INNIO Group “Ready for H2” engines selected to modernize Romania's CHP plants transition to Net Zero
• Elsaco Electronic selects eight “Ready for H2” Jenbacher J920 FleXtra engines that will be at the heart of two Romanian CHP plants.
• INNIO Group and Clarke Energy to deliver CHP solution with Jenbacher engines that will
deliver 85 MW electrical and 80 MW thermal energy, supporting Romania’s plans to
achieve net zero by 2050.
• INNIO Group’s highly efficient “Ready for H2” CHP plants are expected to reduce primary
energy consumption by more than 30% allowing for future green hydrogen to be admixed.
Jenbach, Austria – August 29, 2024 – Empowering the transition to Net Zero, leading energy solutions and service provider INNIO Group working with Clarke Energy, INNIO Group’s authorized distributor for Jenbacher technology, will revamp two major combined heat and power (CHP) plants in Romania with Jenbacher “Ready for H2” engines. At the heart of these modernizations will be INNIO Group’s Jenbacher J920 FleXtra engines that can be converted to operate on up to 100% hydrogen. The Jenbacher J920 FleXtra engines will deliver leading efficiency in CHP applications.
INNIO Group’s Jenbacher “Ready for H2” engines have been selected by Elsaco Electronic – a prominent Romanian company specializing in engineering, procurement, and construction – as the technology of choice to support transitioning Romania’s energy infrastructure to greener operations. The Jenbacher technology will be the core of two power plants producing both power and heat in the municipalities of Arad and Constanta. Initially operating on gas, these units can be converted from pipeline gas to hydrogen operation in the future.
The two projects are EU-funded based on the Romanian National Recovery and Resilience Plan and support Romania’s target to achieve Net Zero by 2050. They are expected to reduce primary energy consumption by approximately 30% compared to separate production of power and heat and can provide a significant reduction in carbon emissions.
Clarke Energy will support the CHP plants containing the eight Jenbacher J920 FleXtra cogeneration units. Five of the engines will operate in Constanta, delivering approximately 53 megawatts (MW) of electrical and 50 MW of thermal energy. The remaining three engines will operate in Arad, delivering approximately 32 MW of electrical and 30 MW of thermal energy. This brings the total output to 85 MW of electrical and 80 MW of thermal energy, equivalent to approximately 180,000 households. Both CHP plants will be pivotal in supporting Romania’s infrastructure with energy security, efficiency and capability to transition to a more sustainable energy system.
“Our collaboration with Elsaco and Clarke Energy on these hydrogen-ready, high-efficient CHP projects is a step towards supporting decarbonization of Romania’s energy supply," said Dr. Olaf Berlien, president and CEO of INNIO Group. "I am proud of how INNIO Group's innovative energy solutions are playing such an active role in achieving a resilient, net-zero energy future.”
“Elsaco is committed to building new power plants that are fundamental to Romania’s energy supply security. INNIO Group’s innovation coupled with Clarke Energy’s expertise offered us exactly the future-proofed hydrogen-ready technology to meet our requirements,” said Șerban Iftime, CEO Elsaco Electronic. “This will support us in building a secure, affordable, and climate-friendly energy supply.”
The projects are expected to be completed in the summer of 2026.
About INNIO
INNIO Group is a leading energy solution and service provider that empowers industries and communities to make sustainable energy work today. With its Jenbacher and Waukesha product brands and its AI-powered myPlant digital platform, INNIO Group offers innovative solutions for the power generation and compression segments that help industries and communities generate and manage energy sustainably while navigating the fast-changing landscape of traditional and green energy sources. INNIO Group is individual in scope, but global in scale. With its flexible, scalable, and resilient energy solutions and services, INNIO Group enables its customers to manage the energy transition along the energy value chain wherever they are in their transition journey.
INNIO Group is headquartered in Jenbach (Austria), with other primary operations in Waukesha (Wisconsin, U.S.) and Welland (Ontario, Canada). Through a service network in more than 100 countries, a team of more than 4,000 experts provides life-cycle support to the more than 57,000 engines that INNIO Group has delivered globally.
INNIO Group's ESG strategy has been recognized and awarded by esteemed rating agencies such as Sustainalytics and EcoVadis. Additionally, the company’s near-term climate targets until 2030 have been validated by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi). For more information, visit INNIO Group’s website at innio.com. Follow INNIO Group and its brands on X (formerly known as Twitter) and LinkedIn.
INNIO, Jenbacher, Waukesha, and myPlant are trademarks or registered trademarks of the INNIO Group, or one of its subsidiaries, in the European Union, the United States and in other countries. For a list of INNIO Group trademarks, please visit innio.com/trademarks. All other trademarks and company names are the property of their respective owners.
In general, “Ready for H2” Jenbacher units can be converted to operate on up to 100% hydrogen in the future. Details on the cost and timeline for a future conversion may vary and need to be clarified individually.
About Clarke Energy
Clarke Energy is a leader in the engineering, design, installation, and long-term maintenance of distributed energy solutions. Clarke Energy can deliver complex installations and microgrids incorporating gas engine CHP units, battery energy storage systems, biogas upgrading systems and solar photovoltaic units. Clarke Energy can supply solutions including a range of low carbon or decarbonised fuels including biogas, renewable natural gas (RNG) and hydrogen.
Clarke Energy operates in 27 countries. Clarke Energy employs over 1,400 staff and has over 9 GW of power generation, 1.4 GW of which is from biogas, a renewable fuel.
https://www.linkedin.com/company/clarke-energy/.
About Elsaco
ELSACO is a group of Romanian companies mainly present in the domains of energy, water and utilities, its main objective being to increase energy efficiency. The group consists of 8 companies covering areas such as: EPC projects, distribution and sale of measurement and control equipment, energy efficiency solutions, process and business software, IT & C solutions, residential smart metering.
ELSACO Electronic is a leading company in Romania, established in 1994, which is today involved in infrastructure projects for power & water industry mainly, with focus on construction / rehabilitation of power & district heating plants, water and wastewater plants, looking to bring energy efficiency and to save resources in the general balance of systems.
For further information, please contact:
Susanne Reichelt
INNIO Group
+43 664 80833 2382