Hybrid power plantsGas turbines and fuel cells

In this hybrid power plant, a micro gas turbine and a high-temperature fuel cell are combined with each other. This can be explained by following the route taken by the air: cold air supplied from outside (blue) is first compressed and then preheated with exhaust heat (pale orange). It then supplies the fuel cell with oxygen for generating electricity. The hot air then flows further into the micro gas turbine: there it is heated even more in the combustion chamber and, via the turbine, drives the generator – whereby electricity is also generated. Before the exhaust gas is fed off from the micro gas turbine, it is used for heating the newly supplied air. This means that heat is effectively “captured” in the system. Such a combination even enables efficiencies of up to 70 per cent. However, the entire system still needs to be calculated in a computer, since it needs to be ensured that everything functions before constructing this power plant.
This will then enable hydrogen generated during coal gasification to be deployed in hybrid power plants.