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Taiwan – Taipower aims to blend 20% hydrogen into natural gas at Kaohsiung power plant

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taipower said that its research institute has started testing 5 MW of natural gas-hydrogen blended power generation at its thermal power plant in Kaohsiung, aiming to achieve a 20% hydrogen blend by 2028.

At a press conference on Tuesday, Taipower said that it has opened the “Taipower D/S One” exhibition hall near Banqiao Station to showcase the company’s efforts in power resilience, digitalization, and carbon reduction. The hall features 60 of its research achievements and will be open to the public until Jan. 28, per CNA.

Taipower noted that since September 2023, it has begun generating electricity using a turbine that blends hydrogen with natural gas at the plant. The facility’s hydrogen mix has reached 15% and will continue to increase, aiming to cut about 90 kg of carbon emissions per hour.

The company has also developed Taiwan’s first microgrid platform, which can switch power in disaster-hit areas to local generation units during typhoons. In addition, to support the integration of renewable energy, Taipower has established a monitoring system to analyze optimal power dispatch patterns.

Taipower has deployed drones equipped with AI-powered image recognition and 5G connectivity to enhance inspections at its power plants. Using big data models, the system can accurately detect potential risks such as cracks and corrosion in boiler tubes and high-voltage transmission towers. 

Taipower has also developed a hydrogen energy storage system that uses electrolysis to produce hydrogen. The system can integrate solar power and serve as a testing ground for green energy technologies. The company plans to test the system at a solar power plant in the south in 2027.

Taipower Chair Tseng Wen-sheng (曾文生) said that next year marks the company’s 80th anniversary, a milestone that comes amid challenges of transformation and carbon reduction. He added that AI data centers consume significant amounts of electricity, and as demand continues to grow, the company will focus on ensuring power stability and expanding energy sources. 

Source:   Hydrogencentral

Nel has approved the investment needed to industrialize its next-generation pressurized alkaline platform, following successful prototype testing and EU Innovation Fund support.

The company has taken the final investment decision to build up to 1 GW of production capacity for its next-generation pressurized alkaline platform at the company’s Herøya facility in Norway. The decision follows a seven-year development program and the successful start-up and hydrogen production of the full-scale prototype at Herøya Industripark. Development began in 2018, progressing through testing of smaller stacks before completion of full-scale validation that confirmed what the company described as market-leading system efficiency.

The company expects to launch the system commercially in the first half of 2026 and to supply it at scale in 2027. According to Nel, the pressurized alkaline platform represents a significant improvement in hydrogen production economics by reducing system CAPEX and improving energy efficiency, thereby lowering the levelized cost of hydrogen. The company stated that the resulting economics could help bridge funding gaps for hydrogen installations.

“Our new solution is extremely important for Nel as a company, but also for the clean hydrogen industry as a whole. A significantly improved levelized cost of hydrogen is expected to unlock business cases that were previously not viable without significant subsidies,” said Håkon Volldal, President and CEO of Nel.

The platform uses a fully modularized, skid-based design with pre-fabricated, factory-tested modules shipped in standard container skids. Nel stated that this approach simplifies engineering, logistics, and installation, enabling complex projects to be delivered as standardized products. The system is designed for reliable outdoor operation, eliminating the need for dedicated buildings and reducing deployment complexity.

The EU Innovation Fund has granted Nel up to €135 million to industrialize the platform, supporting a total annual production output of 4 GW. The funding covers up to 60% of relevant CAPEX and operational costs. The initial 1 GW buildout represents an investment of about NOK 300 million before grants, with the milestone-based EU support expected to unlock more than €10 million as a first payment. CAPEX is scheduled to be incurred through 2026 and 2027, and Nel reported that overall capital costs for this platform are significantly lower than for atmospheric alkaline production lines.

Following commercialization and industrialization of the pressurized alkaline system, Nel is assessing the book values of two idling 500 MW atmospheric alkaline production lines at Herøya.

Source:   Hydrogencentral

동서발전, 발전사업 변경허가와 항만고시 개정에 사업 본격화
울산 노후 LNG 가스터빈 2·3호기, 900MW급 수소 혼소로 대체
혼소량 단계적으로 늘려 최종 수소 전소 달성이 목표

정부가 탄소중립 달성을 위해 에너지 믹스 전략을 전면 재정비하고 있다.

특히 노후 화력발전소의 수명 연장 수단이라는 비판을 받아온 석탄-암모니아 혼소 방식 대신, 청정연료로 완전한 전환이 가능한 LNG-수소 혼소 발전이 국가 에너지 정책의 주류로 급부상하고 있다.

이를 증명하듯 정부는 지난 11월 한국동서발전이 추진하는 수소 혼소 발전소 사업을 허가했다. 이에 따라 한국동서발전은 울산복합화력발전소에 있는 노후 LNG 복합발전소를 수소 혼소 발전소로 전환하는 사업을 본격적으로 추진한다.

수소 전소로 가는 징검다리

수소 혼소 발전은 기존에 100% LNG만 태우던 화력발전소의 연료 일부를 수소로 대체해 탄소 배출량을 줄이는 기술이다. LNG와 수소를 일정 비율로 섞어 연소실로 보내면 연료가 타면서 발생하는 고온·고압의 가스로 터빈을 돌려 전기를 생산한다.

수소는 연소되더라도 탄소를 배출하지 않기 때문에 수소 혼소 비율에 따라 이산화탄소 발생량을 줄일 수 있다. 여기에 수조 원을 들여 지어놓은 기존 LNG 발전소의 하우징, 터빈, 계통 연결 시설을 그대로 활용할 수 있는 이점이 있다. 

초기에는 30~50% 정도 섞어 태우다가 훗날 전소용 연소기로 업그레이드해서 100% 수소만 태우는 전소 발전으로 전환할 수 있다.

아울러 태양광이나 풍력 같은 재생에너지는 날씨에 따라 전력이 들쭉날쭉하지만, 수소 혼소 발전은 필요할 때 즉시 출력을 조절해 전력망 안정화에 기여할 수 있다. 이런 이점 때문에 정부는 LNG-수소 혼소 발전 도입에 긍정적이다.

한국동서발전은 울산 남구에 있는 노후 LNG 복합화력 2·3호기를 900MW급 초대형 수소 전소 발전설비인 ‘울산 그린1복합(가칭)’으로 대체 건설한다. 

가동 초반에는 LNG와 수소를 병행 사용하는 혼소 방식을 채택하지만, 궁극적으로는 국내 최대 규모의 무탄소 전용 발전소로 거듭날 계획이다.

특히 이번 사업은 울산항이라는 전략적 요충지를 기반으로 설계됐다.

최근 항만고시 개정에 따라 공유수면 매립지에 대규모 수소 전용 인수기지와 저장탱크를 구축할 수 있게 됐기 때문이다. 이는 해외에서 수입된 청정수소가 울산항을 거쳐 배관망을 통해 인근 발전소와 산업단지로 즉시 공급되는 ‘수소에너지 클러스터’와도 깊은 관련이 있다.

한국동서발전 관계자는 “최근 발전사업 변경허가를 완료함에 따라 본격적인 사업 추진에 나섰다. 현재 가스터빈 공급 계약 등을 진행하고 있다. 착공 시기는 미정이나 2035년 준공을 목표로 사업을 추진할 계획”이라고 밝혔다.

정부 에너지 믹스 재편 핵심 ‘수소 혼소 발전’ 본격 추진 < 정책 < NEWS < 기사본문 - 월간수소경제

출처 : 월간수소경제(https://www.h2news.kr)