Periodic Reporting for period 1 - ACHIEVE (Advancing the Combustion of Hydrogen-AmmonIa blEnds for improVed Emissions and stability)
Berichtszeitraum: 2024-01-01 bis 2025-06-30
To mitigate the impact of greenhouse gas on the environment and climate, the gas turbine power generation industry must rapidly reduce its emissions. This requires abandoning the traditional combustion of carbon-based natural gas in favour of carbon-free fuels.
ACHIEVE aims at developing the fundamental knowledge to enable a transition to unconventional carbon-free fuel blends based around H2 and NH3 to achieve zero carbon emissions, ultra-low NOx emissions, and stable gas turbine operation. ACHIEVE proposes a three-pronged strategy consisting of (a) experimental and (b) numerical activities, that will advance the technology readiness level (TRL) up to 4 for practical low emissions combustors for realistic and representative blends of fuels, as well as (c) system level engagement with OEMS, end users, and stakeholders. Experimental campaigns will explore combustor stability limits, emissions, and fundamental aspects of the combustion of hydrogen blends, with the complexity of the experimental burners and operating conditions increasing over time and culminating in tests performed at intermediate pressures and powers relevant for gas turbine conditions. Numerical activities will address combustion modelling challenges, including chemical kinetics, fundamental physics governing flame dynamics, ushering in new modelling techniques such as artificially thickened flames coupled with virtual chemistry, sub-grid LES models for thermo-diffusive instabilities and stability analysis aimed to understand and predict NOx formation mechanism, lean blow off, flashback limits and thermoacoustic instabilities. Real-time monitoring and predictive capabilities for practical combustion systems will also be developed. Finally, in the third prong, engagement with industry, OEMs, and other target groups will leverage the results of ACHIEVE with the necessary stakeholders to progress the transition to a carbon-free fuels for power generation.
ACHIEVE aims at developing the fundamental knowledge to enable a transition to unconventional carbon-free fuel blends based around H2 and NH3 to achieve zero carbon emissions, ultra-low NOx emissions, and stable gas turbine operation. ACHIEVE proposes a three-pronged strategy consisting of (a) experimental and (b) numerical activities, that will advance the technology readiness level (TRL) up to 4 for practical low emissions combustors for realistic and representative blends of fuels, as well as (c) system level engagement with OEMS, end users, and stakeholders. Experimental campaigns will explore combustor stability limits, emissions, and fundamental aspects of the combustion of hydrogen blends, with the complexity of the experimental burners and operating conditions increasing over time and culminating in tests performed at intermediate pressures and powers relevant for gas turbine conditions. Numerical activities will address combustion modelling challenges, including chemical kinetics, fundamental physics governing flame dynamics, ushering in new modelling techniques such as artificially thickened flames coupled with virtual chemistry, sub-grid LES models for thermo-diffusive instabilities and stability analysis aimed to understand and predict NOx formation mechanism, lean blow off, flashback limits and thermoacoustic instabilities. Real-time monitoring and predictive capabilities for practical combustion systems will also be developed. Finally, in the third prong, engagement with industry, OEMs, and other target groups will leverage the results of ACHIEVE with the necessary stakeholders to progress the transition to a carbon-free fuels for power generation.
During the first 18 months, ACHIEVE has advanced significantly on both experimental and numerical fronts.
Laboratory-scale tests were carried out in multiple facilities across the consortium to characterise the behaviour of unconventional hydrogen blends. Dedicated burner rigs were upgraded or developed and, in this initial phase, operated at atmospheric pressure, providing preliminary key insights into lean blow-off, flashback resistance, NOx emissions, and dynamic flame response. In particular, a set of canonical burners were operated under varying conditions and supported by high-speed imaging and chemiluminescence diagnostics, producing detailed datasets that are now being used for model validation. Complementary campaigns were performed on a more complex dual-swirl burner geometry, also focusing on flashback and lean blow-off limits, while extensive work was dedicated to the adaptation of the experimental rig for future safe handling of ammonia. Work is also underway on a medium pressure test rig to reach full operational capability and start thermoacoustic analysis.
On the modelling side, ACHIEVE delivered new skeletal chemical kinetic mechanisms for hydrogen–ammonia combustion, developed through Computational Singular Perturbation (CSP). This was complemented with detailed reaction path analysis for NOx formation, identifying the dominant chemical routes and providing insights that directly inform both experimental interpretation and model refinement. In addition, extensive effort was dedicated to new sub-grid models capable of handling hydrogen-ammonia combustion. The Dynamic Thickened Flame approach was extended to unconventional hydrogen mixtures, allowing for improved fidelity. In addition, advanced tabulated approaches were developed which utilize data-driven approaches such as linear-non-linear autoencoder Preparatory work was also undertaken on stability analysis methods and real-time monitoring concepts for predictive combustion control. These activities are establishing the computational and methodological foundations required for the upcoming integration of modelling tools into system-level design studies.
The consortium also initiated safety and environmental assessments and designed large-scale dispersion experiments for hydrogen and ammonia in confined turbine-relevant spaces.
Laboratory-scale tests were carried out in multiple facilities across the consortium to characterise the behaviour of unconventional hydrogen blends. Dedicated burner rigs were upgraded or developed and, in this initial phase, operated at atmospheric pressure, providing preliminary key insights into lean blow-off, flashback resistance, NOx emissions, and dynamic flame response. In particular, a set of canonical burners were operated under varying conditions and supported by high-speed imaging and chemiluminescence diagnostics, producing detailed datasets that are now being used for model validation. Complementary campaigns were performed on a more complex dual-swirl burner geometry, also focusing on flashback and lean blow-off limits, while extensive work was dedicated to the adaptation of the experimental rig for future safe handling of ammonia. Work is also underway on a medium pressure test rig to reach full operational capability and start thermoacoustic analysis.
On the modelling side, ACHIEVE delivered new skeletal chemical kinetic mechanisms for hydrogen–ammonia combustion, developed through Computational Singular Perturbation (CSP). This was complemented with detailed reaction path analysis for NOx formation, identifying the dominant chemical routes and providing insights that directly inform both experimental interpretation and model refinement. In addition, extensive effort was dedicated to new sub-grid models capable of handling hydrogen-ammonia combustion. The Dynamic Thickened Flame approach was extended to unconventional hydrogen mixtures, allowing for improved fidelity. In addition, advanced tabulated approaches were developed which utilize data-driven approaches such as linear-non-linear autoencoder Preparatory work was also undertaken on stability analysis methods and real-time monitoring concepts for predictive combustion control. These activities are establishing the computational and methodological foundations required for the upcoming integration of modelling tools into system-level design studies.
The consortium also initiated safety and environmental assessments and designed large-scale dispersion experiments for hydrogen and ammonia in confined turbine-relevant spaces.
ACHIEVE has already produced several innovations that go beyond current capabilities in hydrogen combustion research:
Novel skeletal kinetic mechanisms: libraries of skeletal kinetic mechanisms now enable accurate and computationally efficient modelling of hydrogen-ammonia blends, a first of their kind tailored to gas turbine applications.
High-quality experimental datasets: Unique atmospheric pressure measurements of hydrogen flames, including chemiluminescence and emissions, provide an unprecedented basis for validation of predictive models as well as yielding extensive understanding of burner behaviour for their safe and stable operation.
Advanced LES modelling: Extension of the Dynamic Thickened Flame Model to multi-regime conditions and data-driven dimensionality reduction methods for intrinsically unstable ammonia–hydrogen flames represent a step-change in simulation fidelity.
Industrial-scale safety validation: Design and preparation of large-scale dispersion tests involving carbon-neutral gases, conducted by industry partner Baker Hughes.
Together, these advances strengthen Europe’s leadership in clean hydrogen combustion research and provide tools and knowledge not previously available in the field.
Novel skeletal kinetic mechanisms: libraries of skeletal kinetic mechanisms now enable accurate and computationally efficient modelling of hydrogen-ammonia blends, a first of their kind tailored to gas turbine applications.
High-quality experimental datasets: Unique atmospheric pressure measurements of hydrogen flames, including chemiluminescence and emissions, provide an unprecedented basis for validation of predictive models as well as yielding extensive understanding of burner behaviour for their safe and stable operation.
Advanced LES modelling: Extension of the Dynamic Thickened Flame Model to multi-regime conditions and data-driven dimensionality reduction methods for intrinsically unstable ammonia–hydrogen flames represent a step-change in simulation fidelity.
Industrial-scale safety validation: Design and preparation of large-scale dispersion tests involving carbon-neutral gases, conducted by industry partner Baker Hughes.
Together, these advances strengthen Europe’s leadership in clean hydrogen combustion research and provide tools and knowledge not previously available in the field.