The technology group Wärtsilä, Finland’s Lappeenranta University of Technology (LUT) and Nebraska Public Power District (NPPD), the largest electricity utility in the state of Nebraska, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the study of the development of a business case for the use of alternative fuels with Wärtsilä generating sets.
The MoU was signed on 13 November.
The aim of the business case is to achieve a technically and commercially viable solution that will allow NPPD to proceed with an industrial scale pilot project. All parties have expressed the intention that this initiative will help accelerate the move towards a future where energy will be produced from 100% renewable carbon free sources. The specified alternative fuels include methanol, dimethyl ether (DME) and ammonia, synthesised from hydrogen, CO2 and nitrogen.
Together, the parties will evaluate performance and commercial information on the various fuel capabilities of Wärtsilä engines, provide input for the economic model, and develop an economic evaluation model. By demonstrating the results with test engines, it is envisioned that the conversion of hydrogen to methanol using CO2, and then burning the methanol as fuel to produce electricity, will be established. This would have a major impact on future fuel choices for the global energy market.