A Building Block for the Energy Transition
Renewable energy sources are not constantly and reliably available. Fossil-fuel power plants operate continuously—they cannot be shut down at the push of a button on a daily or hourly basis. The energy transition therefore requires solutions for storing and supplying electricity from wind and solar power in a way that meets demand. WTZ Roßlau gGmbH has developed one such solution: the zero-emission cycle engine. This innovation enables the reconversion of hydrogen and oxygen—generated from green electricity—back into electricity with zero emissions. The cycle engine operates on the same principle as an internal combustion engine, combined with an innovative combustion process. Instead of ambient air and diesel, it uses hydrogen and pure oxygen as fuel. As a result, no environmentally harmful nitrogen oxides are produced during combustion. The intake and exhaust systems together form a closed-loop system filled with a monatomic inert gas. This ensures more efficient combustion and thus higher efficiency. The gas mixture is ignited in the combustion chamber by a glow plug, and its expansion drives a generator via the pistons and crankshaft. This generator converts the kinetic energy into electrical energy. The only byproduct of the reaction is water vapor. This is then liquefied through a cooling process and removed from the closed-loop system. The cycle engine has lower manufacturing costs than a fuel cell and can easily be used for higher power outputs, even in the megawatt range. Possible applications for the engine—which has already been realized as a prototype—include large gas engines and combined heat and power (CHP) plants for grid stabilization.
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