Langley Holdings
The hydrogen story so far
In October 2023, our Chairman challenged the Bergen Engines business to demonstrate a Bergen medium-speed engine running 100% on pure hydrogen – by the end of 2024. The challenge was accepted!
Bergen Engines engineers had already demonstrated a Bergen gas engine operating successfully at full load on up to 30% hydrogen blended with natural gas. This was proven on an industrial scale application at a 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 the engine laboratory in Hordvikneset and tests to increase the proportion of hydrogen still further began.
Langley: laid down the hydrogen challenge.
In December 2024 Bergen Engines was pleased to announce to their shareholder that 100% firing of a Bergen engine on hydrogen had been achieved.
During 2025 and beyond the hydrogen journey will continue as Bergen engineers work towards industrialising their engines to operate on this and other future fuels.
The hydrogen development engine at the Hordvikneset engine laboratory. 100% hydrogen firing proven in December .
About Langley Holdings plc
Langley Holdings plc is a privately owned UK-based engineering and industrial manufacturing group, principally producing capital equipment for diverse markets worldwide. Langley businesses are either outright market leaders, or occupy strong niche positions in their respective fields, providing advanced technologies in a solutions-based approach. The group operates in three principal areas: Power Solutions, Print Technologies and Other Industrials. The group’s operations are based in Germany, Italy, France the UK and Norway, with 18 production facilities in Europe, the UK and the USA. The group has more than 90 sales and service subsidiaries worldwide and employs around 5,000 people. Langley Holdings was established in 1975 by the current Chairman & CEO, Anthony Langley and remains entirely in family ownership.
About Bergen Engines
Bergen Engines produces medium-speed liquid and gas fuelled engines and generator sets are supplied to a broad range of land-based, commercial marine, and naval applications. The Bergen name is a watchword for quality and reliability in its field. The tradition of engineering in Bergen, Norway, dates to 1855 when the original company Bergen Mekaniske Verksted (BMV) was founded. In 1946, the company built its first diesel engine and has since commissioned over 7,500 of its iconic liquid and gas fueled engines. Around half of them are still in operation today; such is the quality and reliability of a Bergen engine. Formerly Rolls-Royce Bergen Engines, on 31st December 2021, the company became part of the privately owned British engineering group, Langley Holdings plc.
About Hydrogen
Hydrogen is the most abundant element in the universe and is potentially an infinite source of clean energy. However, hydrogen (H) is usually found bound to other elements, commonly H2O – water. Separating the hydrogen and oxygen molecules in water requires as much energy as is produced from the hydrogen released. Today, almost all of the circa 75 million tonnes of pure hydrogen produced globally each year is achieved with fossil fuels. Produce hydrogen from renewables at sufficient scale and hydrogen has the ability to become a zero emissions fuel to replace oil and gas. Currently the cost of green hydrogen is several times that of oil and gas. However, this is set to change as the scale of green hydrogen production increases and it has been estimated that the cost could begin to rival oil and gas as early as 2030.
