NTPC, GE Gas Power to test hydrogen co-firing in gas turbines

India’s largest power generating utility NTPC has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with GE Gas Power to validate the feasibility of hydrogen (H2) co-firing blended with natural gas in GE’s 9E gas turbines.

Aimed at decarbonizing power generation in India with advanced technology, the trial will be carried out at NTPC’s Kawas combined-cycle gas power plant in Gujarat.

NTPC and GE Gas Power will explore ways to cut CO2 emissions from the Kawas gas power plant as part of the partnership.

With a power generating capacity of 645MW, the Kawas plant features four GE 9E gas turbines operating in a combined-cycle mode.

Deepesh Nanda — GE Gas Power South Asia CEO said: “India’s power landscape is strengthened by the emerging technologies that are at various stages of development and industrial competitiveness. Hydrogen has a significant potential to play a complementary role along with other low-to-zero carbon fuels in generating electricity at scale.

“We applaud NTPC’s leadership, commitment and investment in hydrogen that can further set new industry benchmarks in terms of discovering low-cost hydrogen industry going forward and achieving energy self-reliance.”

NTPC, GE Gas Power to test hydrogen co-firing in gas turbines. Photo courtesy of GE Gas Power.

Under the MoU with NTPC, GE Gas Power will assess the modifications that could be possibly made to the gas turbine unit and auxiliaries required for blending H2 with natural gas.

Based on the feasibility report, a pilot project for 5% co-firing of hydrogen could be later carried out at the Kawas gas power plant in a safe environment.

Hydrogen to be required for the project will be supplied by NTPC.

Ujjwal Kanti Bhattacharya — NTPC Director (Projects) said: ““NTPC, with a large fleet of power generation facilities delivering more than 70 GW across India, has been at the forefront when it comes to piloting new hydrogen-related initiatives.

“NTPC is committed to playing a key role in India’s energy transition journey as the country marches ahead to achieve net-zero target and climate goals. In parallel, it’s crucial to invest and effectively utilize the proven technology that can generate electricity, which is affordable, accessible and reliable.

“This MoU is among the steps we are taking in the direction to meet the objectives under the National Hydrogen Mission.

“As our collaboration with GE grows deeper, we are more focused to use advanced technology and leverage our gas power assets with higher percentage of zero-carbon fuels such as H2, as the availability of the fuel becomes viable.”