DOE Selects Raytheon to Explore Hydrogen, Ammonia as Clean Energy Fuel

The Department of Energy has tapped Raytheon Technologies to work on projects to explore the potential of hydrogen and ammonia to enable clean electricity generation.

Raytheon said it will work on two projects. The first is focused on evaluating how well the Mitsubishi Power Aero FT4000 gas turbine unit, a land-based version of the PW4000 aircraft engine, can run on hydrogen and hydrogen blend fuel, Raytheon said Tuesday.

Geoff Hunt, senior vice president for engineering and technology at Raytheon subsidiary Pratt & Whitney, said that hydrogen is helping steer the aviation industry toward zero emissions.

“We are focused on developing technologies to maximize the potential opportunities that this zero-carbon fuel source provides,” Hunt added.

Raytheon said that the project will complement similar work that Pratt & Whitney is performing with DOE. In a February release, Pratt & Whitney announced it was selected by the department to develop hydrogen-fueled propulsion technology for commercial aviation. The effort, named Hydrogen Steam Injected, Inter‐Cooled Turbine Engine, is a collaboration with DOE’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy.

Raytheon’s second project is focused on exploring ammonia’s potential to serve as a zero-carbon fuel source for power-generating turbines.

Ammonia already has production and transportation infrastructure and is easier to store than hydrogen, Raytheon said.

The project is a collaboration with the University of Connecticut School of Engineering.