Aggreko Running Trials on Hydrogen Power Units and Hydrogen Battery Storage
As part of its Net Zero program, Aggreko is accelerating its investments in hydrogen technology, the company said.
At present, the global leader in mobile and modular energy solutions is focusing on two different technologies. Aggreko’s first hydrogen power generation units piloted at its depot in Moerdijk, Netherlands, for use in temporary power applications. Aggreko is planning to have 10 50-kVA hydrogen combustion gensets ready for customer installations in Europe in the second half of 2021.
Together with Cleantech partner CMB.TECH, a 50-kVA hydrogen combustion genset demonstrator has been developed. After successful testing, Aggreko is now investing in 10 additional units to support hydrogen readiness, working with lead customers and partners to test and validate hydrogen as an energy carrier in temporary power. The solution will be ready for customer installations in Europe in the second half of 2021. This solution is Tier 4 final and Stage V-compliant without aftertreatment and results in near to no NOx emissions.
In addition, Aggreko has partnered with Nedstack to build a fuel cell demonstration unit that will integrate zero-emission hydrogen technology into Aggreko’s canopy storage battery solution. The hydrogen hybrid consists of a Proton Exchange Membrane fuel cell and a lithium-ion storage system. The zero-emissions solution will be piloted in Aggreko’s hub in Moerdijk.
Aggreko is exploring hydrogen technologies and fuel supply logistics to better understand long-term feasibility and usage in temporary power generation. The engine and fuel cell hybrids will be available as field-trial and demonstrator units at customer’s sites in the second half of 2021. This will help businesses around the world – from events to construction - to reduce their own emissions and bridge the gap to net zero.
“At Aggreko we like to think of hydrogen as having its own superpowers, given the electricity it can produce without emitting any emissions,” said Carsten Reincke-Collon, director of future technologies at Aggreko. “However, businesses around the world are only at the start of the hydrogen journey and therefore need to be supported to find the best ways of integrating it into their operations. This means better knowledge of and increased investment in storage and transport infrastructure, which is why we’re testing different technologies in order to fully understand the role hydrogen can play in transitioning temporary power to net zero.”
Last year, Aggreko committed to operating as a Net Zero business across all services it provides by 2050. The company will also reduce the amount of fossil diesel fuel used in customer solutions by at least 50 percent, reduce local air quality emissions of its solutions by 50 percent and achieve Net Zero across all its own business operations by 2030. To achieve these goals, Aggreko is increasingly offering clean technologies like battery storage and solar power, as well as prioritizing the use of alternative fuels.
