'GE's hydrogen fuelled gas turbines can lead energy transition in BD'

American firm GE's hydrogen-fuelled gas turbines are capable of leading the energy transition in Bangladesh, said GE Gas Power South Asia Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Deepesh Nanda on Tuesday.

"As Bangladesh diversify its energy mix, GE's hybrid power solutions can create an ecosystem in Bangladesh to supply electricity on round-the-clock basis in future," he said.

The top official of GE was speaking at a seminar, titled 'Powering Smart Bangladesh', organised by GE at a city hotel. The theme of the seminar was 'Leading a new era of clean energy'.

Mr Nanda highlighted the innovative capabilities of GE's future independent energy company - GE Vernova - which he said will ensure flexible, affordable and reliable power for Bangladesh.

GE's advanced gas turbine technology is capable of burning blends of hydrogen and natural gas to lead the energy transition in Bangladesh and de-carbonise it further, he added.

"Today, GE's technology is powering multiple power plants in the country and our power services are helping the power plant owners to use the fuel efficiently while generating electricity at lower cost," said Mr Nanda.

"We will continue to strategically position the record-setting HA technology, capable of operating on a wide range of hydrogen concentrations, for various upcoming high-capacity power projects in Bangladesh."

Speaking on the occasion as the chief guest, Power Secretary Md Habibur Rahman said Bangladesh is prioritising introduction of policy interventions that can support the development of clean energy infrastructure in the country and contribute towards economic growth of the country by effectively meeting the power demand in future.

"We are also keen to invest in technologies that are already tested and can help Bangladesh to reduce carbon emissions quickly," he said.

Switching to hydrogen fuel for power generation in future is one such example, where global companies like GE, having tremendous experience in the field, can collaborate with Bangladesh in the sustainable development of the country's power sector, added Mr Rahman.

Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) Md Mahbubur Rahman, who was present at the event as the special guest, said, "Bangladesh is already a power surplus nation with 100 per cent coverage of electricity, and now our focus is to supply reliable electricity in an uninterrupted manner."

Bangladesh is deploying the latest technologies and digital solutions to make the power infrastructure more robust, added the BPDB chairman.

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