NTPC, GE Gas Power sign MoU for hydrogen co-firing in gas turbines

India’s largest power producer NTPC Ltd has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with GE Gas Power to explore the feasibility of hydrogen (H2) co-firing blended with natural gas in GE’s gas turbines installed at NTPC’s Kawas combined-cycle gas power plant in Gujarat.

The two companies will jointly explore the pathways to reduce CO2 emissions from Kawas gas power plant and further implementation at scale across NTPC’s installed units in India.

NTPC’s Kawas gas power plant is powered by four GE 9E gas turbines operating in a combined-cycle mode and has an installed capacity of 645 MW.

GE’s advance E-Class gas turbine portfolio currently has the capability to burn up to 100% by volume of hydrogen when blended with natural gas. This capability varies depending on the type of combustion system used. For fuels with over 5% hydrogen by volume, gas turbine accessories need to be evaluated and possibly modified to reliably deliver the fuel to the combustors.

In this first-of-its-kind MoU with NTPC in India, GE Gas Power will evaluate the possible modifications in the gas turbine unit and auxiliaries required for blending of H2 with natural gas. Thereafter, a pilot project for 5% co-firing of hydrogen may be implemented at the Kawas gas power plant in a safe environment based on the feasibility report.

NTPC shall provide H2 required for the project.

“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,” said Ujjwal Kanti Bhattacharya, Director (Projects), NTPC Ltd.