Finnish technology group Wärtsilä announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Finland’s Lappeenranta University of Technology (LUT) and Nebraska Public Power District (NPPD), the largest electricity utility in Nebraska, for the study of the development of a business case for the use of alternative fuels with Wärtsilä generating sets. The MoU was signed on 13 November.
The aim of the business case is to achieve a technically and commercially viable solution that will allow NPPD to proceed with an industrial scale pilot project. Both parties have expressed the intention that this initiative will help accelerate the move towards a future where energy will be produced from 100 percent renewable carbon free sources. The specified alternative fuels include methanol, dimethyl ether (DME) and ammonia, synthesised from hydrogen, CO2 and nitrogen.
By converting hydrogen to methanol, it will be possible to use this as fuel in Wärtsilä engines. This has dual benefits, since it helps us commercially while at the same time promoting an environmentally sustainable means for producing electricity,
…stated NPPD CEO and President Pat Pope.
Together, the parties will evaluate performance and commercial information on Wärtsilä engines, provide input for the economic model, and develop an economic evaluation model. By demonstrating the results with test engines, it is envisioned that the conversion of hydrogen to methanol using CO2, and then burning the methanol as fuel to produce electricity, will be successfully established. This is expected to have a major impact on future fuel choices for the global energy market.
This move comes in line with Wärtsilä’s Smart Energy Vision for sustainable power generation, aiming to lead the upcoming change in energy sector, added Mr. Mikael Backman, Regional Director, USA & Canada, Wärtsilä Energy Solutions.
For LUT University, this is an important collaborative initiative in the research and utilisation of Power-to-X technology. We are pleased to have the opportunity to collaborate with global players and we are thrilled that it’s all starting in the United States of all places
…noted Juha-Matti Saksa, Rector, LUT University.
