lower carbon gas turbine first to hit major milestone

The next crucial step in the pilot is to demonstrate that the high-hydrogen blend can reliably power the turbine around the clock for 180 days.

This longer run time can give an accurate picture of how the turbine could perform under sustained use and across seasonal temperature ranges.

Chevron is testing fuel blends made with at least 55% hydrogen. The several-months-long intermittent demonstration will involve balancing hydrogen concentration with reliable performance.

"Reliably running a low-NOx turbine on 100% hydrogen will require technology development and modifications to the turbine combustion system and will likely be possible in the not-so-distant future," said Rob Hiestand, a gas turbine optimization engineer for Chevron.

"In the future, companies will want to reduce greenhouse gas emissions using hydrogen, and with the long life and reliability they have come to expect with gas turbines," he said. "So having Solar Turbines evaluate the unit's condition and incorporate that data into Solar's design are essential parts of the groundwork for the long-term run."