The arsenal of green energy has been replenished with the world’s most powerful electric generator powered by pure hydrogen. Its power is 30 MW, for which 443.45 tons of hydrogen are burned every hour. That’s about the equivalent of refueling one of the world’s largest airships, the Hindenburg, which infamously crashed in May 1937, 25 times an hour. The generator’s developers hope it will help smooth out gaps in renewable energy generation.
Image source: Mingyang
The Jupiter One generator was developed by specialists from the Mingyang Smart Energy group of companies. This manufacturer is known for creating the world’s largest wind turbines, up to 300 meters high. Wind, like the sun, does not produce energy continuously. Gaps with calm and at night must be filled with production from other sources. The use of hydrogen is interesting because excess electricity during peak supplies during the day can be used for electrolysis – the extraction of hydrogen by splitting ordinary water.
The generator presented by Mingyang is capable of creating a buffer energy source for solar and wind installations. This is all the more important since light and wind generate energy mainly in the northern and western regions of China, while the main consumer remains the east and coastal regions. In this regard, the situation in China is that during peak production, about 25% of energy from renewable sources is simply lost – the country does not have enough power lines to fully transmit this energy to the east and south. This surplus can be used for electrolysis and then used in hydrogen-powered electricity generators.
Jupiter One burns enough hydrogen per hour to fuel 78,487 Toyota Mirai cars with hydrogen cells
The Jupiter One generator has ten combustion chambers. Hydrogen is a capricious and dangerous fuel. To ensure the coordinated operation of all cameras, many problems had to be solved so that the ignition and combustion of fuel remained under control at all times.