Enel’s challenge: abating emissions from thermal power generation

Compared to the 1,036 MW of the adjacent coal plant “Andrea Palladio”, the 16 MW of the Fusina hydrogen power station could be considered insignificant. Nonetheless, the new plant inaugurated by Enel is highly meaningful for energy sustainability, since it opens whole new scenarios that can be developed towards this goal.
In fact, this is the first commercial-scale plant in the world that is fuelled with pure hydrogen.  This element, once produced, is one of the most environmentally friendly fuels, especially because it emits neither carbon dioxide (CO2) nor any other greenhouse gas. For this reason the international scientific community considers it a strategic option that must be developed in order to satisfy the increasing energy demand in a sustainable manner.
There is still a long way ahead. Nevertheless, research in this field is still active in all developed nations. Moreover, ongoing advances like the Fusina plant make it possible to be optimistic about the future. A true technological jewel (see the interview with Nicola Rossi, head of Research for the Fusina project), that Enel created to demonstrate how significant results can be achieved from serious commitment towards environmentally-friendly innovation.
Indeed, Enel’s research activities aim at reducing the environmental impact of energy generation. The objective is to concretely achieve, over the next years, power stations with zero emissions.
This commitment does not only concern hydrogen combustion. Indeed, Enel’s Research is intensively working on advanced projects, the following being some of the most significant ones:
--  carbon capture and storage (CCS )
--  the development of innovative combustion techniques capable of preventing pollutants and greenhouse gases from coal plants
--  the adoption of advanced technologies that increase significantly the overall efficiency of thermal plants
--  the development and demonstration of innovative renewable projects, especially those regarding geothermal, solar thermal and photovoltaic solar.
Thanks to its highly significant commitment– in terms of quantity and quality –, which can rarely be found elsewhere in the world, Enel is a leader in finding innovative solutions aimed to reduce  the environmental impact of electricity production and distribution.