A first for Africa: LM6000 runs on hydrogen fuel blend

The project illustrates that gas turbines offer great potential to operate at lower carbon intensity and can complement the growth of variable renewables by providing on demand electricity to firm the grid. The safe execution of the demonstration also tells us that while hydrogen does present certain unique challenges with transportation, storage, and use at site for power generation, those obstacles can be overcome with the right arrangements, trainings, and precautions. The successful adaptation of an existing installed unit to run on hydrogen-blended fuel also clearly highlights that today’s gas power generation assets can be a destination technology, not just a bridging technology, as the world scales up the production of hydrogen. This is important for countries that have made considerable investments of billions of dollars in these assets. 

Learnings from the Sharm El Sheikh experience will be studied and shared by EPRI, through the Low-Carbon Resources Initiative. EPRI’s engagement brings an element of global collaboration to the project that can inform future hydrogen blending power projects around the world.Learnings from the Sharm El Sheikh experience will be studied and shared by EPRI, through the Low-Carbon Resources Initiative. EPRI’s engagement brings an element of global collaboration to the project that can inform future hydrogen blending power projects around the world.