The University of Stavanger operates a micro gas plant in southwestern Norway. The gas turbine generates electricity and heat for the university’s own use, with surplus energy being supplied to power provider Lyse’s district heating and electricity grids.
“We have set a world record in hydrogen combustion in micro gas turbines. No one has been able to produce at this level before,” said Professor Mohsen Assadi, who leads the research team.
“The efficiency of running the gas turbine with hydrogen will be somewhat less. The big gain though, is to be able to utilize the infrastructure that already exists,” he added, emphasizing that this research is about storage as well as distribution of gas fuel.
“First, a certain effort is required to ensure that existing gas infrastructure can handle hydrogen instead of natural gas. Second, this is about technology for energy conversion, that is, the turbine technology itself. That is what we have focused on. We have contributed to technological adaptations of the fuel system and combustion chamber technology,” concluded Professor Assadi.
His research team will now take a closer look at the limitations of the gas plant and explore how they can increase its capacity.