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Press Release29 May 2020Siemens Gas
and Power,
Engie
Solutions and Centrax LtdMunich
HYFLEXPOWER: The world’s first integrated power-to-X-to-power hydrogen gas turbine demonstrator
A world’s first: Industrial-scale power-to-X-to-power demonstrator
Through its Horizon
2020 framework program the European Commission supports highly innovative research
and demonstration projects aiming at developing and creating innovative
products and services and thus stimulating growth in Europe. For this, the
European Commission is awarding grants in a competitive procedure in which
HYFLEXPOWER was able to assert itself against a large number of competitors.
With this particular
project, HYFLEXPOWER will demonstrate that renewable hydrogen can serve as a
flexible means of storing energy which can then be used to power a high-power
industrial turbine.
Storing fluctuating renewable energy is one of the major challenges of the energy transition. In this context, the stakeholders involved in the HYFLEXPOWER project are developing new technologies which can be used across the whole power-to-X-to-power1 cycle. The installed demonstrator will be used to store excess renewable electricity in the form of green hydrogen. During periods of high demand this stored green hydrogen will then be used to generate electrical energy to be fed into the grid.
The purpose of HYFLEXPOWER is to prove that hydrogen can be produced and stored from renewable electricity and then added with up to 100 percent to the natural gas currently used with combined heat and power plants.
Engie Solutions has been
entrusted with producing energy at the Smurfit Kappa site in
Saillat-sur-Vienne, France. At the site, Engie Solutions operates a 12 MWe
combined heat and power facility which produces steam for the manufacturing
company's requirements. The conversion of an existing infrastructure has the advantage
of significantly lower costs and minimized lead time compared to a greenfield
site. The project will develop and demonstrate an advanced plant concept that
will contribute to modernizing and improving the factory's existing power
plant.
During
two demonstration campaigns, the facility will be powered by a mix of natural
gas and hydrogen, ultimately aiming for up to 100 percent hydrogen operation.
In this regard, the overall goal of the HYFLEXPOWER project is to test an
entirely green hydrogen-based power supply for a completely carbon-free energy
mix. This would save up to 65,000 tons of CO2 per year for a SGT-400
at baseload operation.
An exclusively European technology
The consortium selected
following the call for proposals is made up exclusively of European companies
and bodies. Each stakeholder's role is defined as follows:
- Engie Solutions will build the hydrogen production and storage facility, including the natural gas/hydrogen mixing station prior to the turbine
- Siemens Gas and Power will supply the electrolyser for hydrogen production and develop the hydrogen gas turbine
- Centrax will upgrade the package for hydrogen operation and install the new turbine
- German Aerospace Center (DLR) together with the University College London, University of Duisburg-Essen and Lund University will support the hydrogen turbine technology development
- National Technical University of Athens will perform economic, environmental and social assessments of the concept
- Arttic will support the operational project management and the project’s communication activities.
The
project's total budget is close to €15.2 million, of which €10.5 million will
be contributed entirely by the European Union under the Horizon 2020 program.
Officially launched on 1
May 2020, the project will last 4 years and will be split into several phases:
- May 2020: Contract finalization and start of engineering development.
- 2021: Installation of the hydrogen production, storage and supply facility at pilot demonstration site.
- 2022: Installation of the gas turbine for natural gas/hydrogen mixtures and initial demonstration of advanced pilot plant concept.
- 2023: Pilot demonstration with up to 100 percent hydrogen for carbon-free energy production from stored excess renewable energy.
This
extremely promising technology is fully in line with Siemens, Engie Solutions
and Centrax’ strategy of providing its clients with zero-carbon solutions.
As part of a consortium, Siemens Energy will upgrade an existing SGT-400 industrial gas turbine to generate electricity and thermal energy with stored hydrogen and demonstrate an industrial-scale power-to-H2-to-power solution.
Siemens Gas and Power helping to increase level of decarbonization
Siemens Gas and
Power is helping its customers achieve their decarbonization goals by building
infrastructure for power-to-X-to-power1 and making a global contribution to cross-sector
decarbonization. Siemens offers all core technologies for a long-term CO2-free
energy supply, from power and heat generation, to power transmission and
distribution, and efficient electrolysis for hydrogen production.
“Siemens Gas and Power wants to be
the driving force behind the decarbonization of energy systems worldwide,” says
Karim Amin, CEO of the Generation Division of Siemens Gas and Power. “Our goal
is to make our gas turbines usable for 100 percent hydrogen. With that, our gas
turbines can be the “technology of choice” for our customers to complement the
intermittence of renewables and ensure a secure energy supply in the
decarbonized world of the future,” Amin added.
Engie Solutions, a stakeholder committed to hydrogen
As an energy for the future, green hydrogen
has a major role to play in the energy transition. For Engie Solutions, the
most abundant element in the universe is vital to decarbonizing industrial
processes.
Engie Solutions is certain that this energy will help speed up the transition of regions and manufacturing companies and is supporting the development of renewable hydrogen – it already has a number of projects, either in operation or forthcoming.
"With
the HYFLEXPOWER project, Engie Solutions is once again demonstrating its intent
to support manufacturers and regions as they seek to optimize and green their
energy use. Developing renewable hydrogen for industrial purposes is a perfect
example. This demonstrator is the future,” says Pierre Hardouin, CEO of
Engie Solutions for Industries.
Centrax Ltd. developing Hydrogen ready solutions
Centrax sees Green
Hydrogen as an important part of the path to a decarbonized energy system and
welcomes the considerable investment being made by the Horizon 2020 program to
assist the development of Hydrogen compatible combustion systems.
“Our goal is for our gas
turbine combined heat and power systems to be ‘Hydrogen Ready’ to provide
future proof power generation solutions for our Customers,” says Harry Trump,
Director of Business Development for Centrax Ltd..
__________________________
1 According to the ADEME (France's agency for environment and energy management), “Power to X” (or “P2X”) is the act of converting electricity into another energy vector. For the HYFLEXPOWER project, the “X” vector is hydrogen.
1 According to the ADEME (France's agency for environment and energy management), “Power to X” (or “P2X”) is the act of converting electricity into another energy vector. For the HYFLEXPOWER project, the “X” vector is hydrogen.
The project's partners:
For this press release
Siemens Gas and Power GmbH & Co. KG is the global energy business of the Siemens group, which has been working with its customers on solutions for the evolving demands of industry and society for more than 150 years. With planned stock listing, Siemens’ energy business will operate independently as Siemens Energy in the future. It will offer broad expertise across the entire energy value chain, along with a comprehensive portfolio for utilities, independent power producers, transmission system operators, the oil and gas industry, and other energy-intensive industries. With its products, solutions, systems, and services, Siemens Energy will address the extraction, processing, and transport of oil and gas as well as power and heat generation in central and distributed thermal power plants, and power transmission and technologies for the energy transformation, including storage and sector-coupling solutions. The majority stake in Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy will round out its future-oriented portfolio. With its commitment to leading the way in decarbonization of the global energy system, Siemens Energy will be a partner of choice for companies, governments, and customers on their path to a more sustainable future. With around 90,000 employees worldwide, Siemens Energy will help shape the energy systems of today and tomorrow.
www.siemens.com.
ENGIE Solutions supports towns, industries and companies in the tertiary sector, providing them with solutions to the challenges posed by the energy transition in the form of turnkey and bespoke packages. ENGIE Solutions’ experts apply all their expertise in pursuit of three aims: optimising the use of energy and resources, greening energies and reinventing living and working environments. ENGIE Solutions guarantees its clients a single point of contact and a combination of complementary offerings that go beyond energy. The company is committed to achieving results and its 50,000 employees which operate throughout France (900 sites) have expertise in an extremely diverse number of areas, ranging from the design and operation of infrastructure & services, to funding, installation and maintenance.
ENGIE Solutions is part of the ENGIE Group, one of the world's leading low-carbon energy and services groups whose aim is to become the leader in the zero-carbon transition. Sales: €10 billion. To find out more, visit
www.engie-solutions.com.
Centrax Gas Turbines specialises in the manufacture and service of gas turbine-powered generator sets ranging from 3MW to 15MW that use core engines from Siemens. The generator sets are used mainly for combined heat and power but also in base load, simple cycle and standby applications. It is a global company with a broad customer base throughout the world. Visit our website for more information www.centraxgt.com.
Contact
Alfons Benzinger
Siemens Gas and Power GmbH & Co. KG
Freyeslebenstr. 1
91058 Erlangen
Deutschland
91058 Erlangen
Deutschland
+49 9131 17-34549
Lise Forest
Engie Solutions
Tour T1
1 place Samuel de Champlain
Faubourg de l’Arche
92929 Paris La Défense
France
1 place Samuel de Champlain
Faubourg de l’Arche
92929 Paris La Défense
France
+33 6 32 47 62 48
Maureen Palfrey
Centrax Ltd.
Sheldon Road
Newton Abbot
TQ12 4SQ
England
Newton Abbot
TQ12 4SQ
England
+44 1626 358212