Baker Hughes energizes change

For the 24th Baker Hughes Annual Meeting, which was entitled: Energizing Change, started Jan. 29 in Florence, Italy, with several announcements concerning hydrogen. First of all, Baker Hughes unveiled a new Hydrogen Testing Facility in Florence, for validation of its NovaLT industrial turbines to run blends all the way up to 100% hydrogen.

The new facility includes a test bench to allow full load testing, with complete fuel flexibility up to 100% hydrogen and features a 300-bar pressure and 2,450 kg storage capacity.

Testing and validating the NovaLT industrial turbines to run up to 100% hydrogen at Baker Hughes’ new Hydrogen Testing Facility in Florence, Italy (credit: Baker Hughes).

Baker Hughes said, the infrastructure meets the highest standards of safety and security and allows the company to test turbines in all project conditions.

The new Hydrogen Testing Facility will serve as a hub for Baker Hughes’ collaboration with customers in the growing hydrogen economy.

(Editor’s Note: facility tours are going to be organized during the Annual Meeting, so stay tuned for more information on the Hydrogen Testing Facility).

Baker Hughes recently completed manufacturing and testing of its NovaLT16 hydrogen turbines for Air Products’ Net-Zero Hydrogen Energy Complex in Edmonton, Canada; the company revealed that the NovaLT16 turbines underwent full load testing at the newly unveiled Hydrogen Testing Facility.

The NovaLT family of turbines can be deployed for a variety of industrial applications, including combined heat and power, as well as for pipeline and gas storage operations.

Another key Air Products’ hydrogen project has been progressing, with Baker Hughes delivering the first two trains of advanced hydrogen compression solutions for the NEOM project in Saudi Arabia, considered currently the largest green hydrogen project in the world through the equal joint venture of ACWA Power, Air Products and NEOM.

The project included Baker Hughes’ investment to expand its manufacturing site in Modon, Saudi Arabia, to further support the delivery of projects in the country, including NEOM, with localized testing and packaging solutions.

“Baker Hughes’ advanced technology and experience are key elements of our collaboration as Air Products continues to execute some of the largest low- and zero-carbon clean hydrogen megaprojects in the world,” said Dr. Samir J. Serhan, chief operation officer, Air Products. “We are delivering tangible progress with a common goal - to drive the energy transition forward and achieve net-zero targets.”

Baker Hughes also signed a collaboration agreement with HyET – a company that provides technologies for low-cost, distributed power generation and commercially viable hydrogen production at high pressure – for the development, industrialization and commercialization of an advanced hydrogen compression solution.

Finally, Baker Hughes signed a memorandum of understanding with Green Energy Park, a vertically integrated renewable energy company with ammonia and hydrogen terminals projects worldwide, and part of Green Energy Park Global group.

The agreement aims to set out the principles of the envisaged collaboration between the two companies in multiple areas of the green hydrogen value chain, including production, storage, transportation and utilization of green hydrogen and ammonia-based fuels, as well as exploration of possible co-development of related technologies and projects at the gigawatt scale.

“These low-carbon and carbon-free energy advancements illustrate how the urgency of the energy transition has transformed customer relationships into comprehensive partnerships for innovation across several projects,” said Lorenzo Simonelli, chairman and CEO of Baker Hughes. “There is no path to net-zero without innovation and collaboration, and our work with customers and partners, including Air Products, is proving the validity the hydrogen economy and of our strategy to invest and develop innovative solutions to cover the entire hydrogen value chain.”

The portfolio of Baker Hughes’ advanced technologies and solutions for the entire hydrogen value chain includes advanced compressors, gas turbines, valves, centrifugal pumps, non-metallic pipes, hydrogen sensors, monitoring and diagnostics including inspection solutions for hydrogen embrittlement in production and storage, as well as clean power solutions to produce power with hydrogen and hydrogen blends.