Hydrogen Subsidy Project Awarded

Hydrogen is a clean and carbon-free fuel, and is considered a key element for the energy transition. A common way to produce hydrogen is through electrolysis of water, which decomposes the water into hydrogen and oxygen using electricity. When the electricity is generated by renewable sources, such as wind and solar, it is referred to as green hydrogen. By producing hydrogen using excessive renewable energy it can be used as a form of energy storage, for example by pumping into existing gas storage or salt mines, and used when the renewable energy is not available.

OPRA has recently been awarded a subsidy from the Dutch Government for the project ‘High Hydrogen Gas Turbine Retrofit to Eliminate Carbon Emissions’. Besides OPRA, the consortium consists of Ansaldo Thomassen, TU Delft, Vattenfall (formerly NUON), Nouryon (formerly Akzo Nobel) and EMMTEC Services. The subsidy is granted as part of the Dutch hydrogen program within the Top Sector Energy. The major objective of the project is to develop a cost-effective ultra-low emission (<9ppm NOx and CO) combustion system in the output range of 1MW to 300MW operating on both 100% Natural Gas to 100% Hydrogen and any mixture thereof. In this first phase of the project, OPRA and partners will design and test a prototype combustor based on Ansaldo’s Flamesheet combustor technology platform. The main testing will take place in OPRA’s state-of-the-art combustion test facility.