Gas engines for hydrogen power plants: the challenge of combustion anomalies
Hydrogen has some special features compared to natural gas that need to be taken into account for gas engines. A consortium is now working on this.
(Image: Rolls-Royce)
The plan to operate decentralized gas-fired power plants predominantly with green hydrogen from 2035 is currently still lacking mature and sufficiently efficient drives. This is why the British engine manufacturer Rolls-Royce is working together with the Technical University of Munich, Mahle Industriemotoren-Komponenten, Fuchs Schmierstoffe and Bosch on a gas engine that is suitable for larger power plants. The Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing (BAM) is also involved in the joint project called Phoenix. The three-year project is being funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection with a total of almost 5 million euros.
The consortium aims to develop a technology or engine concept that achieves the same power density and efficiency in hydrogen operation in combined heat and power (CHP) systems as in natural gas operation, namely in the power range of up to 2.5 megawatts. The project has been running since the end of June, and BAM is now describing some of the development challenges.
Anomalies
One challenge in particular is so-called combustion anomalies: "Compared to natural gas, hydrogen is more prone to anomalies such as pre-ignition," Enis Askar from BAM's Hydrogen Competence Center explains. The engine ignites too early and high-pressure peaks occur. This could have a negative impact on the efficiency of the engine and its service life. "We are primarily investigating the role of the lubricant in this process and are testing various lubricant compositions that are being developed in the project," says Askar, according to a press release.
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The project is being coordinated by Rolls-Royce, which has already developed a gas-powered combustion engine that can use hydrogen as a fuel, but only on a small scale. BAM is also researching whether the lubricant can reliably fulfill its actual tasks of lubrication and protection against wear in a hydrogen environment – which is a demanding environment. BAM has special test facilities for this purpose, which enable the investigation of tribological properties (tribology, friction theory) in a hydrogen atmosphere.
(anw)
