Kawasaki Gas Turbine Europe successfully commissioned the world’s first commercial 30% DLE Hydrogen Gas Turbine Generator Set GPB17D-H2 at Chevron Phillips Chemical in Belgium.

Chevron Phillips Chemical International N.V. (CPChem) is a subsidiary of Chevron Phillips Chemical Company LLC, one of the world’s top producer of olefins and polyolefins and a leading supplier of aromatics, alpha olefins, styrenics, specialty chemicals, plastic piping and polymer resins. In Belgium, the company owns and operates a plant in Tessenderlo which produces organic sulfur compounds. The manufacture of these products and the associated chemical processes result in a Hydrogen rich purge stream, valuable excess Hydrogen that can be used to save energy and to decarbonize the energy demand effectively.

In March 2021, Kawasaki Gas Turbine Europe installed a standard natural gas fired DLE (Dry Low Emission) Gas Turbine GPB17D with an electrical power of 1,8 MWe at CPChem’s Tessenderlo plant.

In October 2023, the existing standard DLE System was modified to a 30vol% H2 DLE that can be fed by the Hydrogen generated as a by-product on site. Thanks to this new system that was implemented and commissioned during a standard maintenance, NOx emissions are maintained below 15 ppm@O2=15%. Since then, this Gas Turbine has been the world’s first Gas Turbine to run fully flexible in the range of 0-30vol% Hydrogen capability.

The performance of the Kawasaki Hydrogen burner technology will make it possible in the future to use the Kawasaki Hydrogen Gas Turbine Micro-Mix technology at the site, which can burn up to 100vol% Hydrogen.