Rolls-Royce already has developed a gas-powered combustion mtu engine which can use hydrogen as a fuel, but the Phoenix project will develop the technology for an even more efficient next generation hydrogen engine. Hydrogen is one of several alternative fuels being used by Rolls-Royce to make its engine portfolio more sustainable. It is making its portfolio of reciprocating mtu engines compatible with alternative fuels such as hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) and e-fuels, as well as being heavily involved in exploring the use of methanol for marine applications.
The participants in the Phoenix project are developing the necessary components for a first-of-a-kind hydrogen combustion engine, such as the injection system, the piston group and the ignition system, as well as a completely new lubricant. The partners in the project are: Rolls-Royce as coordinator; the Institute for sustainable mobile propulsion systems at the Technical University of Munich; MAHLE Konzern; Fuchs Lubricants Germany GmbH; the German Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing (BAM); and Robert Bosch AG.
The joint project is scheduled to run for three years. By then, a technology concept will have been developed that is sufficiently mature for use in a complete prototype engine.
H2 power plants follow natural gas and biogas plants as the backbone of the energy transition
As part of its power plant strategy, which includes the expansion of renewable energies, the German government has decided in favour of building more gas-fired power plants to compensate for the variability of renewable resources. In particular, smaller, decentralised gas engine plants that can flexibly compensate for the fluctuating feed-in of wind and solar power to the grid, which varies depending upon weather conditions. To reduce CO2 emissions, biogas gensets and, in some cases, the first gas engines converted for hydrogen are currently being used.