Hydrogen Blending: Taipower Powers Kaohsiung, Taiwan, Plant with 15% Hydrogen Mix

Picture yourself rolling into Kaohsiung, Taiwan’s busy port city—where giant container cranes meet sleek turbines and the promise of AI data centers hums on the horizon. Nestled between typhoon-battered shores and sprawling industrial zones, Kaohsiung’s energy scene is in the midst of a reinvention. Gone are the days of relying solely on coal or natural gas; now it’s all about mixing old assets with cutting-edge ideas, and at the heart of it all is hydrogen.

Kaohsiung: Taiwan’s Industrial Heart Meets Green Innovation

For decades, Kaohsiung has anchored Taiwan’s heavy-industry boom—steel mills, petrochemical hubs, you name it. The city is home to some 2.7 million people, with average rent of US$450 per capita. After WWII, it morphed into a major maritime gateway complete with an intricate network of natural gas pipelines and coal-fired power plants. But in recent years, relentless typhoons and scorching heatwaves have made it clear that the status quo won’t cut it. Energy demand has soared thanks to new AI-driven data centers, and national policies under the Renewable Energy Development Act (REDA) are steering local players toward cleaner, more resilient solutions—led by none other than Taipower.

Hydrogen Blending: A Bold Experiment on the Grid

Since September 2023, Taipower’s research institute has been quietly running a 5 MW hydrogen blending trial at the Kaohsiung power plant. By feeding turbines a mixture of 15% hydrogen and 85% natural gas, the team keeps the lights on while shaving off about 90 kg of CO₂ emissions every hour. It’s a smart workaround that sidesteps the need for brand-new equipment. And here’s the kicker: by 2028 they aim to bump that hydrogen ratio up to 20%, squeezing out even more carbon reduction benefits.

Power of Partnerships: Where Global Meets Local

No one’s going it alone. Under REDA, Taipower’s blending tests dovetail with projects like the Hsinta power plant, where GE Vernova’s 7HA.03 gas turbines are designed to handle up to 50% hydrogen by volume. The first 1.3 GW block is already humming away, cutting coal-related emissions by around 60%. Local heavyweights like CTCI Corporation bring engineering muscle, while universities and international consultancies train technicians on the ins and outs of hydrogen-ready systems. Workshops, pilot tours and joint R&D programs are making sure Taiwan’s workforce is up to speed—and that local supply chains can keep pace.

From the Lab to the Turbine: Turning Tests into Reality

At a January 2, 2026 press event, Chair Tseng Wen-sheng didn’t just push a few press releases—he cut the ribbon on a new exhibition hall at Taipower’s campus showcasing over 60 research breakthroughs in grid resilience and carbon reduction. Visitors can try out AI-powered drones for plant inspections, tinker with microgrid control panels ruggedized for typhoons, and watch big-data dispatch algorithms balance renewable output in real time. Better yet, that traveling exhibit will hit regional centers from Hualien’s hydro sites to Penghu’s wind farms, spreading practical know-how across Taiwan.

Quantifying the Carbon Payoff

Numbers don’t lie. A single turbine running a 15% hydrogen blend chips away about 90 kg of CO₂ emissions every hour—that’s roughly the tailpipe output of 40 average cars over the same span. Multiply that by several 5 MW units and similar setups at other plants, and we’re talking thousands of tonnes trimmed annually. Meanwhile, the Hsinta upgrade’s switch from coal to gas (with hydrogen-ready turbines) is projected to slash emissions by 60%, a key milestone as Taiwan eyes a 50% natural gas share by 2025 and phases out coal.

Next-Level Storage and Renewables Integration

Of course, hydrogen blending is just one part of the puzzle. By 2027, Taipower plans to demo a hydrogen energy storage system in southern Taiwan that uses surplus solar power for electrolysis. When the sun’s shining bright, excess electrons split water into hydrogen, which is bottled up for rainy days or fed back into gas turbines. It’s a neat, closed-loop vision—renewables captured, stored and dispatched exactly when they’re needed. If it works as hoped, this model could be a lifeline for islands and coastal regions worldwide grappling with weather volatility.

Broader Impacts: Economy, Resilience and Beyond

The ripples go far beyond cleaner air. Kicking off a domestic hydrogen ecosystem means new industries—electrolyzer makers, pipeline retrofits, specialized maintenance services. Local vendors and R&D hubs stand to benefit, and that translates into high-skilled jobs right here at home. For Kaohsiung, the new research hall’s 60-plus innovations highlight a burgeoning innovation hub. And on the ground, beefed-up microgrids and AI-driven operations are boosting resilience against typhoons, cutting blackout risks for residents and critical sites like hospitals and data centers.

Looking Ahead: Taiwan’s Hydrogen Horizon

As Taipower gears up to mark its 80th anniversary in 2026, the hydrogen blending program is already offering a glimpse of a low-carbon future powered by green hydrogen. By 2028, a 20% blend across multiple turbines could be the new norm—and with H-class units already designed for 50% hydrogen, there’s room to go even further. Taiwan’s recipe of robust policy, global partnerships and homegrown ingenuity is setting it up as an Asian hydrogen leader. It’s an exciting time to be in energy—right here in Kaohsiung, we’re not just watching history; we’re fueling it.

We’re on the cusp of something big. With hydrogen blending taking center stage, Taiwan’s staking its claim on the global clean energy map. I, for one, can’t wait to see how high that hydrogen ratio goes—and how many tonnes of carbon we’ll keep out of the atmosphere in the years to come.