Rolls supplying hydrogen technology for new port terminal

Rolls-Royce’s Power Systems business unit is supplying mtu hydrogen technology to help provide a climate-neutral energy supply for the container terminal being built at the port of Duisburg, Germany.

The company will supply the future terminal with mtu fuel cell solutions for electrical peak load coverage as well as mtu hydrogen heat and power generation station. To this end, Duisport, one of the world’s largest inland ports, is working with several partners to build a hydrogen-based supply network by 2023 that includes several technologically sophisticated options for energy conversion and storage.

The hydrogen-powered mtu fuel cell solutions are designed to supply electrical power as soon as the public power grid reaches its limits, for example for the on-board power supply of ships berthed in the port or in the event of other load peaks. In addition, two combined heat and power plants with mtu hydrogen engines of the 4000 series convert hydrogen energy into electrical energy, which is fed into the supply network of the future container terminal or into the public grid. The waste heat is used for process heat or for heating buildings in and around the port. Furthermore, photovoltaic systems and battery storage are integrated into the local supply network, which is being realized by the port operator Duisport, Westenergie Netzservice, Netze Duisburg, Stadtwerke Duisburg and Stadtwerke Duisburg Energiehandel together with the Fraunhofer Institute Umsicht. The project is being funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy for a period of four years as part of the “Hydrogen Technology Offensive.”

“Hydrogen technology is no longer a dream of the future, but hydrogen technology will prove itself in everyday use in Duisburg,” said Andreas Schell, CEO of Rolls-Royce Power Systems. “The parallel use of fuel cell solutions and hydrogen engines shows that we have taken the right path with our technology-open approach to the development of new solutions for the energy supply of the future.”