blend that is 50% hydrogen and 50% methane (by heat content).
Understanding the magnitude of CO2 emission reduction relative to H2 content in the fuel is a key step in evaluating the value of a potential
power to hydrogen system. However, one must also understand the technical challenges that accompany the use of hydrogen.
HYDROGEN (VOLUME %)
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
100
PERCENT REDUCTION IN CO2
80
60
40
20
0
100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0
METHANE (VOLUME %)
Figure 5: Relationship between CO2 emissions and hydrogen/methane fuel blends (volume %).
60
40
20
0
100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0
METHANE (% BY HEAT CONTENT)
Figure 6: Relationship between CO2 emissions and hydrogen/methane fuel blends (% heat input).
Heating value
The lower heating value (LHV) of hydrogen (as was shown in Table 6) is 10.8 MJ/Nm3 (274.7 BTU/scf) or 120 MJ/kg (51,593 BTU/lb). In comparison,
the LHV of 100% methane is 35.8 MJ/Nm3 (911.6 BTU/scf) or 50 MJ/kg (21,515 BTU/lb). On a mass basis, hydrogen is 2x more energy dense that
methane. But, on a volume basis, hydrogen is one third less energy dense than methane. Therefore, it takes 3x more volume flow of hydrogen to
provide the same heat (energy) input as methane. Thus, operating a gas turbine on 100% hydrogen requires a fuel accessory system configured
for the required flow rates.
Flame speed
In a combustion reaction, the flame velocity or flame speed is the velocity at which the unburned gases propagate into the flame. The flame
speed of hydrogen is an order of magnitude faster than many hydrocarbon fuels. Table 7 lists the flame speeds for a set of common hydrocarbon
fuels. From a gas turbine perspective, flame speed is an important property used in determining if a combustor may have issues with the flame
propagating upstream from the combustion zone into the premixing zone (near the fuel nozzles).
Typically, combustion systems are configured to operate on a set of fuels that have a defined range of flame speeds. Due to the significant difference
in the flame speeds of methane and hydrogen, combustion systems configured for operating on methane (or natural gas) may not be suitable for
operating on a high hydrogen fuel. In many cases, operating on a high hydrogen fuel requires a combustor specifically configured for the different
combustion conditions. (See Combustion Technology section.)
Safety
There are additional operational challenges with hydrogen that relate to overall safety. First, a hydrogen flame has low luminosity and is therefore
hard to see visually, as shown in Figure 7. This requires flame detection systems specifically configured for hydrogen flames. Secondly, hydrogen
can diffuse through seals that might be considered airtight or impermeable to other gases. Therefore, traditional sealing systems used with
natural gas may need to be replaced with welded connections or other appropriate components. Thirdly, hydrogen is more flammable than
methane; the lower flammability limit for methane (in air) is 5%, while for hydrogen it is 4% [25]. Therefore, hydrogen leaks could create increased
safety risks requiring changes to plant procedures, safety / exclusions zones, etc. In addition, there may be other plant level safety issues that
merit review [26].
During the 1990’s GE evaluated the use of the MNQC combustor to operate on high hydrogen fuels [27]. The hydrogen concentration of the fuels
examined ranged from ~43.5% up to ~89%; the remaining constituents in the fuel were inert gases, i.e. nitrogen and water vapor. The program
evaluated the impact on NOx emissions, combustion dynamics and combustion metal temperatures. The test results demonstrated the
feasibility of burning hydrogen as the only combustible (up to 90% by volume of the total fuel) in GE’s MNQC combustion system.
Today, GE is able to quote hydrogen levels up to ~90-100% (by volume) for applications with the MNQC combustor or single nozzle
combustor1.
Dry low emission (DLE) and dry low NOx (DLN) combustors
DLE and DLN combustion systems are capable of operating with limited amounts of hydrogen in the fuel. The DLE combustor, which is
found on GE’s Aeroderivative gas turbines, is limited to 5% (by volume) hydrogen. The DLN1 combustion system, which is available on GE’s
6B, 7E, and 9E gas turbines, is capable of operating with up to 33% (by volume) hydrogen when blended with natural gas. GE’s DLN 2.6+
combustors are capable of operating on hydrogen levels as high as ~15% (by volume)1. The associated fuel systems for these combustors
are typically only configured for a maximum of 5% (by volume) hydrogen and would require upgrading to safely operate at higher hydrogen
concentrations.
During this program, multiple pre-mixing configurations were tested at the GE Global Research Center in a single nozzle test facility as well
as at GE’s Gas Turbine Technology Lab. (Information on the Greenville combustion facility is available in Reference 29). Figure 9b shows a
combustor chamber with multi-tube mixers operating on a H2/N2 fuel blend.
Due to the advanced premixing capability of this technology, it became an element of GE’s DLN 2.6e combustion system, which is available
on the 9HA gas turbine [30]. Due to interest in low-carbon power for future power plants, the hydrogen capability of the DLN 2.6e combustion
system was evaluated. Results of preliminary testing indicated that this combustion system has entitlement to operate on fuels containing up to
50% (by volume) hydrogen.
A B
Figure 9: (A) multi-tube mixer concept hardware, (B) combustor test of multi-tube mixers on a H2/N2 fuel blend [18].
1 Hydrogen limits for a given project will be a function of gas turbine model, ambient conditions, emission requirements, and other site-specific requirements.
2 This effort was sponsored by the US Department of Energy under Cooperative Agreement DE-FC26-05NT42564.
1x7F 1x7F 1x6B 2x6F 2x6F Syngas 1xGE10 High 2x9E Steel Mill 2x9E Refinery
IGCC (USA) IGCC (USA) IGCC Refinery (USA) Refinery (Asia) H2 (Europe) (China) (India)
1x7E 1x6B Refinery 1x6B Refinery 3x9E Steel Mill 3x9E Refinery 2x7F Syngas Coal 2xLM2500 Steel 1x7F Syngas
IGCC (USA) (Europe) (Korea) (Europe) (Europe) IGCC (USA) Mill (China) IGCC (Korea)
A second example of hydrogen fuel blending is at the Gibraltar-San Roque refinery owned by Compañia Española de Petróleos (CEPSA), one of
Spain’s leading petrochemical companies. At this site a 6B.03 gas turbine is operating on a refinery fuel gas (RFG) that contains a varying amount
of hydrogen. If the hydrogen level exceeds ~32% (by volume) the RFG is blended with natural gas. As of 2015, this gas turbine had operated more
than 9,000 hours on this fuel [35].
A B
Figure 12: (A) Frame 9E.03 operating on steel mill gases at a plant in China; (B) LM2500+ operating on high H2 coke oven gas.
High hydrogen
Typically, when H2 is available in large volumes it is used in hydrotreating crude oil or in the production of other commercial products, such
as fertilizers. However, there are instances where a large volume of high concentration hydrogen is available from a process where there
are no other available off takers.
GE’s fleet of gas turbines installed for operation on high hydrogen fuels includes more than a dozen Frame 5 gas turbines and more than
20 6B.03 gas turbines. Many of these turbines operated on fuels with hydrogen concentrations ranging from 50% (by volume) to 80% (by
volume). One example of a gas turbine operating on a high hydrogen fuel is a 6B.03 at the Daesan refinery in South Korea. This unit (Figure 13)
has operated on a fuel that contains more than 70% (by volume) hydrogen for over 20 years with max H2 levels greater than 90% [39], [40]. To
date the unit has accumulated more than 100,000 hours on the high hydrogen fuel. A second example of a high hydrogen turbine is at Enel’s
Fusina, Italy. This plant, which was inaugurated in 2010, used a GE-10 gas turbine to produce ~11.4 MW of net electrical power operating on
a fuel that was ~97.5% (by volume) hydrogen [41-43].
Changing to a fuel with increased levels of hydrogen may require making changes to the gas turbine, gas turbine accessories, and/or the
balance of plant. The magnitude of the required changes is a function of the amount of hydrogen in the fuel. If the new fuel will be a blend of
hydrogen in natural gas, the required changes might be limited controls updates along with new combustor fuel nozzles. Given that there
are many variations on fuel, combustor configurations, etc., the required scope must be evaluated on a case by case basis.
If the conversion is to a high hydrogen fuel, the scope could include changes to numerous gas turbine systems as shown in Figure 14. This
type of fuel conversion may require switching to a new combustion system, which would require new fuel accessory piping and valves.
It may also require new fuel skids, as well as enclosure and ventilation system modifications. Other changes necessitated by the safety
concerns highlighted previously include upgrading to flame detectors capable of detecting H2 flames and upgrading gas sensors to models
configured to detect gases with reduced levels of hydrocarbons. Aside from physical changes, switching to a high hydrogen fuel may require
changes to the gas turbine controls, which might impact gas turbine performance, both output and heat rate.
Changes in the fuel may also impact the larger balance of plant scope. For example, increasing the concentration of hydrogen in the fuel
may lead to significant increases in NOx emissions. There could also be a change in the exhaust energy from the gas turbine necessitating a
review of HRSG limits.
If future fuel upgrades are part of the planning stages during the development of a new power plant, in addition to the items listed above
other considerations should include plant layout space for new and/or modified fuel modules, as well as impact to major capital items, i.e.
HRSG and SCR.
Regardless of the fuel, when considering a fuel conversion, there are other factors that should be evaluated; these include but are not
limited to site emission limits, fuel storage, and local safety regulations. For example, there may be a requirement (or desire) to store some
amount of hydrogen at site, depending on where the hydrogen is generated and potential interruptions in supply. This in turn could impact
the overall plant configuration due to safety regulations regarding safety zones around hydrogen storage tanks.
Enclosure Modifications:
• Piping for hydrogen gas, diluent, etc.
• Explosion proofing
• Hazardous gas detection
• Ventilation system
• Fire protection
Figure 14: Potential impact of hydrogen fuel conversion on gas turbine systems.
CONCLUSION / SUMMARY
Gas turbines are capable of operating on a wide variety of fuels, including fuels with low, moderate, and high levels of hydrogen. Given the
experience in the industry with hydrogen-based fuels, many of the technical questions on the viability of this fuel for power generation
applications have been answered. Thus, existing gas turbine power plants should be considered a key element of any future power to
hydrogen ecosystem.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I would like to thank Jacob Berry, Michal Bialkowski, Deb Jaqueway, Parag Kulkarni, William Lawson, and Stephen Miller at GE Power for
their support in the development of this paper.
NOMENCLATURE
A$ Australian Dollars GWh Gigawatt-Hour MMBTU Million BTU
BTU British Thermal Units H2 Hydrogen MJ Megajoule
CH4 Methane H2O Water MW Megawatt
CO2 Carbon Dioxide kg Kilogram O2 Oxygen
DLE Dry Low Emissions lb Pound (mass) scf Standard Cubic Feet
DLN Dry Low NOx kWh Kilowatt Hour SMR Steam Methane Reforming
ft3 Cubic Feet Nm3 Normal Cubic Meters TWh Terawatt-hour
GW Gigawatts m3 Cubic Meters
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