In October 2023 Tony Langley, chairman of Langley Holdings, owner of Bergen Engines, challenged the Norway based engine maker to demonstrate a Bergen medium-speed engine running 100% on pure hydrogen – by the end of 2024.
A Bergen gas engine had already operated successfully at full load on up to 30% hydrogen blended with natural gas. This was proven by an industrial scale application at a Bergen customer site in Spain. Significantly, it was achieved with only minor modification to the engine.
Following that success, infrastructure was installed to safely handle greater volumes of hydrogen at Bergen’s Hordvikneset engine laboratory and tests to increase the proportion of hydrogen still further began.
In December 2024 it was announced that 100% firing of a Bergen engine on hydrogen had been achieved.
Currently the cost of green hydrogen is several times that of oil and gas, Bergen observes, but this is set to change as the scale of green hydrogen production increases and, Bergen notes, “it has been estimated that the cost could begin to rival oil and gas as early as 2030.”
Power to Peru
Another recent development reported by Bergen Engines was the award of a contract by the Peruvian utility Promigas to supply 22 MWe of power via 2 x B36:45V20 gas engines fitted with generators from Marelli Motori (also owned by Langley). The project will contribute to the alleviation of “energy poverty” in the Piura region, the company says.
The power plant, scheduled to commence operation in the first half of 2026, is strategically located near a Promigas natural gas distribution pipeline, operated by its subsidiary Quavii (Gasnorp).
Bergen says the Piura project builds on its growing presence in Latin America, representing the second major project in Peru in 2024.
The project is “backed by our recent strategic investment in a new service centre in Mexico to support all LATAM projects,” said Aldrich Richter, Managing Director of Bergen Engines, LATAM.
Supporting Ukraine
Bergen Engines also recently announced a significant project to supply eight B35:40V20 gas engines to Ukraine’s national grid.Facilitated by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and funded by the Norwegian government through the Nansen Programme, this initiative will strengthen Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.
