How Georgia Power, Mitsubishi Power, Southern Company Research & Development, and EPRI were the first to validate 20% hydrogen fuel blending on an advanced class gas turbine in North America
20% - A Record Breaking Advancement and the Next Step in the Decarbonization Pathway
Located north of Atlanta, the Plant McDonough-Atkinson facility in Smyrna, Georgia, generates enough energy to power more than 1.7 million homes. To bring cleaner, more efficient energy to the area, the plant converted to natural gas in 2012, operating six M501G series gas turbines, along with three steam turbines in a 2-on-1 combined-cycle configuration. Now, as the next step in its decarbonization pathway, Plant McDonough-Atkinson has successfully demonstrated the feasibility of blending 20% hydrogen fuel in its advanced class gas turbines.
The Significance of 20% Hydrogen Blending on a Utility-Scale Gas Turbine
Hydrogen fuel in gas turbines is seen as a promising bridge to a low/zero carbon future power system. Since it contains no carbon, hydrogen as a fuel source directly reduces the carbon emitted by a gas turbine. However, much of the experience regarding hydrogen blending on gas turbines has been on older engines with diffusion flame combustion systems and operation at lower pressures and temperatures.
The successful hydrogen blending demonstration at Plant McDonough-Atkinson serves as an example to other CCGT power plants on how to safely increase hydrogen fuel blending percentages without impacting system reliability, all while reducing emissions and improving the turbine’s efficiency.
Deploying Hydrogen Blending Combustion Technology
Hydrogen fuel in gas turbines is seen as a promising bridge to a low/zero carbon future power system. Since it contains no carbon, hydrogen as a fuel source directly reduces the carbon emitted by a gas turbine. However, much of the experience regarding hydrogen blending on gas turbines has been on older engines with diffusion flame combustion systems and operation at lower pressures and temperatures.
The successful hydrogen blending demonstration at Plant McDonough-Atkinson serves as an example to other CCGT power plants on how to safely increase hydrogen fuel blending percentages without impacting system reliability, all while reducing emissions and improving the turbine’s efficiency.
Testing Results: Lowered Emissions, Increased Performance
Mitsubishi Power provided full turnkey service for this project including engineering, planning, hydrogen blending hardware, controls, commissioning, and risk management. Mitsubishi Power partnered with Certarus to source and manage the hydrogen supply and researchers from EPRI performed the testing. The results of this demonstration support the feasibility of using hydrogen as a fuel source in large-scale gas turbines to reduce CO emissions, enhance performance, and allow further operational flexibility with minimal changes to existing plant infrastructure and hardware.
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Key Takeaways
- The demonstration is the highest hydrogen fuel blend percentage (20.9%) on any advanced class gas turbine to date
- The >20% blend resulted in a 7% reduction in carbon emissions compared to natural gas and maintained high thermal efficiency
- The increase in hydrogen fuel blend percentage improved turndown by lowering minimum emissions compliance load, leading to reduced emissions and operational flexibility
- No issues with gas turbine control under test conditions
- Maintained Mitsubishi Power's best-in-class reliability throughout and after the test
- No modifications to the turbine hardware were required
The Key to 20% Hydrogen is 100% Teamwork
Recent breakthrough test of hydrogen in an advanced-class gas turbine reveals that forging the frontier of the energy transition requires collaboration at a whole new level. Meet the team that made this successful project possible.
Making the Hydrogen Revolution a Reality
Explore the potential of clean hydrogen, from quick wins to long-term vision, as we work towards accelerating the transition to a net-zero future. More regulatory action, commercial projects, permitting reform, scalable production, and increased investment are needed to drive progress in this early stage of clean-hydrogen energy. Collaboration among stakeholders is essential for realizing the enormous potential of Earth’s lightest molecule.