Image: Bergen Engines
 

A trial running a gas engine on a blend of green hydrogen and natural gas have been successfully completed at a meat products processing factory in Spain.

 

The engine was built by Bergen Engines and the trail at the Cáseda plant of Viscofan marks the first time a Bergen engine has run with hydrogen in a full-scale industrial application.

 

Bergen said that the trial confirmed laboratory tests that the engine performs normally in real-life conditions and that Viscofan can potentially save almost 8000 tonnes of CO2 emissions per year from its operations.

 

In recent years Viscofan has renewed its co-generation installation in Cáseda with Bergen engines which are capable of running on natural gas and hydrogen in variable percentages. 

 

The objective of the Cáseda trials was to measure efficiency and reliability of the engines in real-time continuous use. 

 

Fuel blending was carried out to reach a mixed value of 15% hydrogen and 85% natural gas in an engine of a B36:45L6AG engine, producing 5.5MW of output in a CHP configuration. 

 

The green hydrogen used was provided by Electroquímicas de Hernani with the support of Nippon Gases for temporary installation, transport and supply. 

 

The trial used a temporary installation of two hydrogen semi-trailers with an approximate capacity each of 4000 Nm3 of compressed hydrogen at 200 bar, progressively increasing hydrogen flows of 400 Nm3 / h. 

 

Viscofan Group chief executive José Antonio Canales said the trial were “a historic milestone in our decarbonisation project”.

 

“Our will and commitment to the consumption of green hydrogen must be accompanied by unresolved challenges such as the production of green hydrogen at a competitive cost and continuous transport to our facilities.”