Megal station Waidhaus compresses with hydrogen

Essen (energate) - The transmission system operators Open Grid Europe (OGE) and GRT Gaz Germany have tested the admixture of hydrogen in a drive turbine at the Waidhaus compressor station. Normally, natural gas compressors are driven exclusively by the transported natural gas. For the tested drive turbine of the Central European Gas Pipeline (Megal), the two partners added 25 per cent green hydrogen to the drive gas in a six-week demonstration operation. In total, the plant was operated for more than 200 hours, OGE announced. The emission and power values measured showed that the turbine is able to be operated with the same available power while complying with the required emission specifications. The project participants also demonstrated a safe start-up of the gas turbine with the fuel mixture.

For the project, the two transmission system operators worked together with the US turbine manufacturer Solar Turbines, a Caterpillar subsidiary. A 'Titan 130 SoLoNOx' solar gas turbine was used. The test was prepared two years ago with the installation of a mobile mixing plant and a temporary hydrogen supply. "The project shows the desire and ability to establish a hydrogen economy," commented Thomas Hüwener, member of the OGE management. "This now requires the right legal and regulatory framework so that we can move forward with the build-up in Germany based on a solid financing model." /tc