The Road To NET ZERO

Summary

Marson Kenzie, UK sales manager at Suji, a German company specializing in stationary gas engines, discusses the company's low profile despite being a major player in Europe. Suji's innovative hydrogen engines, originally designed for syngas, can run on various gas types with minimal adjustments. Kenzie highlights the benefits of hydrogen as a clean fuel, its potential role in energy storage, and the company's projects worldwide, emphasizing the adaptability and efficiency of their engines in various applications.

Takeaways

• 🇩🇪 The company is a German engineering firm specializing in stationary gas engines, with a unique culture of being 'nerds' and a humble approach to their achievements.
• 🛠️ Founded in a garage 28 years ago, the company has grown to become the third largest builder of stationary gas engines in Europe, yet remains relatively unknown.
• 🔬 With a strong focus on research and development, the company has 92 employees dedicated to R&D out of a global workforce of 850, emphasizing their commitment to innovation.
• 🌟 They have developed the world's first hydrogen engines but have been reluctant to boast about their achievements due to their modest mentality.
• 🎨 The company also manufactures engines for competitors, simply painting them different colors and adding nameplates before selling them under various brands.
• 💡 The company is adept at designing engines to run on various types of gas, including hydrogen, natural gas, and biogas, showcasing their flexibility and adaptability.
• 🚀 They have projects worldwide utilizing hydrogen in creative ways, such as using surplus electricity from wind farms at night to generate hydrogen for daytime use.
• 🌿 Hydrogen engines are positioned as part of a broader energy strategy, not as a singular solution, recognizing the role of various energy sources in the mix.
• 💹 The economics of hydrogen production and use are influenced by factors like subsidies, the cost of renewable energy, and the potential for grid balancing.
• 🔄 Hydrogen engines can operate on a blend of gases, providing flexibility in how they are used and managed within the energy infrastructure.
• 🌍 The company's global outlook is evident in their projects, with a significant market for hydrogen engines in Japan and adaptability to various international energy needs.

Q & A

Who is Marson Kenzie and what is his role?

Marson Kenzie is the UK sales manager for Suji, a German company specializing in the design and manufacturing of stationary gas engines.

What is unique about Suji as a company?

Suji is unique in that it is a company of 'nerds', even its CEO is described as a nerd. It started in a garage 28 years ago and has grown to be the third largest builder of stationary gas engines in Europe, yet remains relatively unknown.

What is the significance of Suji being a 'weird company'?

Suji's 'weirdness' refers to its low profile despite being a major player in the industry, its focus on research and development, and its unconventional approach to innovation and marketing.

What is the background of Marson Kenzie in the power generation industry?

Marson Kenzie has been in the power generation industry for 25 to 26 years before he started working for Suji.

Why was Suji's achievement with hydrogen engines not widely known initially?

Suji's achievement with hydrogen engines was not widely known because the company culture was against boasting about their accomplishments, preferring to focus on building innovative products.

How does Suji contribute to the power generation industry with its engines?

Suji contributes by building engines for various clients, including competitors, and by developing innovative technologies such as the world's first hydrogen engines and engines that can run on various types of gas.

What is the role of hydrogen in Suji's engine technology?

Hydrogen plays a significant role in Suji's engine technology as it is used in their hydrogen engines and can be blended with other gases to create efficient and environmentally friendly power solutions.

How does Suji's engine design cater to the use of hydrogen?

Suji's engine design accommodates hydrogen by using specific materials that can withstand hydrogen's properties, adjusting compression ratios, and timing, and by using injector valves to introduce hydrogen into the engine.

What are some of the practical applications of Suji's hydrogen engines?

Suji's hydrogen engines are used in various projects worldwide, including grid balancing, energy storage, and power generation for different facilities such as airports, universities, and industrial sites.

What is the economic perspective on using hydrogen as a fuel source according to the script?

The economic perspective on using hydrogen as a fuel source involves considering the cost of production, subsidies, and the potential for hydrogen to be a part of the overall energy mix, especially when using surplus electricity from renewable sources.

How does Suji address the issue of hydrogen's low energy density compared to natural gas?

Suji addresses the issue of hydrogen's low energy density by running engines at higher pressures to compensate for the lower energy content of hydrogen.

What are the challenges and benefits of using hydrogen in internal combustion engines according to Suji's experience?

The challenges include managing hydrogen's low detonation and ignition temperatures, especially when used in high concentrations. The benefits include hydrogen's cleanliness, high combustion control window, and the ability to run engines on 100% hydrogen or blends with other gases.

How does Suji's approach to engine design and development facilitate the transition to hydrogen?

Suji's approach includes designing engines with materials suitable for hydrogen, tuning engines to lower methane numbers to accommodate hydrogen blends, and developing engines that can be easily adapted to run on hydrogen by adding injector valves.

What are some of the real-world projects where Suji's hydrogen engines have been implemented?

Suji's hydrogen engines have been implemented in projects such as Berlin Airport, a semiconductor factory in Taiwan, a distillery in Orkney, and a tri-generation project in Dubai, among others.

How does Suji view the future of hydrogen as a fuel source in the context of carbon reduction?

Suji views hydrogen as a significant part of the future energy mix for carbon reduction. They highlight that while a 20% blend of hydrogen in the gas grid only results in an 8% carbon reduction, the move towards higher percentages of hydrogen will yield greater carbon reduction benefits.

What are the economic factors influencing the adoption of hydrogen as a fuel source?

The economic factors include the current cost of hydrogen production, subsidies provided for hydrogen use, and the potential for cost reduction as the industry scales up and technology improves.

How does Suji differentiate its approach to hydrogen engine technology from fuel cells?

Suji differentiates its approach by highlighting the flexibility of internal combustion engines to use hydrogen with impurities and to handle load fluctuations, which is not possible with fuel cells that require very high purity hydrogen and constant load operations.