☛ This way to a H2-ready Power Plant

TÜV SÜD awarded the world’s first certification for “H2-readiness” for a CCPP to Siemens Energy

 We have it – the world’s first Hydrogen Readiness certification, awarded to us by TÜV SÜD for our H2-ready power plant concept. What does it entail? Natural gas-fired combined cycle power plants (CCPP) currently being built or planned are also expected to run partially or fully on hydrogen fuel in the future. This means utilities that plan to purchase this type of power plant will expect a statement of the plant's ability to use hydrogen as a fuel.

The certificate is an important milestone in the transition from natural gas towards hydrogen fuel for gas turbine-based power plants. The journey starts with being H2-Ready. And while receiving this for our power plant concept is great, we also participated in the journey leading up to the certificate. As the need for such certification was becoming increasingly clear, TÜV SÜD supported by Allianz Center for Technology, and Siemens Energy started developing a guideline defining ‘H2-Readiness’ for the first time. And while the guideline deals with CCPP, it can also be used as a basis for single cycle power plants and combined heat and power plants.

What does the guideline actually contain? A roadmap – describing how plants can be converted over time to co-fire hydrogen or even burn pure hydrogen. That’s why the certification of a combined cycle power plant includes three stages: First, a concept certificate for the conceptual design (including boundary conditions) during the bidding phase; second, a project certificate for the implementation phase, in other words, the final plant design and its specifications; and third, a transition certificate for the conversion of an existing CCPP to burn hydrogen – including a review of the retrofit measures and their impact on safety and performance.

The advantages are obvious. First, a hydrogen guideline focusing on a complete CCPP as an overall system didn’t exist before. What was available, refers to detailed aspects related to the use of hydrogen in the field of energy production and transport, such as material compatibility. Others focus only on sub-parts of a CCPP, such as the fuel supply system.

Now, with a guideline from an independent organization such as TÜV SÜD all participants in the market, such as OEM, plant operators or insurers, can finally use a common transparent framework. And I’m happy to say that Siemens Energy is already involved in the construction of several power plants that are designed to be partly or fully hydrogen-fired – and should qualify as “H2-ready”.  With a clear understanding of what this term means, we help building a bridge to a decarbonized energy future.

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