On 25 June Caterpillar announced the successful results of a fuel flexibility project with District Energy St. Paul demonstrating a 2.0 MW combined heat and power system based on a Cat G3516 gas generator set running on 100% hydrogen fuel.
Supported and partially funded by the US Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy under the Industrial Efficiency and Decarbonisation Office, the project was led by Caterpillar in collaboration with District Energy St. Paul and DOE’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL).
The objective was to evaluate the solution’s impact on local air quality and demonstrate the reliability and durability of a hydrogen system. To fully assess every aspect of the H2 system under real-world operating conditions, power and heat from the demonstration project were fed into the Minnesota utility’s active distribution system. The system used 100% hydrogen fuel and 100% natural gas fuel for up to 200 hours with each fuel type. The system achieved maximum efficiency consistent with high-performance generator sets operating entirely on natural gas.
“As technology in our industry continues to advance, we will need a range of fuels and energy sources to capture the optimal function and efficiencies of these energy systems,” said Luke Gaalswyk, president and CEO of District Energy St. Paul.
