GB_Bro_Image_25-1:Imagebroschüre - Hitachi Power Europe GmbH

Pursuing aims67The final aim of generating energy from fossil fuels isalready known namely to build power plants that whilstgenerating electricity from coal or gas do not dischargecarbon dioxide or other climate changing gases intothe atmosphere, so called “zero emission” plants. This willbe achieved in several ways but which one will be the mosttechnically or commercially effective has not clearly emergedto date.But one thing is sure: fossil fuels will continue to be anindispensable part of any global energy mix. The prop -ortion of electricity generated from fossil fuels willcontinue to increase globally. Under these conditionsonly the continuous increase in power plant efficiencywill bring about a reduction of emissions and con -servation of resources.Our research activities in energy generation cover a widefield. As well as fundamental research they also allowcustomer requests and requirements to be investigated.Trend-setting innovations and new technologies fortomorrow are joint objectives of our research.Developments are in hand which concentrate on tech no -logies to build maximum effective operating power plantswith 50% plus efficiencies using 700 °C plus steam tem -peratures. We are also developing ways to optimize theintegration of biomass and other substitute fuels intoenergy transformation and on improving brown coal-deri -ved electricity efficiencies. The aim here is to raise conventional power plant effici -encies by some 10 percentage points over the next 10years. Viewed against today’s average efficiency thisrepresents a cut in carbon dioxide emissions of over30%. In addition, concurrent development of new typesof flue gas desulfurization equipment will make it possiblein the future to drastically cut discharges of other environmentaly-criticalsubstances.These developments to provide energy in a resource- con -serving and ecologically sound manner are supported byprojects for leading to emission-free power plants. Thefuture is already taking place today in our laboratoriesand testing units.