Siemens to Test Green Fuels at Swedish Gas Plant

Germany’s Siemens has signed a cooperation agreement with Swedish energy group Goteborg Energi on the trial use of hydrogen and other renewable fuels at the gas-fired Rya combined heat and power (CHP) plant.

Under the project’s first stage, an SGT-8000 turbine has been installed for the validation of 3D-printed burners, which will then enable the testing of fossil fuel-free fuels at the station near Gothenburg, Siemens said in a message on December 5. The use of 3D printing will help accelerate the development of these turbines, it said.

“In our collaboration with Goteborg Energi we see the possibility to verify the viability of several different renewable fuels, such as hydrogen, on a larger scale, first in Sweden and then in other parts of the world,” Siemens’ head of distributed generation and oil and gas services, Thorbjoern Fors, commented. “Our goal is to run the SGT-600, -700 and -800 gas turbine combustors 100% fossil free, for example with hydrogen, in the near future.”

Gothenburg’s ambition is to generate all its district heating from renewable or recovered energy sources by 2030.

"The Rya CHP plant plays an important role in Gothenburg's electricity supply," Goteborg Energi CEO Alf Engqvist said. “Working together with Siemens we want to explore the possibilities for the conversion of both electric power and heat production as pieces of the puzzle in our work for fossil-free energy independence.”