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By
Rachel Cormack
January 20, 2023
Rolls-Royce Just Proved Its Yacht Engines Can Run on
Pure Hydrogen
Rolls-Royce kicked
over a mill of the future this week.
The British outfit announced Monday
that it successfully powered a 12-cylinder gas variant of an MTU
engine with 100 percent hydrogen. The tests, which were carried out by
the Power Systems business unit, reportedly showed “very good
characteristics” in terms of efficiency, performance, emissions and
combustion. In other words, it worked.
More from Robb Report
MTU was acquired by Rolls-Royce in 2011, but it has been building
engines for more than a century. MTUs are often the engines of choice
for many superyachts, but the ability to swap diesel for hydrogen
could prove to be a major advance for the yachting sector. The fuel is
not only carbon-emissions-free and reliable, but it can be easily
generated, too. Energy from solar or wind, for example, can be
channeled through an electrolyzer to convert water to hydrogen. It can
then be stored in fuel cells or plants to be used as fuel in any
number of applications.
The MTU engine that ran on 100 percent hydrogen.
Robert Hack
The hydrogen-powered MTUs have not yet been trialed on a yacht, but
Rolls-Royce is planning to use them for a project in Germany.
Duisburg, one of the world’s largest inland ports, has been working
with Rolls to develop a carbon-neutral energy supply for its new
container terminal that is set to launch in 2024. Eventually, most of
the clean electricity required by the port itself will be generated
directly onsite via two combined heat and power plants with MTU Series
4000 hydrogen engines (total capacity: 2 MW), as well as three MTU
fuel cell systems (total capacity: 1.5 MW).
“We see hydrogen as one of the central elements of the energy
transition. It can be used for both storage of excess energy and as a
fuel, not only for engines but fuel cells and cogeneration plants to
generate climate-neutral electricity and heat,” Jörg Stratmann, CEO of
Rolls-Royce Power Systems, said in a statement.
In addition, Rolls has confirmed that modifications can be made to gas
engines that are already installed to turn them into hydrogen mills.
What’s more, the new MTUs will meet today’s rigorous emissions
standards.
“We are very pleased with the rapid progress,” Andrea Prospero, an
engineer at Rolls-Royce responsible for the development of the
hydrogen engine, adds. “The very low engine emissions are well below
the strict EU limits, no exhaust gas aftertreatment is required.”
Yachtbuilders Lürssen, Feadship, Baglietto and Sanlorenzo are all
working on their own fuel-cell systems but their initial reports
indicate that they will be used to power auxiliary systems in the boat
rather than serving as the main engines.
Green Play Ammonia™, Yielder® NFuel Energy.
Spokane, Washington. 99212
www.exactrix.com
509 995 1879 cell, Pacific.
exactrix@exactrix.com
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