The Pipeline Technology Community is preparing to contribute to the containment of Climate Change; one way it is doing so is the blend of green hydrogen into the existing natural gas distribution network; green hydrogen is produced by means of renewable sources and therefore displaces a quota of CO2 emissions from hydrocarbons, while the existing infrastructure remains the same and does not require big investments or lengthy modification processes.

The present paper describes the achievement obtained by Snam S.p.A. and Baker Hughes in testing a real gas turbine with the injection of hydrogen, in variable quantity between 3% and 10% vol.

A new Gas Turbine model, NovaLT^TM12, was tested at full speed full load, as well as part load, with fuel containing a blend of pipeline-grade methane and hydrogen. The whole turbine behavior, including performance, emissions and stability, was measured, leading to the final assessment of perfect suitability of such fuel. NOx factor was measured, as well as other pollutants factors.

The test discussed in this paper took place in July 2020 at Baker Hughes facilities in Firenze, Italy, while Snam’s NovaLT^TM12 is entering into service in 2021 at Istrana, Italy; by being already fully compatible with hydrogen blends up to 10%, the turbine is ready to contribute to the challenge of producing cleaner and less impacting energy.