UK-based global major power and propulsion systems group Rolls-Royce has announced that its Germany-based Power Systems division has commissioned its first in-house test stand for hydrogen-powered gas turbine engines. The division produces these engines under the ‘mtu’ brand.

The test stand is located at the company’s site in Augsburg, in the German ‘Land’ (state) of Bavaria. The setting-up of the test stand, its associated hydrogen infrastructure and environmental protection measures, cost €10-million, over the past 18 months.

“This marks another milestone on the road to climate-neutral products for energy supply,” affirmed Rolls-Royce Power Systems CEO Andreas Schell. The test stand is part of the ‘Net Zero [carbon emissions] at Power Systems’ programme. This was launched in July last year, and aims at cutting carbon emissions from mtu-branded products by 35% in 2030, in comparison to 2019. This would be achieved through the use of sustainable fuels and the development of new technologies.

“To reduce CO₂ emissions in electricity supply, renewable, often decentralised, energy sources are needed to generate electrical energy on a much larger scale than today,” pointed out Rolls-Royce Power Systems chief technology officer and COO Dr Otto Preiss. “In conjunction with these renewable sources, we see hydrogen as an essential energy carrier of the future. That is why we are doing everything we can to gradually bring our mtu gensets and [combined heat and power] units based on the Series 500 and 4000 gas engines to market for operation with a hydrogen blending of 25% by volume (H₂) and more and for operation with up to 100% by volume.”

Rolls-Royce Power Systems is aiming to be climate neutral, worldwide, by 2050, and hopes to be climate neutral in Germany by 2045. As part of this programme, the division intends to feed ‘residual’ industrial electricity from its Augsburg site into the public grid and/or use waste heat from its various test stands to air condition buildings.  The Augsburg site is being used to develop and test biofuel-powered gas turbines and, in future, hydrogen-powered engines, as well as to manufacture and maintain them.

Rolls-Royce Power Systems recently also entered the hydrogen production sector, by acquiring a majority shareholding in German startup company Hoeller Electrolyzer.