Hyliion Holdings Corp., a developer of modular power plant technology, today announced the successful demonstration of dynamic fuel switching in its KARNO Power Module. The system transitioned between natural gas and propane while under load, maintaining continuous power generation without interruption, shutdown, or hardware changes. This demonstration showcases the KARNO system’s ability to adapt to new fuel sources in real time while still maintaining power output, advancing the future of resilient and sustainable power generation.
The KARNO Power Module is designed to operate on more than twenty fuel types with comparable efficiency and performance across them. Compatible fuels include natural gas, propane, diesel, hydrogen, ammonia, and many others. The system’s software automatically detects the new fuel and adjusts operating parameters in real-time to maintain optimal performance without interruption for the end user.
“The need for reliable, dispatchable power is not waiting for a perfect fuel. It requires flexibility,” said Thomas Healy, Founder and CEO of Hyliion. “The KARNO system gives customers the freedom to choose the energy source that makes the most sense, whether that is the cleanest, the most affordable, or simply the one that is readily available.”
The KARNO technology’s fuel flexibility delivers meaningful advantages across a wide range of real-world applications, including:
- Data centers: Eliminate the need for separate diesel backup systems by switching fuels to maintain continuous operation during supply disruptions.
- Landfill, dairy, and waste to energy projects: Automatically adapt to variations in biogas composition and energy content without manual tuning or downtime.
- Rental and distributed power operators: Use the same KARNO unit across diverse sites, operating on diesel or propane in off-grid locations and natural gas in industrial environments, reducing capital costs associated with single fuel systems.
Unlike traditional generators, the KARNO Power Module uses heat as its primary energy input instead of timed combustion. Its linear generator architecture precisely controls fuel flow and temperature to convert fuels into required heat and then into electricity with ultra-low emissions and high efficiency. While not all of the more than twenty compatible fuels may be available at initial product launch, the technology is designed to support them as commercialization expands.
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