NTPC and GE Gas Power have signed an MoU for feasibility to demonstrate hydrogen (H2) co-firing blended with natural gas in GE’s 9E gas turbines installed at NTPC’s Kawas combined-cycle gas power plant.
Under this collaboration, the two companies will jointly explore the pathways to reduce CO2 emissions from Kawas gas power plant in Gujarat and further implementation at scale across NTPC’s installed units in India.
GE gas turbines
NTPC’s Kawas gas power plant is powered by four GE 9E gas turbines operating in a combined-cycle mode and has an installed capacity of 645 mw. Further, GE’s advance E- Class gas turbine portfolio currently has the capability to burn up to 100 per cent by volume of hydrogen when blended with natural gas.
This capability varies depending on the type of combustion system used. For fuels with over 5 per cent hydrogen by volume, gas turbine accessories need to be evaluated and possibly modified to reliably deliver the fuel to the combustors.
Adaptation for H2
In this MoU with NTPC, GE Gas Power will evaluate the possible modifications in the gas turbine unit and auxiliaries required for blending of H2 with natural gas. Thereafter, a pilot project for 5 per cent co-firing of hydrogen may be implemented at the Kawasgas power plant in a safe environment, based on the feasibility report. NTPC shall provide H2 required for the project.
Leveraging gas power assets
“This MoU is among the steps we are taking in the direction to meet the objectives under the National Hydrogen Mission. As our collaboration with GE grows deeper, we are more focused to use advanced technology and leverage our gas power assets with higher percentage of zero-carbon fuels such as H2, as the availability of the fuel becomes viable,” according to Ujjwal Kanti Bhattacharya, Director (Projects), NTPC
Also read: GE Gas Power Strengthens Regional Supply Chain And Collaborations
New benchmarks
“Hydrogen has a significant potential to play a complementary role along with other low-to-zero carbon fuels in generating electricity at scale. We applaud NTPC’s leadership, commitment and investment in hydrogen that can further set new industry benchmarks in terms of discovering low-cost hydrogen industry going forward and achieving energy self-reliance,” noted Deepesh Nanda, CEO, GE Gas Power South Asia.
Seen in featured photograph (L to R) are: U.K Bhattacharya, Director (Projects), NTPC; Deepesh Nanda, CEO, GE Gas Power South Asia;. Pankaj Kumar Gupta, GM, Energy Transition & Policy Research, NTPC; and M.K. Srivastava, Executive Director, Engineering, NTPC.
