Rolls-Royce achieves H2-ready certificate for MTU engines

Rolls-Royce engineers are currently testing the first mtu 100% hydrogen engines at the gas systems plant in Augsburg, Germany. (Photo: Rolls-Royce)

Rolls-Royce said it has received H2 readiness certification from international testing and certification service provider TÜV Süd for its mtu Series 4000 FNER/FV gas engines. The certificate is an independent confirmation that the components and systems are prepared for future use with hydrogen and can be converted accordingly.

Rolls-Royce plans to provide newly built and retrofitted power plants with the mtu engines for operation with a hydrogen admixture of up to 25% by volume and for operation with 100% by volume.

“We see hydrogen as one of the key elements of the energy transition. With our strategy of making our engines fit for the use of sustainable fuels, we will make a decisive contribution to its success,” said Dr. Jörg Stratmann, CEO of Rolls-Royce Power Systems.

“The certificate increases investment security for our customers. They can be sure that they will be able to use hydrogen as a fuel with our engines in the future,” added Tobias Ostermaier, president of the Stationary Power Solutions business unit at Rolls-Royce Power Systems. “With this step, we have reached another milestone on our hydrogen roadmap”

In 2024, the company began working in a consortium with five companies and research centers to develop the necessary technologies for efficient hydrogen combustion engines to power combined heat and power (CHP) plants. As part of the publicly funded Phoenix (Performance Hydrogen Engine for Industrial and X) project, the next-generation hydrogen engine is set to generate the same electrical and thermal energy (power density and efficiency) as currently available natural gas CHP units in the larger output range (up to 2.5 MW) for the first time, Rolls-Royce stated.

The first installation of mtu engines running on 100% hydrogen is planned for early 2025 as the Enerport II lighthouse project in the German inland port of Duisburg. Two CHP plants will contribute to the CO2-neutral energy supply in the new container terminal.

Rolls-Royce has set up the necessary infrastructure for test bench runs of its hydrogen engines in its Augsburg and Friedrichshafen, Germany, plants. Its engineers are currently testing the engines for the Enerport II project at the gas engine plant in Augsburg.

Tests of the 12-cylinder mtu Series 4000 L64 gas engine have shown very good performance, efficiency and emissions characteristics, Rolls-Royce said. The engine has already achieved the project’s desired total output of 1 MW, and is expected to reach 1.2 MW over the course of further development.

“We can hardly wait to see our first CO2-free hydrogen CHP in operation in the container port of Duisburg soon,” said Ostermaier. “As soon as the availability of green hydrogen is ensured, the technology for highly efficient, next-generation hydrogen engines promoted in the Phoenix project will also be ready.”