INNIO and HanseWerk AG have signed a letter of intent to develop a hydrogen-fueled combined heat and power (CHP) plant in Hamburg, Germany.

The roughly 1 MW pilot project will not only drive forward the large-scale use of hydrogen technology in CHP plants, but the city of Hamburg has also set itself the goal of ensuring that all interested customers in the power, heat and transportation sectors can be supplied almost entirely with green hydrogen by 2035, according to the companies.

The companies said that green hydrogen is particularly attractive to Northern Germany given its vast wind resources and is gaining ever greater significance as an energy storage medium. If wind-generated electricity is converted into green hydrogen, it can be used in power, heat, transportation and industrial sectors.

“Our joint undertaking is an important flagship project for the successful implementation of the energy transition,” said Matthias Boxberger, CEO and member of the Technical Board at HanseWerk AG, at the press talk upon signing the LOI. “The energy transformation can only be successful in the longer term if through sector coupling a greater proportion of power generated on-site is consumed at the same location. Green hydrogen will play a significant role as a future energy source in this context.”

At the demonstration facility in Jürgen-Töpfer-Strasse in central Hamburg, a Jenbacher CHP plant with an electrical output of 999 kW in natural gas mode is also due to run on variable hydrogen/natural gas mixes, or 100% green hydrogen. The CHP system, which has been optimized for use with natural gas, achieves an overall efficiency of 93%. When operating with pure hydrogen or hydrogen blends, the output will be adjusted accordingly. The heat generated will be fed into HanseWerk AG’s local heating network, while electrical energy will be made available for recharging electric vehicles at the site when required. The intention is to bring the CHP plant online for natural gas operation as early as spring 2020; hydrogen-powered generation would then commence the following summer.

In addition, the project is due to carry out simulations of controlled and uncontrolled blending of hydrogen in the natural gas grid. This simulation work will deepen the existing knowledge of INNIO Jenbacher and HanseWerk AG and help improve the future operation of gas engine CHP plans and the conditions required for smooth performance.

“Together with HanseWerk AG, we are paving the way for a future energy supply in Hamburg that is greener, more secure, more flexible and more decentralized,” said Carlos Lange, president and CEO of INNIO. “As a leading solutions provider of gas engines, we continue to invest in new technologies such as hydrogen. We are proud to be working in collaboration with HanseWerk AG to develop this innovative flagship project, a development that is a big step in advancing toward decarbonization.”

HanseWerk AG is a German energy service provider with a focus on grid operation and decentralized energy generation. It supplies around 1.3 million customers in the federal states of Schleswig-Holstein, Hamburg, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Brandenburg, and Lower Saxony with electricity, natural gas, water or heat.