Rolls-Royce has commissioned its first in-house test stand for mtu hydrogen engines. The move marks the latest milestone on the company's road to climate-neutral products for energy supply, and forms part of its 'Net-Zero at Power Systems’ sustainability programme launched last year - under which it committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 35% by 2030.

The company is already successfully operating an mtu fuel cell system, has released its power generation gensets for sustainable fuels such as HVO (hydrotreated vegetable oils), and is developing electrolysers to produce green hydrogen. The mtu gas engine portfolio is being prepared for hydrogen as a fuel, thus enabling a climate-neutral energy supply.

“To reduce CO2 emissions in electricity supply, renewable, often decentralised, energy sources are needed to generate electrical energy on a much larger scale than today. In conjunction with these renewable sources, we see hydrogen as an essential energy carrier of the future,” said Dr Otto Preiss, Rolls-Royce Power Systems chief technology officer and COO. “That is why we are doing everything we can to gradually bring our mtu gensets and CHP units based on the Series 500 and 4000 gas engines to market for operation with a hydrogen blending of 25% by volume (H2) and more and for operation with up to 100% by volume.”


“The environmental protection measures now implemented at Rolls-Royce Solutions in Augsburg will benefit both the company and the city of Augsburg,” added Tobias Schnell, managing director of Rolls-Royce Solutions Augsburg GmbH.

Over the past year and a half, the company has invested around ten million euros at Rolls-Royce Solutions in Augsburg in test bench modernisation, hydrogen infrastructure and other measures. The company aims to be climate-neutral worldwide by 2050, and in Germany as early as 2045.


Pictured (from left to right) are Andreas Schell, CEO of Rolls-Royce Power Systems, Dr Wolfgang Hübschle, economic officer of the City of Augsburg, Dr Otto Preiss, chief technology officer and COO of Rolls-Royce Power Systems and Tobias Schnell, managing director of Rolls-Royce Solutions Augsburg. Image courtesy: Rolls-Royce.

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