Hydrogen validation facility enters full-scale operation in Japan
Mitsubishi Power, a power solutions brand of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI), has announced that Takasago Hydrogen Park, said to be the world’s first integrated hydrogen validation facility, has entered full-scale operation.
The park is located at MHI’s Takasago Machinery Works in Hyogo Prefecture in west central Japan. Electrolysis hydrogen production recently began operation at the park, and Mitsubishi Power aims to improve product reliability through the validation of hydrogen co-firing and 100% hydrogen firing using gas turbines, while also implementing successive expansion with the introduction of next-generation hydrogen production technologies.
Takasago Hydrogen Park is divided into areas with three hydrogen-related functions: hydrogen production, storage, and utilization. In the production area, an alkaline electrolyser manufactured by HydrogenPro AS of Norway with a hydrogen production capacity of 1,100Nm3/hour, said to be the highest in the world, has entered operation.
The hydrogen produced will be stored in storage equipment with a total capacity of 39,000 Nm3.
Furthermore, the validation of hydrogen firing equipment will be done at the T-Point 2 combined cycle power plant validation facility located in the utilization area, using a Mitsubishi Power JAC (J-series Air-Cooled) large frame gas turbine (450 MW class), as well as small- and mid-sized H-25 gas turbine (40 MW class) that had been installed for compressor driving at combustion test facility.
The hydrogen produced at Takasago Hydrogen Park will be used to validate 30% hydrogen co-firing at T-Point 2, a grid-connected JAC gas turbine combined cycle power plant, and is planned to be completed before the end of the year. Validation of 100% hydrogen firing in the H-25 gas turbine is planned for 2024.
Mitsubishi Power says it is currently developing hydrogen production technologies, including solid oxide electrolysis cells (SOEC), anion exchange membrane (AEM) water electrolysers, and next-generation turquoise-hydrogen production technology that produces hydrogen without emitting CO2 through the pyrolysis of methane into hydrogen and solid carbon.
The company plans to conduct verification and validation in these areas sequentially. After developing these fundamental technologies for products based on its own technologies at the Nagasaki Carbon Neutral Park, Mitsubishi Power plans to carry out hydrogen production validation of these technologies at the Takasago Hydrogen Park with the aim of achieving commercialisation.
