Baker Hughes is to supply Snam with three NovaLT™12 gas turbine-driven compressor trains for a new gas compressor station in Sulmona, Italy.
The station is an integral part of Adriatic Line, a Snam pipeline project, whose first phase was included in Italy’s National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR) as part of the REpowerEU Plan.
The Line entails the construction of a 425 km long, hydrogen-ready pipeline to allow the transport of additional energy supplies from Azerbaijan, Africa and the Eastern Mediterranean region to northern Europe.
The adoption of Baker Hughes NovaLT™12 turbines, which provide the option to run on 100% natural gas or hydrogen blends up to 10%, represents ‘a significant milestone’ in decarbonising the Italian gas network infrastructure and aligns with Snam’s strategy to achieve carbon neutrality on direct emissions by 2040, according to a statement.
The contract, which was awarded to Baker Hughes following a public tender, builds on a long-standing collaboration between the two companies that has involved the successful testing, in 2020, of the world’s first ‘hybrid’ hydrogen turbine designed for a gas network, and the installation of a NovaLT™12 turbine at Snam’s Istrana, Italy, site in November 2022.
Ganesh Ramaswamy, Executive Vice President, Industrial & Energy Technology at Baker Hughes, said, “Our work with customers and partners is part of our commitment to developing innovative technology solutions, such as the NovaLT™12, that enable the decarbonisation of energy ecosystems and the creation of the hydrogen economy while continuing to support the need for an affordable and secure energy supply.”
Baker Hughes outlined three timelines in an investor update last month
In a January update, Baker Hughes said it is working on a new hydrogen testing facility in Florence; completed manufacturing and testing of its NovaLT™16 hydrogen turbines for the Air Products Net-Zero Hydrogen Energy Complex in Edmonton; and progressing another key Air Products project with the delivery of the first two trains of advanced hydrogen compression solutions for the NEOM project in Saudi Arabia, the largest green hydrogen project globally.
The company also executed a collaboration agreement with HyET, a company that provides technologies for low-cost, distributed power generation and commercially viable hydrogen production at high pressure.
Baker Hughes’ experience in hydrogen projects, which dates to the 1910s, covers advanced compressors, gas turbines, valves, centrifugal pumps, non-metallic pipes, hydrogen sensors, monitoring and diagnostics including inspection solutions for hydrogen embrittlement in production and storage, as well as clean power solutions to produce power with hydrogen and hydrogen blends.
In an Investor update last month, Baker Hughes is targeting EBIDTA of $2.7-3.02 billion this year. While gas technology equipment ($4.2 billion) and gas technology services ($2.6 billion) remain pivotal to its industrial portfolio, it is keen to broaden its offering, with around 65% of its business focused on ‘serving customers outside of LNG’, and greater emphasis on digital offerings and service solutions.
Snam has increased its stake in Italy’s Adriatic LNG regasification terminal from 7.3% to 30%, it announced today (click here).
