On the road to decarbonization:
GE’s advanced premix combustors deliver cleaner, more power from hydrogen

As India aggressively transitions from a fossil-fuel driven power generation ecosystem to one centered around cleaner, renewable sources of energy, decarbonization continues to gather pace.

Currently, 6.6% of the country’s power is produced by plants using natural gas as their primary fuel. In this context, hydrogen can play a vital role by turning gas power generation into zero or nearly zero carbon emission affair.

Since hydrogen does not contain carbon, it does not emit carbon dioxide when combusted. Furthermore, if wind or solar energy is used to produce hydrogen via electrolysis – the process where electricity converts water into hydrogen and oxygen, power generation can become greener.

GE makes the most of hydrogen

Using this simple yet fundamental insight, GE has developed advanced premixed combustors to run gas turbines, the core of power plants, and generate more power from hydrogen.

First, the gas turbines convert the heat energy from gas into mechanical energy, which then drives a generator, producing electricity.

Combustors are basically fuel injectors with walls to contain the flame. Through a delicate balancing of fuel and oxygen, the flame is stabilized so that the gas turbine can accelerate easily and perform optimally. Combustors then feed the high pressure, hot gas stream in turbine components and blades spin to generate power.

GE’s DLN family (DLN 2/2.6/2.6+/2.6e) (Dry-Low NOx) of combustion systems enables GE’s F- and H-class gas turbines to reduce NOx emissions while enabling high plant efficiency plus extending outage intervals.

Premixed combustors at play

GE collaborated with the US Department of Energy in their Advanced Hydrogen Gas Turbine Program from 2005-2015 to develop a low nitrogen oxide-hydrogen combustion system that significantly increased the efficiency of its gas turbines.

In GE’s advanced premixed combustors, hydrogen and air are mixed in an optimal ratio and burned to get more heat energy. Emissions reduce because the fuel is premixed well, and the combustor releases thermal energy with less nitrogen oxides.

In this process, nitrogen oxide released is merely 25 PPM (Parts Per Million), well within World Bank emission norms and those specified under individual country regulations.

Further, these 3D-printed advanced premix combustors have small bundles of tubes for even better fuel mixing and further reduction of emissions. GE’s experience in developing gas turbines for airplanes helped them develop this technology.

GE’s latest gas turbine, the 9HA.02, uses precision-engineered, advanced premix combustors that have the capability to burn up to 50% hydrogen by volume blended with natural gas with technology pathway to 100%. The net efficiency level of a power plant powered by 9HA.02 gas turbine in a combined-cycle mode is more than 64%, meaning they can convert 64% of a drop of fuel into electricity. In comparison, the average car engine only manages 40% efficiency.

The efficiency gains help reduce fuel costs and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. In fact, GE holds two world Records for gas power plant efficiency. It accounts for a third of the world’s installed power base, with more than 10,000 gas and steam turbine generating units, representing more than 1,000,000 MW of installed capacity in 120 countries.

In the Indian context, GE’s new generation of combustion systems, better known as advanced premix combustors, enable hydrogen to burn at higher temperatures, helping produce highly efficient energy – electricity at ~INR 4 per unit with low emissions.

Hydrogen in the wind-solar mix

In India, solar power is abundant and peaks between 12 noon and 2 PM. The excess power generated in the afternoon can’t be sent to the electricity grid, but renewable energy farm owners can use it to generate hydrogen from water. In turn, this hydrogen can be stored in batteries as fuel and used to generate power from gas turbines when the sun sets, producing power round the clock.

Conclusion

If we think about electrification of the society, the sectors such as aviation, transportation, heavy industry that will require more electricity going forward, and millions of people who don’t have access to reliable electricity – then we have to think about ways to generate electricity that can complement each other while taking care of emitting near zero CO2 emissions. Fuel systems using hydrogen, renewables + natural gas, synthetic methane and biofuels can perfectly meet the criteria. For example - GE is a world leader in gas turbine fuel flexibility, including more than 75 gas turbines that have (or continue to) operate on fuels that contain hydrogen. This fleet has accumulated more than 6 million operating hours and produced more than 450 Terawatt-hours of electricity.

Hydrogen is the fuel of the future, and by employing GE’s advanced technology to harness hydrogen to its fullest potential, India will move closer to decarbonization.

For India to realize its goal of adding 175 GW of renewable energy by 2022 and 450 GW of RE by 2030, wind, solar and hydrogen will need to be used in conjunction. Only by doing that will the country build and nurture a more sustainable energy ecosystem and deliver reliable, affordable and low-emission power.

Using technological innovations like GE’s 9HA.02 gas turbines can also help India add more gas power to its energy mix and achieve its goal of generating 15% power through gas by 2030. It’s a decade of action, let’s begin now to make it happen and accelerate the transition.