29-01-2024

Baker Hughes achieves new hydrogen milestones to accelerate transition to hydrogen economy

Baker Hughes, an energy technology company, announced Monday several milestones to support the growth of the hydrogen economy, as part of the company’s broader strategy in new energy. The milestones were announced during the 24th Baker Hughes Annual Meeting held in Florence, Italy, and included advancements in the company’s hydrogen enabling technologies, as well as progress in executing several customers’ hydrogen projects and new collaborations in the sector.

The milestones include:
Baker Hughes unveiled a new Hydrogen Testing Facility for validation of its NovaLT™ industrial turbines to run blends all the way up to 100% hydrogen. The new facility includes a test bench to allow full load testing, with complete fuel flexibility up to 100% hydrogen and features a 300-bar pressure and 2,450 kg storage capacity. This infrastructure, aligned to the highest standards of safety and security – which are particularly crucial when dealing with hydrogen – allows Baker Hughes to test turbines in all project conditions, providing customers with enhanced operational confidence. The new Hydrogen Testing Facility will then serve as a hub for Baker Hughes’ collaboration with customers in the growing hydrogen economy.

Baker Hughes recently completed manufacturing and testing of its NovaLT™16 hydrogen turbines for Air Products’ Net-Zero Hydrogen Energy Complex in Edmonton, Canada. The NovaLT™16 turbines underwent full load testing at the newly unveiled Hydrogen Testing Facility. This family of turbines can be deployed for a variety of industrial applications, including combined heat and power, as well as for pipeline and gas storage operations.

The company also reported progress on another key Air Products’ hydrogen project, with the delivery of the first two trains of advanced hydrogen compression solutions for the NEOM project in Saudi Arabia, the largest green hydrogen project in the world through the equal joint venture of ACWA Power, Air Products and NEOM. Baker Hughes recently invested in expanding its manufacturing site in Modon, Saudi Arabia, to further support the delivery of projects in the country, including NEOM, with localized testing and packaging solutions. Both projects are part of the two companies’ long-standing collaboration on hydrogen inaugurated in 2021.

"Baker Hughes’ advanced technology and experience are key elements of our collaboration as Air Products continues to execute some of the largest low- and zero-carbon clean hydrogen megaprojects in the world,” said Dr. Samir J. Serhan, chief operation officer, Air Products. “We are delivering tangible progress with a common goal - to drive the energy transition forward and achieve net-zero targets."

The company also executed a collaboration agreement with HyET – a company that provides technologies for low-cost, distributed power generation and commercially viable hydrogen production at high pressure – for the development, industrialization and commercialization of an advanced hydrogen compression solution.

Baker Hughes signed a memorandum of understanding with Green Energy Park, a vertically integrated renewable energy company with ammonia and hydrogen terminals projects worldwide, and part of Green Energy Park Global group. The agreement aims to set out the principles of the envisaged collaboration between the two companies in multiple areas of the green hydrogen value chain, including production, storage, transportation and utilization of green hydrogen and ammonia-based fuels, as well as exploration of possible co-development of related technologies and projects at the giga-watt scale.

“These low-carbon and carbon-free energy advancements illustrate how the urgency of the energy transition has transformed customer relationships into comprehensive partnerships for innovation across several projects,” said Lorenzo Simonelli, chairman and CEO of Baker Hughes. “There is no path to net-zero without innovation and collaboration, and our work with customers and partners, including Air Products, is proving the validity of the hydrogen economy and of our strategy to invest and develop innovative solutions to cover the entire hydrogen value chain.”

Baker Hughes’ advanced technologies and solutions serve the entire hydrogen value chain, from production to transportation and utilization. The company’s experience in hydrogen projects dates back to the 1910s, and its portfolio includes advanced compressors, gas turbines, valves, centrifugal pumps, non-metallic pipes, hydrogen sensors, monitoring and diagnostics including inspection solutions for hydrogen embrittlement in production and storage, as well as clean power solutions to produce power with hydrogen and hydrogen blends.