INNIO Group to deliver innovative hydrogen technology to power RAG Austria AG’s hydrogen cogeneration plant
• RAG’s hydrogen cogeneration plant in Gampern (Upper Austria) will be equipped with INNIO Group’s Jenbacher hydrogen engine by spring 2024.
• Hydrogen-ready Jenbacher combined heat and power plant will generate power and heat from green hydrogen stored underground.
• Austrian engine technology sets new international standards in the use of green hydrogen from surplus wind and solar energy.
JENBACH, Austria – November 6, 2023 – INNIO today announced that RAG Austria AG (RAG) has selected INNIO Group’s (INNIO) Jenbacher innovative hydrogen engine technology to power its hydrogen cogeneration plant in Gampern, Upper Austria. The combined heat and power plant (CHP) will generate green power and heat. With this innovative flagship project, the two companies are laying the foundations for greater security of supply in the use of green energy. As part of the commissioning of the world’s first 100% hydrogen storage facility in a porous underground reservoir – RAG’s “Underground Sun Storage”, up to 4.2 gigawatt hours of electricity produced in summer can be kept ready for winter in the form of green hydrogen.
Commissioning of the highly efficient, flexible Jenbacher hydrogen CHP plant in the 1 MW range is scheduled for spring 2024. In winter, electricity can then be generated on-demand from the green energy reserves, and the waste heat can be used for heating purposes. In this trailblazing project, INNIO and RAG are augmenting the entire value chain, focusing on seamless coordination between the generation, conversion, storage, and – most notably – supply of green energy.
“Our hydrogen technology is foundational for energy security in the age of volatile renewables. We are already helping businesses and communities around the world to become carbon-neutral,” says Dr. Olaf Berlien, President and CEO of INNIO Group. “Hydrogen-ready decentralized energy solutions, ideally in the form of highly efficient CHP plants, make our energy supply future-proof.”
“In Gampern, Upper Austria, we are demonstrating what can and must be done to manage the energy transition by securing a reliable supply of green energy throughout the year,” explains Markus Mitteregger, CEO of RAG Austria AG. He goes on to say that “The hydrogen cogeneration plant is a key building block for the entire hydrogen ramp-up, because flexible, quick-start CHP plants can not only generate electricity as needed, but also produce the heat that is so important in winter. This significantly improves efficiency while also facilitating the heating transition.”
About INNIO Group
INNIO Group is a leading energy solution and service provider that empowers industries and communities to make sustainable energy work today. With its product brands Jenbacher and Waukesha and its digital platform myPlant, INNIO offers innovative solutions for the power generation and compression segments that help industries and communities generate and manage energy sustainably while navigating the fast-changing landscape of traditional and green energy sources. INNIO is individual in scope, but global in scale. With its flexible, scalable, and resilient energy solutions and services, INNIO enables its customers to manage the energy transition along the energy value chain wherever they are in their transition journey.
INNIO is headquartered in Jenbach (Austria), with other primary operations in Waukesha (Wisconsin, U.S.) and Welland (Ontario, Canada). A team of more than 4,000 experts provides life-cycle support to INNIO’s more than 55,000 delivered engines globally through a service network in more than 100 countries.
In March 2023, INNIO’s ESG rating ranked first out of more than 500 companies worldwide in the machinery industry assessed by Sustainalytics.
For more information, visit INNIO’s website at www.innio.com. Follow INNIO Group and its brands on X (formerly known as Twitter) and LinkedIn.
INNIO, Jenbacher, Waukesha and myPlant are protected, registered trademarks in the European Union and other countries, and may only be used by INNIO GmbH & Co OG, its affiliates, and its authorized licensees. This is an illustrative list and does not claim to be exhaustive.
RAG Austria AG
RAG is Austria’s largest energy storage company, and one of Europe’s leading gas storage facility operators.
The business focus is storage, conversion and conditioning of energy in gaseous forms. In this way RAG is delivering on its vision of “sustainable energy mining”, and decisively reinforcing security of supply in Austria and Europe.
The company also develops leading edge energy technologies related to “green gas” that partner renewables. This is enabling RAG to play a vital role in attaining Austria’s ambitious climate goals, and in the sustainable stewardship of the country’s raw material and energy supplies. RAG aims to provide its customers with safe, efficient, environmentally friendly and affordable energy and gas storage services – sustainably and responsibly.
For more information, please contact:
Susanne Reichelt
INNIO
+43 664 80833 2382
Stefan Pestl
RAG Austria AG
+43 (0) 50724 5460