Uniper gauges hydrogen readiness of UK Grain power plant

Joint project with GE to assess scope of upgrade needed to run gas-fired plant on up to 40pc hydrogen

German energy firm Uniper is evaluating the possibility of retrofitting one of its largest gas-fired power plants in the UK to run on up to 40pc hydrogen. Uniper is working with US turbine manufacturer GE to assess the hydrogen readiness of the 1,365MW Grain combined-cycle gas turbine plant on the Isle of Grain, east of London. Grain was commissioned in 2011 and is Uniper’s newest power plant in the UK. “The assessment will provide us with the scope of the upgrade needed to support operation of up to 40pc hydrogen by volume, while maintaining both plant economics and reliability,” says Ian Rogers, Uniper’s head of asset improvement. The project forms part of a wider collaboration between the