New German plant with Siemens GTs sets hydrogen goal

Siemens Energy set a long-term target to increase the hydrogen firing capability of its SGT-800 gas turbine up to 100 percent.[/caption]

Siemens Energy is supplying two gas turbine packages for the Leipzig Süd district heating power plant in Germany. The new district heating power plant has a fuel efficiency of 93 percent with the goal to operate with 100 percent hydrogen in the long-term.

The new plant is meant to help decarbonize the regional power supply. The Stadtwerke Leipzig plant will be independent of district heat from the Lippendorf lignite-fired power plant. Also, the plant is expected to operate with 30 to 50 percent green hydrogen within a few years of commercial operation. The long-term goal is to operate the facility with 100 percent hydrogen. Commissioning is scheduled for the end of 2022.

The new gas power plant with combined heat and power technology will be built on Stadtwerke Leipzig’s existing site on Bornaische Strasse and produce electricity and district heat for the city. It will have an electrical capacity of approximately 125 MW and a thermal capacity of around 163 MW. The plant’s maximum fuel efficiency will be 93 percent, thanks to the district heat production.

The order from Stadtwerke Leipzig covers the supply of two SGT-800 gas turbines, each with a maximum efficiency of 41 percent. The turbines are expected to be fired with natural gas, starting in late 2022, and be successively converted to the combustion of ever greater proportions of hydrogen. The long-term goal is to operate the plant with 100 percent green hydrogen, which can be produced from wind or solar energy by electrolysis. This will permit completely CO₂-free and climate-neutral plant operation.

Germany takes on hydrogen

Earlier this month, BP and Orsted signed letter of intent to develop a large-scale renewable hydrogen project at a refinery in northwest Germany, one of the latest announcements related to the energy sector’s development of “green hydrogen.”

According to BP, the project will involve the development of an initial 50 MW electrolyser and associated infrastructure at its Lingen Refinery. The electrolyser is expected to generate nearly 9,000 metric tons of hydrogen per year. A final investment decision is expected in 2022 and the project could operational by 2024. Orsted said it expects the electrolyser at the Lingen Green Hydrogen project to be powered by one of its offshore wind farms in the North Sea.