ETI to investigate the safe use of hydrogen

A £2 million project to advance the safe design and operation of gas turbines, reciprocating engines and combined heat & power systems using hydrogen based fuels has been launched by the UK based Energy Technologies Institute (ETI).

The project has been developed with the input of industry and with the additional input of academics from Europe and North America.

ETI Chief Executive Dr David Clarke said: "This ETI project will help improve the fundamental design, safety, and operation of future high hydrogen systems, as well as help inform new standards.

"The project will be a significant step in creating industry confidence in using high hydrogen fuels and taking the UK towards greater use of what have to be treated today as 'waste fuels' because of uncertainty in how to control their combustion.  Looking ahead, greater use of fuels from sources such as waste reprocessing will be an important part of improving energy costs and energy security for all UK consumers."

Through new modelling and large-scale experimental work the ETI project will look to identify the bounds of safe design and operation of high efficiency CCGT (combined cycle gas turbine) and CHP (combined heat and power) systems operating on a range of fuels with high and variable concentrations of hydrogen.

The goals of the project are to increase the range of fuels that can be safely used in power and heat generating plant by indentifying the boundaries of safe design and operation of power generation systems using hydrogen based fuels; and identifying improvements in the detailed design and instrumentation of hydrogen fuelled power systems in order to deliver more robust and inherently safer system designs.

The outcomes of this project will benefit the manufacturers and operators of all powerplants which may potentially utilise fuel containing high or variable levels of hydrogen such as gas feeds from landfill and anaerobic digestors. The project will be led by the Health and Safety Laboratory (HSL), an agency of the Health and Safety Executive, in collaboration with Imperial Consultants, the consulting arm of Imperial College.

The project will investigate the impact of a 'flameout' in a CCGT or reciprocating engine CHP system, which may result in an explosive mixture of fuel and air being pumped into a hot exhaust system before the flameout is detected. This in turn could lead to an explosion.

Eddie Morland, HSL CEO commented: "We are delighted to be leading this crucial research project which will contribute to helping the UK reach its energy targets. At HSL we have an impressive track record of enabling new technologies, so the opportunity to work on such an innovative project is one that we will relish."

Imperial Consultants Director of Operations, Dr Alister McDermott added: "Imperial Consultants welcomes the opportunity to be involved in this ETI project that will advance the safe use of hydrogen based fuels. Providing expertise in the flammability, ignition and detonation of high-hydrogen fuel compositions, our consultants will assist in developing safer solutions to the design and operation of gas turbines."

The ETI is also commissioning a project to develop and demonstrate next generation carbon capture technologies specifically for gas fired power stations. An announcement on who will carry out the work on this project is expected by early 2012.

The ETI is a public private partnership between six global industrial companies - BP, Caterpillar, EDF, E.ON, Rolls-Royce and Shell - and the UK Government tasked with developing "mass scale" technologies that will help the UK meet its 2020 and 2050 energy targets. It is concerned with identifying affordable, sustainable and secure energy across heat, power, transport and the infrastructure that links them.

For further information, please visit the ETI website.