At the 2021 UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow, Scotland, Rolls-Royce has presented its new mtu fuel cell system for a future CO2-free energy supply for the first time.
With a minimalistic design and H-shaped front panel, the new mtu hydrogen fuel cell is a complete solution for power supply in the megawatt range that will be produced in series from 2025. This modern-looking module will in the future deliver a net power output of around 150 kW – sufficient to power approximately ten homes. It can also be connected together into scalable fuel cell power plants with outputs in the megawatt range – capable of providing clean backup power for large data centers.
The fuel cell module is the result of collaboration between Rolls-Royce and cellcentric, a joint venture company set up by Daimler Truck AG and Volvo Group AB earlier this year. It is based on cellcentric’s fuel cell modules that emit nothing other than water vapor. This will enable CO2-free, climate-neutral generation of emergency power for data centers.
“Electrical generators based on fuel cells represent the next leap forward in the energy transition, both for our customers and us,” said Andreas Schell, CEO of Rolls-Royce Power Systems. “That’s why we’re investing a three-digit million amount in R&D over the next few years, and we hope that this strong commitment will encourage governments and politicians to promote and support this pioneering, extremely climate-friendly technology. When they run on green hydrogen, meaning hydrogen made using renewable energy sources, fuel cells are climate-neutral. For this reason, and also because we’re simply convinced by fuel cell technology, we also want to look into how green hydrogen can be produced cost-effectively in the quantities we need.”
Rolls-Royce commissioned a fuel cell demonstrator earlier this year and plans to bring a further demonstrator plant online in 2022. The first pilot plants with customers will be installed in 2023, with Rolls-Royce launching standard production fuel cell systems in 2025.