POWER GENERATION

Volvo Group and other companies. ENERPORT II AT DUISPORT

Forming the basis of future mass-market
fuel cell applications, each cell will have
a net power output of about 150 kW.
Daisy-chained together, the systems
will be capable of producing several
megawatts of green hydrogen, suitable
for delivering zero-emissions back-up
power for applications including large
data centres, or to provide power to the
grid if renewables are unavailable.
“Electrical generators based on fuel
cells represent the next leap forward in
the energy transition, both for us and
our customers,” said Andreas Schell,
Rolls-Royce Power Systems is in the process of delivering three fuel cell systems to the
Enerport II program in Duisburg, Germany, the largest inland port in Europe. A further two
hydrogen internal combustion engines will also be delivered, with the combined technology
creating a hydrogen-based energy supply network.
The mtu fuel cell systems are intended to deliver power as soon as the public power grid
reaches its limits, possibly when there is a maximum number of ships docked in port. The two
H2 ICEs, based on CS Series 4000 engines, will convert hydrogen into electricity, either for
delivery directly to the container terminal or to the grid. Waste heat will be captured to heat
facility buildings.
The installation will be further supported by an array of photovoltaic panels and connected
storage batteries integrated into the local power supply network.
Described as ‘decentralized and climate friendly’, Enerport II is put forward as a blueprint of
what future power generation could look like, with fuel cells, ICEs and solar all contributing to
reduce related CO2 emissions.

Hydrogen as an energy
solution for inland ports

Rolls-Royce
Power
Systems
and Hoeller
Electrolyzer
celebrate
future
cooperation

“Fuelled by
renewables and
using a clever
CEO of Rolls-Royce Power Systems, in
automation
a statement covering the formation of
system, you use as Cellcentric in late 2021. Perry Kuiper,
much renewable as head of Sales, Sustainable Power
Solutions, added: “We’ve declared it
possible, store energy our mission to have over half of the data
in the batteries centres supplied by emergency power
from fuel cells in the future.”
and use diesel in an The Hoeller stack technology
emergency.” and fuel cells from Cellcentric will
enable Rolls-Royce Power Systems to
TOBIAS OSTERMAIER, deliver a complete hydrogen power
Rolls-Royce Power generation solution. “We will pair up the
Systems electrolysers and the fuel cells, which will
be connected to battery packs and control
management systems,” said Görtz. “With
the inverters, we will have everything in
place to provide electrical energy, to a
customer or to a grid.”
HEDGING BETS
Görtz said that three fuel cell systems
are planned for delivery to the Enerport
II program. Located at the Port of
Duisburg, Europe’s largest inland port,
the cells will serve as part of a hydrogen-
based supply network including
conversion and storage systems (see
sidebar for more).
“These fuel cell systems can develop
500 kW each,” Görtz said. “They will
be delivered in 2023, our first units in
the field. We’re also continuing to test
the technology with a series of selected
customers. From 2025, we’re planning
to have the electrolyzer and fuel cell as a
standard product.”
Asked if the focus on hydrogen
fuel cells is a hedge against customers >

NOVEMBER 2022 | DIESEL PROGRESS | 39

POWER GENERATION
possibly moving away from diesel, Tobias
Ostermaier, president, Stationary Power
Solutions, stated that the goal is simply
to have the most complete product
portfolio.
“At the symposium, our customers
said that we have one of the widest
product portfolios in the market,
competitive diesel, gaseous and other
system types. In addition, over the last
three years we’ve added new systems
which use sustainable technology.
That’s why the announcement about
electrolysers was so important, as it was
the last part of the puzzle.”
Ostermaier pointed out that while
hydrogen solutions are still a future
technology (if only one or two years
away), Rolls-Royce Power Systems
has made strides to make traditional
technologies more sustainable. “Our
Series 4000 and Series 1600 diesel power
generation systems are now compatible
with HVO (hydrotreated vegetable oil)
and other sustainable fuels, including
PtX and BtL. That’s with any D rating.
That means any of the existing power
generation fleet, more than 80,000
engines, could in theory and practise be
operated using sustainable fuel. That
would have an immediate impact on the
CO2 footprint.”
Ostermaier said Rolls-Royce Power
Systems is committed to investing for
further research into diesel, supporting
the traditional business sector, while
also developing future technologies.
Case in point, a gen-set using HVO
can deliver CO2 emission reductions
of up 90%, while aftertreatment can
40 | DIESEL PROGRESS | NOVEMBER 2022
“We will have
everything
in place to
provide electrical
energy, to a customer
or to a grid.”
ANDREAS GÖRTZ,
Rolls-Royce Power
Systems
significantly reduce NOx output.
Future developments covering internal
combustion engines (ICEs), such as
the mixing of gas with hydrogen, have
the potential to cut CO2 emissions still
further – that’s before the introduction of
ICEs using 100% hydrogen.
Of course, such emissions reduction
as those outlined by using HVO are only
possible if the HVO fuel is available. In
response, he observes that HVO is more
widely available than hydrogen and can
rely on the same infrastructure as diesel.
“In the end, our customers will make
their choices. We have to offer what
is best for [customer] needs, diesel,
gas, or H2. We have to be prepared for
anything,” he said.
MARKET GROWTH
Rolls-Royce Power Systems has always
been a worldwide player in mission-
critical applications, including hospitals,
data centres and airports. But Ostermaier
said that in addition to these, delivery
of gen-sets for smaller, decentralised
continuous power generation solutions is
a growth area.
Görtz is in agreement: “A lot of
customers in Pakistan are buying CHP
continuous power units. We just finished
a huge project in Chile, five sites, 500
MW, to provide stability to the grid. So
besides data, hospitals, airports, we have a
lot customers either directly or indirectly
delivering power to remote villages.”
Even in countries such as the UK,
gen-sets are used for grid stabilisation,
or possibly as a substitute for a lack of
grid capacity. Görtz: “For example, a
company might be looking to build a
new data center and National Grid will
say ‘come back in x number of years, we
can’t provide the power now.’ In cases
like this, customers are obliged to supply
their own power, they have to invest in
decentralized power from Day 1. That’s
one of our sweet spots.”
Particularly in remote locations, the
gen-set of choice will still be powered by
diesel. While such fuels as HVO might
be too expensive, or simply unavailable,
there are now microgrid solutions
designed to cut emissions from off-grid
power generation. For customers in
appropriate global locations, a diesel/
battery hybrid could be the solution of
choice. This uses photovoltaic panels to
charge batteries during the day and that
100% renewable power is only “topped
Planned ramp up of H2
blending in mtu engines