Hydrogen combustion enhancement for drilling rigs.
Rig diesel is mostly stationary, long-hours, steady-load work: power packs, mud pumps, compressors and support plant running programs measured in days rather than trips. That makes it one of the cleaner duty cycles to instrument. HydroHub PEM units fit rig equipment as a reversible, bolt-on retrofit with no ECU calibration change and no stored gas on the pad.
Can hydrogen combustion enhancement be used on drilling rigs?
Yes. A PEM unit generates hydrogen and oxygen on demand from deionised water and introduces it into the engine's intake path, so it fits rig diesel as a bolt-on, fully reversible retrofit with no ECU calibration change. The HydroHub DH-Power covers 7.0 to 16.0 litre engines — rig power packs, mud pumps and large compressor drives — and the HydroHub H-Power covers up to 7.0 litres for support plant. Engines above 16 litres are quoted as multi-unit installations. Long steady-state running makes fuel burn per operating hour a reliable measure, so baseline one engine before extending.
- Rig power packs, mud pumps and compressor drives: HydroHub™ DH-Power (7.0–16.0 L)
- Support compressors, light plant and pad vehicles: HydroHub™ H-Power / A-900
- Above 16.0 L quoted as a multi-unit installation
- Continuous-duty operation on 12 / 24 V DC from the machine
- Gas generated on demand — no cylinders or stored inventory on the pad
- Consumables: deionised water and a resin filter every 6–9 months
- Primary unit
- HydroHub™ DH-Power
- Displacement range
- Up to 16.0 L per unit
- Supply
- 12 / 24 V DC
- Consumable
- Resin filter 6–9 mo
The evidence and sector pages this vertical builds on.
Mining fleets →
The shared site-conditions and displacement-selection detail — dust, vibration, ambient heat and remote servicing — set out in full.
Remote-site fuel logistics cost →
Why delivered fuel cost, not pump price, is the number that matters for a remote pad.
Generator-set classes →
Applies to pad gensets and support plant running continuous duty.
Unit selection by equipment class.
| Equipment class | Typical displacement | Recommended unit | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rig power packs / prime movers | 9 – 16 L | HydroHub™ DH-Power | Long steady-state duty; baseline fuel per operating hour at consistent load. |
| Mud pump drives | 9 – 16 L | HydroHub™ DH-Power | Sustained high load; hold pump rate and program constant across the comparison. |
| Air compressor drives | 4 – 12 L | H-Power or D-900 | Choose by displacement; steady-state duty measures cleanly. |
| Blasthole & exploration drill rigs | 7 – 15 L | HydroHub™ DH-Power | Mining-adjacent duty; see the mining page for site dust and vibration detail. |
| Water-well & geotechnical rigs | 4 – 9 L | H-Power or D-900 | Mixed transport and on-site duty; baseline the on-site program separately. |
| Pad gensets & support plant | 2.5 – 16 L | H-Power or D-900 | Continuous duty; fed from the set's starting battery or DC bus. |
PEM units suited to this duty.
HydroHub™ DH-Power Heavy-Duty PEM Enhancement System
- Application
- Up to 16.0 L
- Output
- 900 ml/min max
- Voltage
- 12 / 24 V DC
- Power
- 160 W
Free worldwide delivery, DDP
Duties & taxes are included on most destinations. Select your country for the exact arrangement.
HydroHub™ H-Power Heavy-Duty PEM Enhancement System
- Application
- Up to 7.0 L
- Output
- 900 ml/min
- Voltage
- 12 / 24 V DC
- Power
- 160 W
Free worldwide delivery, DDP
Duties & taxes are included on most destinations. Select your country for the exact arrangement.
HydroHub™ A-900 PEM Engine Enhancement System
- Application
- 2.7 – 7.0 L
- Output
- 900 ml/min
- Voltage
- 12 – 24 V DC
- Power
- 170 W
Free worldwide delivery, DDP
Duties & taxes are included on most destinations. Select your country for the exact arrangement.
What this environment does to the hardware.
Steady-state duty measures cleanly
Long, consistent load windows are the best case for honest measurement. Log fuel per operating hour over a representative program rather than over short samples.
Shared site conditions with mining
Dust, vibration and ambient heat behave the same way as on a mine site, and that detail is documented once on the mining fleets page rather than duplicated here.
Remote stores
Consumables are deionised water and a resin filter every 6–9 months, held with rig stores — which suits pads a long way from a dealer.
No stored gas on the pad
Gas is produced on demand and consumed immediately, so there is no cylinder inventory, no accumulator and nothing to decommission beyond the unit itself.
Mounting on a skid or deck
Units are vibration-isolated and mounted on the skid or deck plate, clear of exhaust and turbo heat, with a short gas line into the intake path.
Reversibility between programs
The retrofit is reversible, so a unit can be moved between engines or rigs as programs change, or removed before a rig is sold or handed back.
Recommended trial sequence.
- 01Choose one representative engine per equipment class on the rig
- 02Log a baseline of fuel per operating hour over a representative program at consistent load
- 03Record the load reference — pump rate, compressor duty or generated kW
- 04Fit one unit and record the installation against the asset number
- 05Run the same program and compare fuel per operating hour at the same load reference
- 06Only extend to further engines once the measured result meets your threshold
Model your own numbers.
Enter your fuel burn, hours and the reduction you want to model. Scenario only — not a savings prediction.
Fuel Cost Scenario Calculator
Scenario modelling, not a savings prediction. You choose the assumed reduction — we never suggest a figure is typical or expected.
Remote diesel costs what it cost to deliver, not bowser price. Landed cost vs pump price →
Scenario modelling — pick a reduction to evaluate. Not a prediction.
Recommended: D-900 for this application. Payback is calculated against vehicles × system delivered price.
Results are illustrative only. Actual performance depends on engine condition, duty cycle, fuel quality, installation and operating conditions.
Field evaluation is required before any commercial decision. Fleet Trial Programme →
How we report performance.
No projected, typical or expected fuel-saving figure is published. Actual results vary materially with engine condition, duty cycle, load profile, fuel quality, installation and operating conditions. A controlled field evaluation on your own equipment, with baseline data captured before installation, is required before any commercial projection.
These are combustion-enhancement devices. No emissions-compliance or fuel-saving guarantee is expressed or implied. Professional installation and controlled field evaluation are recommended.
Free worldwide delivery. Duties & taxes included on most destinations; where pre-payment isn't permitted, the carrier collects them on arrival. 12-month manufacturer warranty. See Shipping & duties by country for the exact arrangement for your destination.
- · Remote-site fuel logistics cost — landed cost versus pump price, and why the same honest percentage moves more money.
- · Idle & part-load duty cycles — where the published literature reports the most room, and where it reports least.
- · Hydrogen with biodiesel blends — per-study findings on blended fuels, with the NOx trade-off disclosed.
- · Visible smoke reduction — smoke opacity findings per study.
Questions.
Which HydroHub unit suits rig diesel equipment?
- Displacement decides it. The HydroHub DH-Power covers engines from 7.0 to 16.0 litres, which covers most rig power packs, mud pumps and large compressor drives. The HydroHub H-Power covers up to 7.0 litres, which covers support compressors, light plant and service vehicles on the pad. Engines above 16 litres are handled as multi-unit installations quoted per application.
How is drilling different from a general mining fleet?
- Mining fleets are dominated by cyclic mobile equipment — load, haul, dump, repeat. Rig equipment is largely stationary and runs long steady-state hours at a relatively consistent load, which is a different measurement problem and generally an easier one to instrument cleanly. The hardware selection logic is shared with mining, so we do not repeat it here: see the mining fleets page for the full displacement and site-conditions detail.
Does long continuous running suit this equipment?
- Steady-state running is the easiest duty to measure honestly, because load and speed repeat over long windows. Units are rated for continuous duty and run on the machine's own 12 or 24 V DC supply, so there is no separate site supply to commission.
Is any gas stored on the pad?
- No. Hydrogen and oxygen are generated on demand from deionised water and consumed immediately in the intake path. There is no cylinder, no accumulator and no stored inventory on the pad.
How does water and filter supply work on a remote pad?
- The unit runs on deionised water with an onboard ion-exchange polisher; the replacement resin filter is a consumable changed every 6 to 9 months. Crews typically hold spare filters and a drum of deionised water with the rig stores, in the same handling class as coolant.
Can we trial one rig before committing?
- That is the approach we recommend. Instrument one engine of a given class, log fuel burn per operating hour over a representative program at consistent load, fit one unit, then compare the same duty before extending to further engines.
Continue reading.
Hydrogen combustion enhancement
What it is, how PEM gas reaches the cylinder, and what it does not do.
Engine performance improvement
Flame speed, burn completeness and load response on diesel engines.
Fuel efficiency
How to baseline and measure litres per 100 km or litres per hour.
Emissions reduction
Soot, particulate and unburnt-fuel behaviour, and how to test it.
Visible smoke reduction
Smoke opacity findings per study, with the NOx trade-off disclosed.
Remote-site fuel logistics cost
Landed cost versus pump price, and why the same percentage moves more money.
Generator-set classes
Camp, prime, standby, rental, telecom, irrigation and ship's service sets compared.
Idle & part-load duty cycles
Reefers, camp gensets and high-idle plant — where the literature reports most room.
Hydrogen with biodiesel blends
Per-study findings for hydrogen enrichment on biodiesel, NOx disclosed.
Installation guide
Nine-step fitting sequence: mounting, wiring, gas line, commissioning.
Safety & compliance
On-demand gas, no storage, alarms, shutdowns and reversibility.
Troubleshooting
Alarms, low gas output, water quality and no-start diagnostics.
Case studies & field results
Published operator data and trial methodology.
Compare PEM systems
A-450 to DH-Power side by side: displacement, output, current draw.
Does it actually work? Evidence review
The published literature, the FTC/EPA history and the ACL context.
How it works
Gas path and established physics, explained with diagrams.
PEM vs alkaline
Membrane on water versus caustic KOH: servicing, purity, cost.
Sizing combined gas
Why PEM and alkaline gas-volume benchmarks are not interchangeable for ICE sizing.
Four hydrogen technologies
Enhancement vs H2ICE vs fuel cell vs chemical generation.
Compared with Hydrogen Fuel Systems
Honest comparison with the Perth-based Gen alkaline range.
Compared with H2i Technology
Hardware, pricing and evidence transparency versus the Victorian supplier.
Compared with dynaCERT HydraGEN
PEM versus alkaline, published price versus dealer quote, Verra versus ACCU.
Compared with HYDI
The South Australian manufacturer: UniSA testing, field history and quote path.
AU installation, warranty & safety
VSB 14 and VSB 6, ACL guarantees and documentation to keep.
Mining fleets
Haul trucks, dozers, drill rigs and site gensets: unit selection and dust.
Marine
Workboats, charter, fishing and ship's service gensets — no gas stored aboard.
Agriculture
Tractors, headers, pump sets and farm trucks across seasonal duty.
FAQ
Answers on fitment, water, warranty, freight and duty cycles.