[Report] Gas Turbines Once Destined for Scrap, Reborn as Eco-Friendly Power Generators

Visited West Power Pyeongtaek Power Headquarters
Working with Hanwha Impact, which acquired US and Netherlands retrofit companies
Hydrogen co-firing up to 55%... Reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 20-30%

A combined cycle power plant facility at Korea Western Power's Pyeongtaek Power Headquarters that was previously used but has been shut down. The exposed part in the center is a gas turbine, which is planned to be converted into a facility that uses natural gas mixed with up to 55% hydrogen as fuel.

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Dae-yeol] A facility at a thermal power plant in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province (Korea Western Power Pyeongtaek Power Headquarters) stopped operating in 2017. This facility used to generate electricity by running gas turbines on liquefied natural gas (LNG) or diesel, and it had been steadily operated since it was introduced in the late 1990s. However, it was hardly used from around 2013 due to declining economic viability. Although unused, there was no buyer, and it was too valuable to be scrapped as scrap metal.

Hanwha Impact found a way to reuse this facility after acquiring the gas turbine modification companies PSM in the U.S. and Thomassen Energy in the Netherlands this year. They decided to improve economic feasibility by mixing hydrogen with natural gas. The target hydrogen co-combustion (co-firing) ratio in this demonstration project is up to 55%. This can reduce carbon dioxide emissions by about 20-30% compared to using LNG alone. Another advantage is the ability to use by-product hydrogen, which is relatively easy to obtain from refining and chemical processes.

Combined Cycle Power Plant Unit 2 at Pyeongtaek Power Headquarters of Korea Western Power. It stopped operating in 2017 and has been left unattended until recently.

When visiting the Pyeongtaek power plant on the 30th of last month, representatives from Western Power and Hanwha were preparing to move the gas turbine and auxiliary equipment to the nearby Seosan Daesan Industrial Complex. The gas turbine, a core facility of the combined cycle power plant, along with auxiliary equipment, measures 28 meters in length, 11 meters in width, 13 meters in height, and weighs 300 tons. They plan to relocate it from nearby Pyeongtaek Port to a site prepared within Hanwha Impact and Total in the Daesan Industrial Complex by the end of February next year to carry out modification work. The goal is to complete the demonstration project by the end of next year and, from the following year, produce electricity directly within the industrial complex to supply nearby factories.

Hydrogen co-combustion is expected to play a crucial role in the energy transition process. It allows existing facilities to be used while switching energy sources to environmentally friendly fuels. The government’s 2050 carbon neutrality scenario estimates that zero-carbon gas turbines will account for between 14% and 22%, reflecting the technology’s immediate feasibility.

Cross-section of a combustor equipped with the hydrogen co-firing technology flame sheet secured by Hanwha

PSM and Thomassen Energy, acquired by Hanwha, were previously subsidiaries of Ansaldo, one of the world’s top four power equipment companies based in Italy, and in the past were under Alstom and GE, which hold original gas turbine technologies. They have been performing modification work applying hydrogen co-combustion technology for over 10 years and have already retrofitted facilities for commercial operation at combined heat and power and combined cycle power plants in the Netherlands and the U.S. This power plant plans to switch to 100% hydrogen combustion instead of co-combustion once hydrogen supply capacity is secured.

Song Yong-seon, Executive Director of Hydrogen Business Development at Hanwha Impact, said, "About half of the LNG gas turbines operating domestically are over 15 years old, and most are medium-sized facilities where hydrogen co-combustion technology can be applied. This is a practical way to convert fossil fuel-based power assets into eco-friendly power assets."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.