三菱重工（7011.T）开发出不排CO2的天然气制氢（甲烷裂解/蓝绿水素）系统，拟与主力燃气轮机捆绑销售，2028年在高砂工厂启动与燃气发电联动试运行

TOKYO -- Mitsubishi Heavy Industries has developed a system to produce hydrogen from natural gas without releasing carbon dioxide, a technology that the Japanese company intends to market to power utilities and other customers together with its mainline gas turbines.
Hydrogen production systems that use natural gas typically emit CO2. Mitsubishi Heavy's newly developed methane pyrolysis system heats and splits methane, the main component of natural gas, into hydrogen and solid carbon, eliminating the emission of gaseous CO2. Solid carbon is considered easier to store and recycle than CO2.
Mitsubishi Heavy will begin trials in 2028 by connecting the hydrogen production system to a gas power turbine facility at its Takasago machinery works in Hyogo prefecture, one of the company's main sites. The project will test power generation through the co-firing of natural gas and hydrogen. The company eventually aims to generate power from hydrogen alone, further reducing CO2 emissions.
Other companies, such as engineering firm Chiyoda and machinery manufacturer Ebara, are developing methane pyrolysis systems to produce hydrogen. Mitsubishi Heavy's advantage lies in the fact that it handles not only hydrogen production equipment, but also such power generation machinery as gas turbines. The test facility at Takasago will enable the company to verify the entire process of producing hydrogen from natural gas and using it to generate power.
Mitsubishi Heavy's turbines can be adapted to use hydrogen or ammonia fuel through relatively small modifications, such as replacing combustors and adding fuel supply systems. Without the need to replace the turbine itself, the conversion would cost less than building entirely new hydrogen-fired plants.
Co-firing with a 30%-hydrogen blend reduces CO2 emissions by about 10% compared with operating on natural gas alone, Mitsubishi Heavy has estimated. The company plans to bundle hydrogen production systems and gas turbines, providing power producers with a decarbonization option.
Mitsubishi Heavy's gas turbine business is performing well. Demand is strong both in Japan and overseas, particularly in the U.S., driven by rising electricity consumption from data centers that has come with the spread of generative artificial intelligence. There is also a push to replace coal-fired plants.
Even so, the turbine business cannot avoid the need to decarbonize over the medium to long term.
"There's no doubt that [society] will move toward low-carbon and decarbonization in the future," said Masanori Yuri, head of Mitsubishi Heavy's gas turbine business.
"We need to stay committed to technological development" for decarbonization, Yuri said.
Hydrogen produced through methane pyrolysis is known as "turquoise hydrogen." This is considered to be between "green hydrogen," produced by electrolyzing water using power from renewable energy, and "blue hydrogen," where CO2 generated during production is captured and stored underground.
Mitsubishi Heavy plans to maintain multiple hydrogen production options tailored to regional and customer needs. At Takasago, the company is also testing steam electrolysis, which extracts hydrogen from high-temperature steam, along with conventional water electrolysis systems. It envisions using water electrolysis in regions with abundant renewable energy and turquoise hydrogen in areas where natural gas is readily available.