MHIET achieves rated operation of a 6-cylinder 500kW-class hydrogen engine generator set

In Japan, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Engine & Turbocharger (MHIET), a part of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) Group, has achieved rated operation (435kW/1,500min-1) using 100% hydrogen fuel in a trial run of a 500kW-class hydrogen engine generator set at the company’s Sagamihara Plant. Following safety and reliability evaluations, development will now accelerate toward commercialization, the firm said. The company noted that the demonstration test is noteworthy in its use of a hydrogen engine generator set of the type envisioned for actual commercialization, rather than the single-cylinder engine for which MHIET has already established the technology enabling stable combustion using 100% hydrogen. The generator set incorporated a 6-cylinder 500kW-class hydrogen engine newly engineered and manufactured in-house, plus auxiliary equipment with added safety features to accommodate use of hydrogen. The demonstration was carried out of the complete system: engine, generator and auxiliary equipment. The demonstration test confirmed stable operation using 100% hydrogen in all phases throughout the sequence of operations of a real generator set prototype, from engine start to power generation at rated output and system shutdown, as well as the effective functioning of protective measures in times of emergency. Now that MHIET has completed the entire development cycle – from engineering and manufacture to demonstration – at its own plant, the results of the demonstration test can be applied to the final product, the company said. Going forward, reliability and safety evaluations will be rendered in the runup to commercialization, the firm said.

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