The German Federal Government has declared that its aim for the energy transition is to halt the use of fossil fuels by 2050. Gas-fired power are important for facilitating the move from fossil fuels to renewable sources of energy. This is due to their flexibility and the possibility of powering their gas turbines with hydrogen, rather than with natural gas. The German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum fur Luft- und Raumfahrt; DLR) is now working with industry partners at its test facilities in Cologne to develop the technology required to achieve this goal.

The Federal Government's decision to phase out the generation of electricity from nuclear power and coal (decarbonisation) has led to an emerging need to find ways of compensating for this reduced capacity. With this in mind, reliable, environmentally friendly power plants are to be built that ensure a continuous supply of power even in times of low wind and little sunlight.

Gas-fired or gas- and steam-fired power plants are particularly well suited to this purpose, as they can cover the increasing energy demand in an efficient and environmentally friendly way at any moment, and over long periods of time. Hydrogen is particularly important as a source of energy, as acknowledged, for instance, in the National Hydrogen Strategy. DLR has many years of interdisciplinary experience in hydrogen research, covering the entire process chain from carbon dioxide-free production to application.

The necessary infrastructure
With its High Pressure Combustion Chamber Test Stand 2 (HBK 2), DLR has modernised one of its most versatile large-scale test facilities in order to develop future power plant technology for hydrogen applications. The facility now has an efficient air supply and a modern hydrogen plant, completed in 2012 with partial support from funding measures in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. HBK2 is a unique facility for the research and testing of critical power plant components for generating power without emitting carbon dioxide.

An innovative combustion system using hydrogen developed by the US company Power Systems Mfg (PSM) was tested in HBK2 in a pilot application. The DLR Institute of Propulsion Technology provided the testing infrastructure and a laser-optic diagnostic system, which was developed in-house.

This made it possible to visualise the processes that take place during hydrogen combustion in a gas turbine combustion chamber, under real pressure and temperature conditions, for the very first time. As a result, the complex interrelationships can be analysed more effectively, and technology can be developed to prepare for series production.

"Our test facilities were originally developed for aeronautics. However, our infrastructure is flexible and we have longstanding experience in interdisciplinary collaboration with industry," says Christian Fleing, Head of the Combustion Chamber Testing Department at the Institute of Propulsion Technology. "There is a lot of excitement around the energy transition, as people realise that they can make a real contribution towards resolving one of the key issues of our era."

The next step is to test hydrogen combustion in conjunction with a European consortium. The focus of this consortium will be on specific applications in existing power plants, with the intention of replacing natural gas as an energy source with hydrogen as quickly as possible. In addition to DLR, the consortium includes the companies Ansaldo Thomassen (PSM's European sister company), OPRA, Vattenfall, DOW, Nouryon, EmmTec, ENS CHP from Polenergia Group, Hygear, TU Delft and TU Eindhoven.

Related Links
German National Hydrogen Strategy
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