Mitsubishi Power Completes World’s Largest Hydrogen Fuel Blending Project

• Landmark project demonstrates successful retrofitting of Mitsubishi Power’s fleet of advanced-class gas turbines to operate on a hydrogen fuel blend.

• World’s largest fuel blending of hydrogen and natural gas at Georgia Power’s Plant McDonough-Atkinson in Georgia, USA.
• Mitsubishi Power undertaking similar groundbreaking decarbonization projects in MENA, including ANRPC Hydrogen Fuel Conversion Blending project in Egypt, enabling 100% hydrogen capability by 2023.

Dubai, UAE, (July 05, 2022) – Mitsubishi Power, a power solutions brand of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. (MHI) and Georgia Power, alongside the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), this month successfully validated fuel blending of hydrogen and natural gas at both partial and full load on a natural gas turbine at Georgia Power’s Plant McDonough-Atkinson in Georgia, United States.  

The project was the first and largest to validate 20%[1] hydrogen fuel blending on an advanced class gas turbine globally. Mitsubishi Power provided full turnkey service for this project including engineering, planning, hydrogen blending hardware, controls, commissioning and risk management.

This announcement is in line with the recent Mitsubishi Power agreement with leading Egyptian O&G Company Alexandria National Refining & Petrochemicals Company (ANRPC) to provide advanced hydrogen fuel conversion technology solutions supporting the company to achieve its decarbonization goals. The solution will be installed at the ARNPC refinery plant in Alexandria, which provides 30% of Egypt’s gasoline supply for domestic consumption.

As part of the project, Mitsubishi Power will be responsible for the design, engineering, procurement, construction, and commissioning of fuel conversion solutions for the existing 100 ton/hour boiler, enabling it to fire up to 100% hydrogen by the end of 2023. This includes the installation of state-of-the-art hydrogen burner technology and advanced control solution to ensure efficient and safe operations. Dry low NOx (DLN) hydrogen blending was successful at up to 20% at the designed 100% natural gas firing temperature, within emissions compliance for the existing air permit, and without impact on the maintenance intervals.

Khalid Salem, President, Middle East and North Africa at Mitsubishi Power said, “We are proud of this global milestone that reinforces Mitsubishi Power’s leadership in successfully deploying hydrogen blending combustion technology. Simultaneously, in the Middle East and North Africa region, we are also executing industry leading hydrogen fuel conversion projects for our customers, including ANRPC in Egypt. In addition to providing full turnkey projects, we are also partnering with our customers to secure the hydrogen supply chain. This is part of our ongoing commitment at Mitsubishi Power to enable our customers to achieve their decarbonization goals.”

Georgia Power, the largest electric subsidiary of Southern Company, collaborated with Mitsubishi Power for the landmark testing as part of a continued commitment to new research and development (R&D) to build the energy grid of the future and to reduce carbon emissions across its generation fleet, with Georgia Power having already reduced its carbon emissions by more than 60% since 2007.

“This monumental hydrogen demonstration project at Plant McDonough-Atkinson is another example of how, at Georgia Power and Southern Company, we are building the future of energy, today. This demonstration helps pave the way for long-term clean and carbon-free use for already existing infrastructure. Making these smart investments today on behalf of our customers ensures we can continue to provide clean, safe, reliable and affordable energy as Georgia grows and thrives for decades to come,” said Allen Reaves, Senior Vice President and Senior Production Officer, Georgia Power. “This kind of research and development not only delivers long-term value for our customers, but also helps drive the entire energy industry forward toward a cleaner, carbon-free future. We’re proud to be playing an important role in that and excited about what we’ve been able to accomplish with our partner, Mitsubishi Power.”

Mark Bissonnette, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Power Generation, Mitsubishi Power Americas, said, “Mitsubishi Power is dedicated to our mission of providing power generation and storage solutions to our customers, empowering them to affordably and reliably combat climate change and advance human prosperity. The hydrogen blending demonstration project at Plant McDonough-Atkinson brings us closer to reaching net-zero goals across the industry. Together with our customers and partners, we are creating a Change in Power.”

Mitsubishi Power completed the hydrogen blending on one M501G gas turbine unit with an approximate output of 265 MW by utilizing some results of a project commissioned by the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO), Japan’s national research and development agency.

The Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), an independent, non-profit energy research and development organization, supported the development of the project. EPRI researchers were on-site during the testing, and the organization will publish a detailed report on the testing and results later this summer. EPRI delivers thought leadership and technical expertise through projects such as this one, as well as programs such as the Low-Carbon Resources Initiative.

About Mitsubishi Power in Europe, Middle East and Africa
Mitsubishi Power is a power solutions brand of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI), with a large presence across Europe, the Middle East and Africa. This includes centres of excellence in Germany, the United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, besides vast customer support capabilities in many countries across the region. Mitsubishi Power designs, manufactures and maintains equipment and systems that drive decarbonization and ensures the delivery of reliable power. Among its solutions are a wide range of gas turbines, including hydrogen-fuelled gas turbines and solid-oxide fuel cells (SOFCs), and an experienced services business with an extensive reach across the entire region. Committed to providing exemplary service and working with customers, Mitsubishi Power's TOMONI™ intelligent solutions leverages advanced analytics, adaptive control technology, artificial intelligence and machine learning to make power plants smarter, lowering emissions, increasing flexibility and supporting decarbonization.

For more information, please visit: https://power.mhi.com/regions/emea/

About Mitsubishi Power Americas, Inc.

Mitsubishi Power Americas, Inc. (Mitsubishi Power) headquartered in Lake Mary, Florida, employs more than 2,300 power generation, energy storage, and digital solutions experts and professionals. Our employees are focused on empowering customers to affordably and reliably combat climate change while also advancing human prosperity throughout North, Central, and South America. Mitsubishi Power’s power generation solutions include gas, steam, and aero-derivative turbines; power trains and power islands; geothermal systems; PV solar project development; environmental controls; and services. Energy storage solutions include green hydrogen, battery energy storage systems, and services. Mitsubishi Power also offers intelligent solutions that use artificial intelligence to enable autonomous operation of power plants. Mitsubishi Power is a power solutions brand of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI). Headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, MHI is one of the world’s leading heavy machinery manufacturers with engineering and manufacturing businesses spanning energy, infrastructure, transport, aerospace, and defense. For more information, visit the Mitsubishi Power Americas website and follow us on LinkedIn.