Rolls-Royce has developed a modular natural-gas power plant for use by utilities or data centers. The preconfigured, factory-tested modules consisting of 10, 20, and 30 megawatts units, each supplying five to several hundred gigawatts of electricity. The plants are supplied as back-up units, and may be used to compensate for fluctuations in the feed-in from wind and solar energy generation.
Each installation is comprised of mtu Series 4000 L64 20-cylinder generator sets, produced by Rolls-Royce subsidiary mtu Solutions.
In 2025 Rolls-Royce North America announced $75-million expansion at its Aiken, S.C., plant to increase production of Series 4000 gen set components.
The modular plants are also capable of operating with 100% hydrogen fuel, as available.
Preconfigured modules can be supplied for use within 18 months.
The plants are proposed specifically as an option for fulfilling the German government’s Power Plant Strategy, which aims to secure a climate-neutral electricity system by 2035 by building 10 to 12 gigawatts of hydrogen-ready natural gas power plants by 2030, while phasing out coal-fired plants.
“An energy system based on many distributed, modular generation units is less susceptible to large-scale disruptions and bottlenecks,” observed Rolls-Royce Power Systems senior vice president Michael Stipa. “Modular gas engine power plants offer exactly this structure.”
