NTPC Ltd signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd, Japan, and its subsidiary Mitsubishi Power India Private Limited to demonstrate the feasibility of hydrogen co-firing blended with natural gas in MHI 701D gas turbines installed at NTPC Auraiya Gas Power Plant in Uttar Pradesh. The total installed capacity of the Auraiya Gas Power Plant is 663 MW with four gas turbines operating in combined cycle mode.
Both the companies signed the MoU in the presence of Ujjwal Kanti Bhattacharya, Director (Projects), NTPC Ltd, Tatsuto Nagayasu, CMD, Mitsubishi Power India, and Hiroyuki Shinohara, Vice President, Mitsubishi Power India.
NTPC Ltd, being the largest power generator in India, intends to play a major role in energy transition and achieving the COP-26 commitments. As part of this initiative, NTPC is exploring various new hydrogen generation technologies along with hydrogen usage to ensure future readiness, develop the required capabilities, and technical expertise, and align with the national decarbonising and hydrogen mission targets. This project emphasises that the use of hydrogen co-firing in gas turbines can play a key role in reducing CO2 emissions.
Under this MoU, both companies will collaborate to carry out the study and identify key actions for introducing hydrogen co-firing at NTPC Auraiya Gas-based combined cycle power plant. The study will identify key actions for co-firing for various percentages of hydrogen including, 5%, 15%, 30%, 50%, and 100%, and the hydrogen required for the project will be supplied by NTPC.