The first in-house test stand for mtu hydrogen engines has been commissioned at Rolls-Royce’s Augsburg site in Germany.
During the last year and a half, Rolls-Royce has invested approximately €10m (US$10m) into test bench modernization, hydrogen infrastructure and other updates at Rolls-Royce Solutions in Augsburg as part of its climate protection program Net Zero at Power Systems.
With an mtu fuel cell system already in successful operation and the company’s power generation gensets now available for sustainable fuels such as hydrotreated vegetable oils, Rolls-Royce is developing electrolyzers to produce green hydrogen. To enable a climate-neutral energy supply the mtu gas engine range is also being prepared for hydrogen.
In 2021 Rolls-Royce announced it would realign its product portfolio so that by 2030 the company’s sustainable fuels and mtu technologies could help to achieve a greenhouse gas emissions reduction of 35% compared to 2019 levels.
Rolls-Royce’s Power Systems division has already set strict targets for reducing the greenhouse gas emissions of its own operations as part of the climate protection program. With interim targets already set for 2030, the company seeks to become climate neutral in Germany by 2045, and worldwide by 2050.
“This marks another milestone on the road to climate-neutral products for energy supply,” explained Andreas Schell, CEO of Rolls-Royce’s Power Systems division.
“To reduce CO2 emissions in electricity supply, renewable, often decentralized, energy sources are needed to generate electrical energy on a much larger scale than today,” said Dr Otto Preiss, chief technology officer and COO, Rolls-Royce Power Systems. “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 CHP 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.”
“The environmental protection measures now implemented at Rolls-Royce Solutions in Augsburg will benefit both the company and the city of Augsburg,” explained Tobias Schnell, managing director of Rolls-Royce Solutions Augsburg.
