Wartsila tests large-scale hydrogen-fired engine on Spanish power grid

Energy technology group Wartsila has begun testing a large-scale engine running on 100% hydrogen, supplying power to Spain's national grid, the company said in a statement on June 11.

The trial of the Wartsila 31H2 engine in Bermeo, northern Spain, aims to demonstrate how the technology could help balance renewable-heavy power systems as countries scale wind and solar capacity, Wartsila said.

The technology could support energy-intensive sectors, including data centers and manufacturing facilities with flexible, sustainable power generation, Wartsila said.

The hydrogen for the test comes from a nearby Air Liquide electrolyzer, Wartsila told Platts by email.

Platts, part of S&P Global Energy, assessed the cost of EU-compliant green hydrogen production via alkaline electrolysis in Spain, backed by renewable power purchase agreements, at Eur6.29/kg ($7.25/kg) on June 10.

Wartsila's Director of Technology Strategy & Decarbonisation, Rasmus Teir, said in the statement that the focus must now shift to creating the right environment to scale the technology, supported by regulation, investment clarity and infrastructure needed to accelerate the growth of renewable energy and sustainable fuels like hydrogen.

The company said it would publicly disclose engine performance once the validation is completed.

The engine is designed for utility-scale power plants in the hundreds of megawatts range, a spokesperson said.

Flexible, dispatchable power

The president of Wartsila's energy division, Anders Lindberg, told Platts that flexible, dispatchable power was a tool that could aid the deployment of more renewables.

Wartsila's engines can ramp from zero to full output in two minutes, helping address grid curtailment problems, Lindberg said in an interview.

The company is developing natural gas engines that can be retrofitted for 100% hydrogen fuel, prioritizing efficiency on current gas operations over hydrogen-ready designs that sacrifice performance, he said.

Conversion would be an option when hydrogen supplies become commercially available, Lindberg said.

The company's V31 medium-bore engines produce 12 MW of power on natural gas and can already blend up to 25% hydrogen without significant infrastructure modifications, with 100% hydrogen capability under development, he said. Hydrogen-fired power output is lower, he said.

The 25% blending limit reflects regulatory thresholds in Europe and the US that allow hydrogen-natural gas mixtures to use existing gas infrastructure, Lindberg said. Wartsila has tested the 25% blend at a US Midwest site and is developing full hydrogen conversion capability that customers can implement when economics justify the switch, he said.

Grid constraints

Inadequate grid flexibility and market structures are constraining renewable energy deployment more than technology gaps, with systems wasting vast amounts of clean power that could be absorbed by more responsive generation assets, Lindberg said, adding that price volatility was down to the system, not the renewables.

"This is not the fault of the renewables," he said. "It is actually the fault of the system not being adapted to renewables."

The energy transition debate is moving beyond technology deployment into the details of grids, infrastructure and markets, he noted, with regulators increasingly recognizing the need for compensation structures that reward system flexibility rather than just energy output, he said.

"The good thing is that the debate has started," he said. "I wish it went from debate to action a little bit faster."

Different jurisdictions are adopting varied approaches, with Texas in the US using volatile short-term pricing that allows flexible generators to capture price spikes, while Brazil and European markets increasingly rely on capacity auctions, Lindberg said.

Industrial applications

Mining represents Wartsila's largest industrial customer segment for the engine technology, followed by cement and textiles, with installations across Western Australia, the US and Canada, Lindberg said.

The company is also seeing growing interest from data center operators seeking off-grid power, particularly near urban centers where grid connection delays are constraining development, he said.

Fossil fuel price shocks, including the Middle East crisis, underscore the energy security benefits of domestic renewable generation.

"All the logic is there," Lindberg said. "We have all the technology that is needed. It's just how can we speed it up."