Aggreko develops its first hydrogen genset

Aggreko is accelerating its investments in hydrogen technology with the development of a demonstration 50 kVA hydrogen combustion generator.

The first one has been tested and Aggreko is now building 10 additional units that will be supplied to customers and partners “to test and validate hydrogen as an energy carrier in temporary power.” The sets will be ready for customer applications in the second half of this year.

Aggreko’s 50 kVA hydrogen powered genset.

The genset - which has been developed with cleantech specialist CMB.TECH, based in Antwerp, Belgium - is Tier 4F/Stage V compliant without aftertreatment and results in near to no NOx emissions.

In addition, Aggreko has partnered with Netherlands fuel cell company Nedstack to build a fuel cell demonstration unit that will integrate zero-emission hydrogen technology with a battery storage unit.

The hydrogen hybrid consists of a Proton Exchange Membrane fuel cell and a lithium-ion battery storage system. The zero-emissions solution will be piloted in Aggreko’s hub in Moerdijk, Netherlands.

The engine and fuel cell hybrids will be available as field-trial and demonstrator units to enable businesses to reduce their emissions and bridge the gap to net zero.

Carsten Reincke-Collon, Director of Future Technologies at Aggreko, said: “At Aggreko we like to think of hydrogen as having its own superpowers, given the electricity it can produce without emitting any emissions.

“However, businesses around the world are only at the start of the hydrogen journey and therefore need to be supported to find the best ways of integrating it into their operations.

“This means better knowledge of and increased investment in storage and transport infrastructure, which is why we’re testing different technologies in order to fully understand the role hydrogen can play in transitioning temporary power to net zero.”

Last year, Aggreko committed to operating as a Net Zero business across all services it provides by 2050. The company will also reduce the amount of fossil diesel fuel used in customer solutions by at least 50%, reduce local air quality emissions of its solutions by 50% and achieve Net Zero across all its own business operations by 2030.