Kawasaki equipment currently uses both natural gas and hydrogen, and the future of cogeneration solutions is a mix of renewables and natural gas, said Cristian Athanasovici, BDM, Kawasaki Gas Turbine Europe, at the Digitalization and Energy Efficiency conference organized by Energynomics in Piatra Neamț.
The Kawasaki Group’s energy division produces gas turbines and internal combustion engines.
“We are better known for the motorcycle division, but my role today is to bring the Energy Division to the forefront, it, like the motorcycle division, means strength and gaining solutions. We specialize in cogeneration solutions dedicated to electricity and thermal energy, with a focus on the industrial sector, and in the urban sector – district heating,” said Cristian Athanasovici.
The range of equipment varies between 2 MWe and 35 MWe. “We use natural gas at the base. However, we are in a context in which natural gas is a transitional fuel and we must move with big and fast steps towards a production of energy with the lowest possible pollutant emissions – a 100% green energy – this is the call of the European Union for 2050. The Kawasaki Group – respectively, the Energy Division, Kawasaki Gas Turbine Europe is working on this and we come up with cogeneration and electric solutions based on natural gas and not only – for some time we have also developed the hydrogen part and we are heading, with our solutions, to a distributed production of energy and to a mix of solutions, together with the others – those that use a mix of secondary resources. The Kawasaki solutions market consists of the industrial sector – from paper processing solutions to the ceramics and petrochemical industry – and the second largest sector – district heating,” added Athanasovici.
“We have low and medium power distributed production solutions, which means some advantages, first of all because we come up with solutions that can be placed in different, small spaces. They are efficient solutions, with low pollutant emissions.”
Today, Kawasaki’s equipment uses hydrogen for electricity and heat. “We have already completed projects, with very good results. We want to develop and come up with the know-how in Romania and the area I cover, of South-Eastern Europe. The future of cogeneration solutions is represented by a mix between renewables and natural gas. Always, natural gas can come as a back-up, in support of solutions based on secondary energy resources,” added Athanasovici.