Wartsila has started testing a mega 100% hydrogen engine on Spain grid, said the company statement on June 11, 2026.
According to Wartsila, the trial of mega 100% hydrogen engine on Spain grid which is a 31H2 engine located in Bermeo, northern Spain, is intended to demonstrate how technology could assist in balancing power systems that happen to be heavily weighted toward renewables as countries ramp up solar and wind power capacity.
Wartsila indicated that the technology could as well go ahead and support energy-intensive sectors, such as data centers along with manufacturing facilities having flexible, sustainable power generation.
For the test, they are making use of hydrogen from a nearby Air Liquide electrolyzer, confirmed Wartsila in an email to Platts from S&P Global Energy.
Platts from S&P Global Energy evaluated the cost of producing green hydrogen in Spain via alkaline electrolysis with renewable power purchase agreements in order to meet the EU compliance at Eur6.29/kg or $7.25/kg on June 10.
The focus now must turn to creating an appropriate environment so as to scale the technology, supported through regulation and investment clarity as well as the infrastructure required to speed up the renewable energy and sustainable fuels growth, like hydrogen, remarked the Director of Technology Strategy & Decarbonization at Wartsila, said Rasmus Teir, in the statement.
Once the validation is done, the company stated that it will release engine performance data to the public.
The engine is intended for utility-scale power plants in the 100+ megawatt range, a spokesman said.
Dispatchable, flexible power
President of the energy division of Wartsila, Anders Lindberg, told Platts flexible, dispatchable power was indeed a tool that could help implement more renewables.
It is well to be noted that Wartsila’s engines can go from zero to full output in just a matter of two minutes, which helps solve the grid curtailment challenges, Lindberg said in an interview.
The company is creating natural gas engines that can be modified in order to run on 100% hydrogen fuel, opting to optimize for efficiency on existing gas operations rather than building hydrogen-ready engines that would sacrifice performance, he said.
Lindberg said the conversion would be a possibility when hydrogen supplies become commercially available.
Notably, the V31 medium bore engines by the company already generate 12 MW of power on natural gas and can mix almost 25% hydrogen without major infrastructure changes, and 100% hydrogen capability happens to be in development, Li said. He said hydrogen-fueled power generation is lower.
The 25% blending limit is based on regulatory limits in Europe and the US that enable hydrogen-natural gas mixtures to be used with existing gas infrastructure, added Lindberg.
Wartsila has trialed the 25% blend at a site in the US Midwest and is working on full hydrogen conversion capacity for customers to take up when financial factors make the switch viable, he said.
Grid limitations
According to Lindberg, it is the system that is the core reason for price swings, not the renewables, further adding that systems are using up huge quantities of clean power that could potentially be utilized by responsive generation assets, with insufficient grid flexibility and market dynamics limiting renewable energy implementation beyond technology gaps.
He opines that it is not a fault of the renewables, but in reality, it happens to be the system’s fault that is not adapted to renewables.
Apparently, the energy transition debate is moving from the implementation of technology to the fundamentals of grids and infrastructure as well as markets, he noted, with regulatory bodies increasingly recognizing the necessity for compensation structures that reward system adaptability instead of just energy output. Linberg said that the good thing is that the debate has begun and that he just wishes it was a little bit faster from debate to action.
It is worth noting that multiple jurisdictions are taking distinct approaches, with Texas in the US employing volatile short-term pricing that enables flexible generators to go ahead and capture price increases, while Brazil and European markets are becoming more accustomed to capacity auctions, Lindberg said.
Industrial uses
Mining is indeed the largest industrial customer segment for engine technology by Wartsila, followed by cement and textiles with setups across Western Australia and the US as well as Canada, Lindberg added.
Lindberg remarks that they are also seeing growing interest among data center operators searching for off-grid power, especially near urban centers where lags in connecting to the grid are hindering development.
The energy security advantages of domestic renewable generation are highlighted by fossil fuel price volatility such as the Middle East crisis. Lindberg concludes that logic is all there, as there’s all the technology that is needed. But it is just how one speeds it up.