That came from the company today (Oct 15), when it confirmed it is further developing its mtu gas engine portfolio for power generation and cogeneration to run on hydrogen.

Under its plans to reach power generation with up to 100% hydrogen, Rolls-Royce said it will next year begin operations will a hydrogen content of 25%.

Already, the company is operating gas engines with a blending on 10% hydrogen.

On the commitment, Andreas Görtz, Vice-President Power Generation at Rolls-Royce Power Systems, said, “The decarbonisation of power generation requires reliable, flexible, but also climate-neutral, power plants to supplement the fluctuating generation from wind and sun.

“We assume that natural gas will initially be the primary fuel in the development of the hydrogen ecosystem, but we see hydrogen as technically and economically possible.

“That is why we continue to develop our gas engines for use with green hydrogen – whether as a 10% or 25% admixture or for 100%.”

The above fits with Rolls-Royce’s Net Zero at Power Systems climate protection programme, through which the company’s Power Systems division has set itself a target of saving 35% of greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, compared to 2019.

In order to do this, Rolls-Royce see hydrogen as a key technology. And already, the company as installed a 250-kilowatt fuel cell demonstrator at its Friedrichshafen headquarters.