Power plant for generating electric power for an electric grid comprising an electrolyzer powered by the electric grid
AssigneeNuovo Pignone Tecnologie Srl
InventorsMarco Giancotti, Tiziano Pellegrini
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The power plant generates electric power to be provided to an electric grid, the plant including a gas turbine, a steam turbine and one or more electrolyzers that uses electric power to generate hydrogen starting from water; the hydrogen is temporarily stored inside the power plant in a small tank. When power plant energy production exceeds grid energy demand, the electrolyzer is connected to the grid so to usefully consume the electric power not desired by the grid operator at a certain time and generate hydrogen that is used by the gas turbine as a secondary fuel together with a primary fuel.
Claims13
A power plant configured to generate electric power to be provided to an electric grid, the power plant comprising:
- a gas turbine comprising a first rotary shaft and configured to burn a primary fuel, the gas turbine having an exhaust outlet;
- a first electric power generator coupled to the first rotary shaft, the first electric power generator comprising a first electric power output;
- a steam turbine comprising a second rotary shaft, the steam turbine having a steam inlet;
- a second electric power generator coupled to the second rotary shaft, the second electric power generator comprising a second electric power output;
- a steam generator coupled to the exhaust outlet and arranged to feed steam to the steam inlet;
- a first electrolyzer comprising a first electric power input;
- a tank for storing hydrogen to be produced at least by the first electrolyzer and to be burned by the gas turbine;
- a first heat exchanger for heating a water flow and producing a heated water flow;
- and
- a second heat exchanger for cooling a hydrogen flow produced at least by the first electrolyzer and producing a cooled hydrogen flow,
- wherein the first electric power output of the first electric power generator is arranged to be coupled to the electric grid,
- wherein the second electric power output of the second electric power generator is arranged to be coupled to the electric grid,
- wherein the first electric power input of the first electrolyzer is arranged to be selectively coupled to the electric grid,
- wherein the tank is fluidly coupled to the gas turbine for selectively burning hydrogen as a secondary fuel,
- wherein the second heat exchanger is arranged to heat a water flow and producing a heated water flow using heat removed from the hydrogen flow
- wherein the power plant is arranged to feed the cooled hydrogen flow to the gas turbine,
- wherein the power plant is arranged to feed the heated water flow at least to the first electrolyzer, and
- wherein the heated water flow produced by the second heat exchanger is fed to the first heat exchanger.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.