With a mixture including 60% hydrogen by volume, CO2<\/sub> emissions would be 30% lower than a diesel engine, rising to 50-100% improvement once the hydrogen ratio rises above 80%, Bergen Engine\u2019s analysis suggests.<\/p>\n Enquiries have been received from the marine sector but the first application for the technology will be in land-based power generation plants, which have access to green hydrogen produced using wind and solar energy when there is a surplus from those generators.<\/p>\n Tests began in January, prompted by a specific enquiry from a land-based user, with immediate positive results. A statement issued on 1 February reported that initial tests using a blend of 15% hydrogen and 85% natural gas, by volume, were completed without any hardware adjustments and said that the engine\u2019s output was \u201cmaintained according to specification at all load levels\u201d. Emissions of CO2<\/sub> and CO were also reduced, as too were unburned hydrocarbon levels and methane slip, the statement said.<\/p>\n Bergen Engines confirmed that it had signed a contract with Italian energy supplier Edison Next to delivery two 11.7 MWe hydrogen-ready gensets to a power plant in Italy. The engines will be built specifically to use a hydrogen\/natural gas blend, with shipment from Bergen scheduled for December 2022. These will be 20 cylinder variants of its B36:45V specification.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Although its tests were run with 15% hydrogen, Bergen Engines has committed to just 10% hydrogen for this first order, although it is confident that the performance it reported can be sustained for higher proportions of hydrogen.<\/p>\n Its February comments described the fuel blend as \u201ca first step towards zero carbon emissions\u201d and said that \u201cBergen Engines is aiming to have a commercial solution in the market that will accept hydrogen content of up to 60%, and solutions that can be further developed to accept 100% for new engines to come\u201d.<\/p>\n It is too early to say when those milestones will be reached, Dr Nordrik said, but its test engine has already been run with an 80% hydrogen blend, although that was at part-load. At full load, a hydrogen ratio of 40% has been tested, which is at the physical limit of the test assembly\u2019s hydrogen-dosing equipment.<\/p>\n Engine upgrades planned<\/strong><\/p>\n Bergen Engines has ambitious plans for its hydrogen research. While its immediate aim is to confirm that its current gas engine designs can operate with low levels of hydrogen without any hardware changes, its intention is eventually to offer upgrades to enable other engines to operate on hydrogen, according to a statement issued on 1 February after initial testing with a 15% blend of hydrogen, by volume.<\/p>\n These upgrades will initially be available for Bergen Engines B-Series engines. Bergen Engines Senior Principal R&D Engineer, Rune Nordrik explained that this series has long been available as a diesel engine and the engine block is the same for both that version and for the gas-fuelled alternative.<\/p>\n As a result, \u201ca rebuild will not be that comprehensive\u201d, he believes. Components such as turbochargers, pistons, cylinder head, fuel injectors and possibly the camshaft would need replacing, but that work could be done during a main engine revision, he said.<\/p>\n Initially, Bergen Engines is launching the B36:45V engine for hydrogen use but if there is market demand, this could be extended to its C engines and older B35 models, he said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n <\/p>\n\n
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