The urgent need for low-emission and low-carbon solutions in distributed power generation and transport is often paired with recent trends towards increasingly high power densities. As a practical consequence, an important class of future gas turbines will be fired using novel carbon-free fuels, i.e., hydrogen (H2) and/or ammonia (NH3). Being able to burn these alternative fuels in gas turbines while conserving today’s severe pollutants’ emissions and efficiency standards will require precise answers to several open questions of fundamental scientific character jointly with an assessment of possible consequences on the gas turbine cycle performance.

The ADONIS project targets micro gas turbines (MGT) in the 100 kWel power range using NH3/H2 blends. Ammonia can be conveniently used as a hydrogen-carrying molecule, for high density storage and long-distance transportation. It can be converted back into H2, or directly used for electricity production by combustion in a gas turbine – pure or in blends.

The project ADONIS seeks answers to fundamental open research questions of high relevance to the development of MGT related to the following topics: 1)  Flame-wall interaction, 2) Combustion Dynamics, 3) Fuel injection strategy. All three topics significantly impact the stability, efficiency, emissions and, ultimately, overall cycle performance of the gas turbine. Therefore, new fundamental insights gained in the investigation of these three topics will be condensed, as main project result, to provide an updated, state-of-the-art realistic assessment of the gas turbine cycle performance.

ADONIS is expected to be a significant step towards mastering NH3/H2 combustion in MGTs. As an efficient energy carrier, NH3 allows for safe and efficient long-term storage of large quantities of H2, and long-range maritime transport of renewable energy, equilibrating global energy imbalance. Its usage in MGTs could be especially relevant for small, isolated or insular communities, which currently often rely on power generation with fossil fuels.