A domestically developed eco-friendly combustor for gas turbines that reduces carbon dioxide emissions is set to undergo field testing.

The Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials (KIMM), under the Ministry of Science and ICT (President Park Sang-jin), announced on the 12th that it has developed the first hydrogen co-firing combustor for gas turbines used in LNG power generation in Korea and is pursuing a demonstration project to apply it to a power plant.

A research team led by Director Kim Min-guk of the Carbon-Free Fuel Power Generation Research Laboratory at the Carbon Neutrality Machinery Research Institute of the Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials (KIMM) has developed an eco-friendly combustor for domestic gas turbines with a 30% hydrogen co-firing level in collaboration with 13 industry, academia, and research institutes since July 2020. Based on this, they will begin power plant demonstrations in cooperation with Korea East-West Power, Doosan Energyability, and others starting in 2023.

Hydrogen fuel has a high reactivity with air, which acts as an oxidizer, posing a risk of causing high temperatures and flame flashbacks. To prevent these risks, the combustor developed by the Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials (KIMM) utilizing the only domestically produced gas turbine for LNG power generation developed by Doosan Energy, the fifth in the world, improved the fuel injection method and controlled the mixing degree of air and fuel to simultaneously reduce nitrogen oxides and combustion vibrations caused by high temperatures. In particular, it maintained the combustion performance of the existing LNG gas turbine while burning a mixture of 30% hydrogen fuel.

Although the development of hydrogen co-firing combustors had been pursued, performance verification was difficult due to the lack of domestic combustion test facilities necessary for such development. The hydrogen co-firing combustor for gas turbines developed this time was transferred to the German Aerospace Center (DLR) during the development process and successfully passed combustion tests in a high-pressure environment—the actual operating conditions of a gas turbine—thereby verifying its performance. Although overseas test facilities were utilized, this achievement is particularly significant as it represents the successful development of a hydrogen co-firing combustor using independent domestic technology.

Combusting 30% hydrogen in a gas turbine can reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 10.4% compared to conventional LNG power generation. The Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials (KIMM) plans to develop a 50% hydrogen co-combustion system capable of reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 21.4% by 2024, and is dedicating itself to research with the goal of developing 100% hydrogen combustion technology that emits no carbon at all by 2030.

Meanwhile, on the 12th, the Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials held a '300MW-class gas turbine hydrogen co-combustion system development achievement report meeting' at its headquarters in Daejeon. Along with the Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials' core technology for modifying gas turbine combustors into hydrogen co-firing combustors, Doosan Enerbility's high-pressure combustion test results and Korea East-West Power's Future Technology Convergence Institute announced plans for the demonstration of a hydrogen co-firing gas turbine power plant.

At the briefing, Park Sang-jin, President of the Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials (KIMM), emphasized, “The development of hydrogen fuel conversion technology for medium and large-sized gas turbines and power plant demonstrations are essential for the transition to an eco-friendly, carbon-free energy society. With technology development nearing completion and the strong commitment to demonstration from turbine manufacturer Doosan Enerbility and end-user Korea East-West Power, securing domestic hydrogen turbine technology early is possible.” He added, “For independent domestic technology to avoid becoming obsolete and to be commercialized in a timely manner, government interest and support are necessary for areas such as the selection of demonstration sites, as this is impossible with private sector will alone due to the nature of the power generation industry.”