First Hydrogen Power Plant in Italy
Italy has come up with world’s first hydrogen power plant. This power plant is situated in Fusina, near Venice in the Veneto region of Italy. Enel is constructing this power plant producing no undesirable greenhouse gases. It is Italy’s largest power company with a track record of fifty million power and gas customers. Enel is procuring hydrogen from an accompanying production from Polimeri Europa’s petrochemical plant. This hydrogen will be brought to the establishment by especially built pipelines. Polimeri produces a wide range of petrochemical products, and its ethylene-cracking process will be responsible for the hydrogen feedstock. This hydrogen power plant will be operational in 2010. It will provide power to 20,000 households.
This hydrogen power plant is an off shoot of the Environment and Innovation Project known as Hydrogen Park. 7.4 billion euros will be assigned for the whole project by 2012. Another 40 million euro plant will be established on the line of Enel’s existing coal-fired power station in Fusina. It will have an investment of 4 million euros from the local Veneto region. According to Enel this power plant will save the emission of more than 17,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide a year. This power plant has a capacity of 12 megawatt and burns hydrogen gas in a turbine developed in partnership with General Electric.
We know that the only byproducts of the hydrogen fuel burning process are hot air and water vapor. These two are used to produce steam. This steam can be utilized by a coal-fired plant to produce another potential four megawatts of energy.
Invensys Process Systems (IPS) will look after the safety of the plant. It will also be providing the distributed control system for the hydrogen plant. The Tricon emergency shutdown system will look after the protection for heat recovery steam generator and electrical systems and shutdown command to the gas turbine system.
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August 21st, 2009
I wonder if any of the USA power plants will try to do the same here at home. Although they are still very much inclined to waste gas and oil, and that we all know is very bad for the environment, I feel they could try doing this one town at a time.
Francisco
August 21st, 2009
It could be a game-changer if Hydrogen production is commercially competitive and if the power-generation cost is comparable to coal-based, natural gas based, and wind-based Power plants that have been in operation.
Could anyone enlighten the green power community how viable is the extraction of Hydrogen from Ehylene and the overall costs of such a power plant as compared to the conventional power plants and the safety issue?
August 24th, 2009
Dear Neil,Please understand that hydrogen is a byproduct of their main process i.e. ethylene cracking.The company is utilizing the byproduct for generation of 12+4= 16 MW of power. It is first of its kind in the world. All of us should congratulate the company for reducing/offsetting its carbon emissions in such a groundbreaking way.
August 31st, 2009
Yes, congratulations for a good solution. It’s not the 1st in the world though, I know 2 plants been running in Finland for some years already. Like here, hydrogen coming as a by-product from a chemical process.
September 6th, 2009
Great vision and concept !
September 9th, 2009
Sweet lets build more. Use these to reinvest in America!
February 14th, 2010
It is nice to know that a byproduct is being used for producing power. The purity of hydrogen is not known. If hydrogen is of high purity a number of value added products can be made instead of power.
February 15th, 2010
Its amazing to know about hydrogen Power Plant in Italy. I think a Prototype should be thought of and made available to the World.This could be a path breaking revolution in Energy Stream and I am sure this could be Generation Next when we talk of diminishing Energies today.
February 23rd, 2010
Everyone should read this:
http://www.netl.doe.gov/technologies/coalpower/turbines/refshelf/igcc-h2-sygas/Using%20H2%20as%20a%20GT%20Fuel.pdf
Using Hydrogen in a gas turbine is great! but you still get NOx emissions that need to be handled properly.