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Articles

No Stopping the LNG Juggernaut

Baker Hughes moves on from GE, pushes A.I., digitalization, 3D printing and carbon capture.









Baker Hughes Unfettered

Why reinvent the wheel with energy storage?

Downward sales trend continues but uptick in orders expected throughout the next decade.

Worldwide Gas Turbine Market Report

President Donald Trump’s goal of achieving energy dominance took several steps forward in 2019. In the power business, the most significant move was the finalization of the Afford-able Clean Energy (ACE) rule in June.









U.S. Power Industry Outlook 2020

Our evolving grid

Key concerns: plant flexibility, loss of technological expertise, deficient R&D investment and more stringent emission laws.

The future of power generation

Big data, IIoT et al: How useful are they anyway

Distributed generation, combined heat & power and hydrogen are driving the market for smaller and mid-sized turbines.

Smaller gas turbines find their niche

Worldwide Gas Turbine Forecast

U.S. Power Industry Outlook 2019

In part I of this two-part podcast, Myth Busters Klaus Brun and Rainer Kurtz give an overview of LNG’s value chain and dive, the production process, and the role of turbomachinery.

Let’s start with a basic overview of what LNG is and explore the value chain, including where turbomachinery plays a role.

 To begin with, let’s examine the entire natural gas value chain. This process starts with the production of natural gas, which then moves to processing facilities—often referred to as gas plants. After processing, the natural gas is transported to a liquefaction plant or LNG plant. This stage involves further processing, primarily refrigeration, followed by storage and loading onto marine transport vessels. Once the LNG is transported, it is unloaded and sent through pipelines to reach the end user.

The value chain includes a significant amount of turbomachinery. For every 1,000 horsepower of refrigeration in an LNG plant, there’s approximately 10,000 horsepower of other turbomachinery throughout the value chain.

On the production side, gas gathering machines are employed, followed by compression equipment for transporting gas to processing facilities. In gas processing, various operations occur, including acid gas removal, dehydration, and mercury removal, utilizing off-gas and boil-off compressors. There’s also the removal of natural gas liquids (NGLs)—which include heavier components like butane, pentane, and propane—that are sold as separate products.

After processing, the gas is transported through pipelines involving compression stations, and eventually, it reaches the LNG plant where refrigeration processes take place. These can include cascade types or mixed refrigerant processes, often utilizing reverse Brayton or reverse Rankine cycles (also known as vapor compression processes). From the plant, the LNG is stored, and off-gas or boil-off gas compressors are used again. Additional turbomachinery, such as pumps, is involved in the loading process.

Finally, the LNG undergoes regasification before being delivered to consumers. The entire process contains numerous turbomachines, which vary in size from small to large, and each plays a vital role.

The primary advantage of LNG is its ability to transport natural gas over long distances, far beyond what pipelines can accommodate. For example, transporting natural gas from North America to Europe via pipeline is impractical due to the complexity and length of the required infrastructure. By liquefying natural gas, which involves cooling it to approximately -260°F (where it condenses into a liquid), we significantly reduce its volume—making it about 600 times smaller than its gaseous state—allowing for easier transport. Once it reaches its destination, the LNG is regasified for use.

Currently, natural gas is abundant worldwide, making it an effective energy carrier. It’s important to note that during the LNG refrigeration process, there is some energy loss—typically around 15% to 20%. In comparison, the entire value stream experiences a lower energy loss of about 5%. Overall, while refrigeration is energy-intensive, the convenience of transporting natural gas as LNG justifies the process.

 The heart of the LNG production process is the refrigeration process, which cools the feed gas (natural gas) to temperatures where it becomes a liquid at or slightly above ambient pressure. There are several different methods to achieve the low temperatures necessary for liquefying natural gas.

It's important to note that the gases used in the refrigeration process operate in closed loops and do not come into contact with the natural gas being liquefied. The two main methods for achieving these low temperatures are called vapor compression and expansion.

Vapor compression is similar to the method used in air conditioners or refrigerators. In this process, a gas is compressed, which raises its temperature. The gas is then cooled to a lower temperature before being expanded, which causes it to drop to very low temperatures. At this point, it can be used to cool another gas, in this case, liquefied natural gas.

The second method involves compressing the gas and then expanding it through expanders to achieve very low temperatures. A key point, as Klaus highlighted, is that a significant portion of the energy consumption in the liquefaction process within the LNG value chain occurs during liquefaction itself. Therefore, minimizing energy use during this stage is crucial.

Typically, the refrigeration process is conducted in multiple stages. First, one refrigeration loop pre-cools the natural gas to a moderately cold temperature. Then, another process is used for sub-cooling, followed by a third method—either by reducing the pressure of the natural gas or through a separate process—to achieve complete liquefaction.

Additionally, constructing LNG plants requires a substantial increase in activity related to building the natural gas pipelines that supply these facilities with large volumes of gas.

Podcasts

Myth Busters Klaus Brun and Rainer Kurz discuss the LNG value chain, where and how turbomachinery fits in, and an overview of the market. 

TurboTime Podcast: Part I: The LNG Value Chain

The cover story of our upcoming July/August issue deep dives into our recent State of the Industry survey results and the dynamic factors shaping the turbomachinery sector. We've gathered insights, identified trends, and asked about solutions on the persistent supply chain constraints, the impact of rising material costs, and the ongoing challenge of labor shortages and skill gaps. The in-depth market report also explores the adoption of modular solutions and the accelerating drive toward decarbonization, offering a comprehensive look at the challenges the industry is facing and its adapting and innovating in response to these dynamic conditions.

We are releasing a series of preliminary interviews related to our market report. The first interview features Ulrich Schmitz, Vice President of Marketing in the Gas and Processing Division at Atlas Copco. He discusses the pressing issues facing the turbomachinery industry and addresses the challenges outlined above. Additionally, he highlights the technological solutions that Atlas Copco is implementing to meet the growing power demands, particularly those driven by the expansion of AI and data centers.

A few factors that are greatly impacting decisions within the turbomachinery industry are global economic conditions and energy market volatility. What conversations is Atlas Copco having around these factors? How are you navigating the volatility and uncertainty your customers are experiencing?

 Yes, that is true. The move toward climate change, reducing emissions, and creating cleaner energy began around 10 years ago, possibly even earlier during the Paris Agreement discussions. In recent years, we've witnessed considerable changes due to the pandemic, the invasion of Ukraine, and various other global conflicts. Additionally, we have changing administrations in the United States. All these factors are causing significant attention on projects, and investors are not moving as quickly as we would expect. We navigate this by maintaining close conversations with our customers to ensure we are aligned with their needs. We adapt our offerings and products to suit the conditions they face.

How are you responding to supply-chain constraints and rising material costs? What solutions are you offering your customers to combat these concerns?

 Rising material costs vary by geographical region. Energy costs drive material costs, and we’ve noticed increases in the Western world linked to higher energy expenses and supply-chain constraints caused by logistical bottlenecks. We address these challenges by leveraging our global footprint. We have factories in various regions, including the United States, Europe, and Asia, which provide us with a broad pool of qualified vendors. This approach also helps when tariffs are involved; we can produce more locally if we have suitable suppliers. That’s one of our key initiatives.

Have you seen an uptick in modular and mobile technologies to meet increasing power demands or even the use of smaller micro turbines? If not these, which types of technologies are being used to meet increased demand?

 Regarding power demand, we have indeed seen an increase. There’s a clear rise in electricity production for decarbonization and its use in processes and mobility, including the utilization of natural gas. Our equipment is primarily designed for permanent facilities, not mobile projects or plants. However, modularization is a way to reduce onsite work, which is beneficial in regions with high labor costs, such as the United States or Europe, compared to Asia. So, we are seeing modularization in this context.

How are decarbonization technologies advancing within your organization? What’s the demand for these technologies?

Decarbonization is definitely a driving force in our business, especially in the Western world, and it is increasingly gaining traction in Asia. It’s a crucial effort for society, industry, and for us as equipment suppliers.

One of the biggest challenges facing the industry today is labor shortages and skill gaps. How is Atlas Copco working with industry to close the gap and raise a skilled workforce?

We strive to attract young talent early in their careers. We engage with universities and participate in job fairs to entice young people and offer them opportunities within our company. We also utilize various social media channels to reach potential talent. Although we see positive outcomes from these efforts, we recognize that we cannot rely solely on this approach. We are also employing artificial intelligence to enhance efficiency and address potential labor shortages.

Ulrich Schmitz of Atlas Copco discusses industry challenges and how it’s adapting offerings, leveraging its global presence, and embracing decarbonization and AI.

Atlas Copco Addresses Industry Challenges, Increasing Energy Demand

In part II of the TuboTime episode on designing turbomachines, the Myth Busters, Klaus Brun and Rainer Kurz, discuss the accuracy of these design tools, which benchmark testing is still required, and current state-of-the-art tools.

How accurate are these tools? Are the software limitations a part of the software, or are they human input issues?

 It depends on the software, right? There are situations where you need to be fairly accurate. Most finite element analysis (FEA) and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) are reasonably accurate, depending on the input of your boundary conditions. You really need to consider what you're trying to accomplish. Structural FEA is more advanced than CFD. Additionally, the equations being solved are fundamentally more linear, and therefore, the expected results tend to be more precise. You can generally expect to be within a couple of percent. In contrast, with CFD, the equations, as Rainer mentioned earlier, the Navier-Stokes equations, are highly complex and nonlinear partial differential equations. These equations are difficult to solve, and you can end up with very inaccurate results because many approximations are made, especially regarding turbulence modeling and boundary layers. The fidelity of the model is essential since you can't delve down to a molecular level; there's a limit to the size at which you can operate before you must make turbulence assumptions and consider steady state versus transient conditions. There are numerous opportunities for error here, and those are some of the significant ones.

 The issue is fundamentally this: What problem are you trying to solve? If you ask a designer to create a new compressor stage that aligns with the experience level of that company's database, you can likely determine things like efficiency or head-making capability, particularly in terms of aerodynamics, probably within a few percent without ever testing it. However, if you are dealing with something for which there is no reference data—essentially operating in uncharted waters and relying solely on your code—the accuracy is significantly and dramatically lower than that.

How accurate are advanced computational tools like CFD and FEA? Find out in part II of designing turbomachines with the Myth Busters.

TurboTime Podcast: Designing Turbomachines - Part II

In this episode of the TurboTime podcast, Myth Busters Klaus Brun and Rainer Kurz discuss the design of turbomachines. They describe the typical design process for a turbomachine, outline the required engineering tools, and explain each analytical tool's function: finite element analysis, computational fluid dynamics (CFD), and rotor and blade dynamics. They also discuss how compressors, pumps, and turbomachines were designed before these advanced computational tools existed.

TURBO: Can you describe the typical design process of a turbomachine and what engineering tools are required?

 You begin with what's known as a 1D analysis, then move to a 2D analysis, also called a blade passage flow analysis. After that, you proceed to 3D and conduct some testing before refining your geometry. In essence, that's the aerodynamics part, right? However, there’s an initial step that is often overlooked, which is your own experience. You start your design based on your experience and your existing machinery portfolio. If you’re a turbomachinery manufacturer with 50, 60, or 70 years in the field, you’ve likely worked on various types of machines. Therefore, before designing a new machine, impeller, or expander, you review your existing portfolio; that's usually your starting point. You examine what's closest to your needs within that portfolio to determine if you can build upon it or if you need to start from scratch. Besides the aerodynamic design process, there's also a review of structures and dynamics that runs parallel to your aerodynamic process. You perform aerodynamic design followed by structural checks. Essentially, you assess the solids and dynamics to ensure there’s no risk of failure due to vibration. You conduct these evaluations throughout to avoid potential failures. These are generally well-known considerations. Additionally, a third aspect that often gets overlooked is manufacturability. It’s crucial to ensure that what you're designing can actually be manufactured, as it wouldn’t make sense to design an impeller or a machine that ultimately cannot be produced due to a lack of available technology or machinery. This consideration relates closely to materials, so manufacturability and materials fall into the same category, requiring a review of your materials, coatings, etc., throughout the design process to ensure that your design is feasible for production.

 I’d also like to point out that, as engineers, we don't design these machines out of thin air. There’s usually a use case, a customer, or a market assessment that indicates we need something that fits specific requirements. This could be a gas turbine that produces 20,000 horsepower or a compressor that can deliver more throughput than what my competitors can achieve within a given casing size, and so on. Then, we enter a process where engineering is asked, "Hey, can you guys do that?” Of course, someone also inevitably asks if we can achieve that at a cost that makes the project feasible. Yes, Klaus is absolutely right; this essentially defines the playground we work within. From there, we move from what could be considered a rough draft, using our experience, to increasingly refined concepts. Ultimately, you'll end up with some CFD simulations, and after building the first machine or prototype, there will be some testing to follow.

Do engineers overrely on computational tools? The Myth Busters deep dive into engineering tools, such as CFD and FEA, used to design turbomachines. 

TurboTime Podcast: The Turbomachinery Design Process - Part I

In this episode of the TurboTime podcast, Myth Busters Klaus Burn of Ebara Elliott Energy and Rainer Kurz of RKSBenergy LLC dive into electrification: what it is and debunk the myth that it and machines—such as hermetically sealed compressors and high-speed electric motor drives—hydrogen blending and others are decarbonized.

TURBO: Can you break down the assertion that that machinery electrification and electric-motor drives are a decarbonization myth?

 There are a lot of decarbonization myths that don’t just have to do with electrification and electric motors and hermetically sealed drives and high-speed motors, but they also have to do with hydrogen blending, unburned hydrocarbons and gas turbines, and other types of emissions that are part of the sustainable energy economy. What we set to do, however, is talk about electrification, which is basically when you take a turbomachine, a compressor or pump, and instead of running it with a driver—e.g., a gas or steam turbine, which has been done traditionally at a lot of compressor stations, pipelines, or in refineries, ethylene plants, or other places—you actually replace them with an electric motor. And, obviously, an electric motor does not have any emissions directly; it just shifts the responsibility of the carbon production from where you utilize the electric motor to where the electricity comes from. And the last time I checked, at least in most of the industrialized nations such as North America, 60% of all fossil electricity comes from fossil fuels, a mix of natural gas and coal. China actually has more—I think 70% of the electricity comes from fossil fuels, mostly coal, which is very dirty. Europe is not quite as bad. They now have about 40% alternative energies, but still a substantial part. So, you're really just shifting the carbon emission from one place to another, sometimes in a very, very inefficient way.

 In a way, this discussion is always about where you draw the emissions boundaries. Klaus is right: As soon as you can shift your emissions outside your boundaries, you can claim you are carbon-neutral, whereas, in reality, you just made somebody else deal with your carbon emissions. There are quite a few studies that address that one way or another and very clearly show if you make electricity while creating CO

 or other emissions, you may create more emissions with an electric driver than with a driver that’s driven by fossil-fueled engines.

Klaus Brun and Rainer Kurz break down the myth that electrification and electric-motor drives are decarbonized. 

TurboTime Podcast: Debunking Machinery Decarbonization Myths

In this interview with Scott DeNeale, a Water Resources Engineer at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, we discuss the lab’s current research projects in hydropower and trends such as low-head and modular designs and metal additive manufacturing to manufacture Francis turbines. The lab is working on a lot of exciting work, and even though hydropower has been around for 150 years, DeNeale said there is a lot of opportunity to complement new generation with environmental compatibility.

An interesting fact is that only 3% of the more than 90,000 damns in the United States use hydropower. Why? Listen to find out!

TURBO: Can you tell us a little about Oak Ridge National Lab?

 Oak Ridge National Laboratory is the largest multi-program science and technology laboratory in the United States. It's managed by UT Battelle but is owned by the U.S. Department of Energy. As part of my research, I do a lot of work for hydropower. The research and development that I do touch on a lot of different things. We look at grid integration, markets, reliability, performance, hydrology and hydraulics, water management, biodiversity and ecosystem science. We look at technological advancement as well.

TURBO: What recent advancements have you seen in turbomachinery used in hydropower technology and pumped storage hydropower technology?

 Conventional hydropower—what we would speak to is the age of the big dams is over, so a lot of what we're looking at is retrofitting existing dams, replacing units, or adding new units to existing dams. And there's an area looking at canals and conduits as well. So, some of the advancements that I've seen are really geared toward the existing infrastructure, which has largely low-head or low-pressure potential. It’s a little bit different design that is used to capture that design point. Another area is modular technologies and standard technologies. Conventionally, a lot of turbines are custom-built, so the ability to have a standard design that could be plug-and-play has been of interest. We've had some research over the past 10 years related to that, working with industry on advancing their concepts as well. 

For pumped storage … I would refer you to a report from some of my friends at Argonne National Laboratory. They have done some great documentation of innovations—a lot of it's conceptual for pump storage but some cool innovations there. However, there has been no new pump storage since 2012. And, even with that, that was a very small project. So, since the mid-nineties, there really hasn’t been much of anything in terms of new pump storage, but there is a great demand for it.

Scott DeNeale of Oak Ridge National Lab shares trends in hydropower—from modular designs to additive-manufactured Francis turbines. 

TurboTime Podcast: Modular and Low-Head Designs are Trending in Hydropower 

During this episode of the TurboTime Podcast, Klaus Brun and Rainer Kurz discuss how hydrogen is transported and its use as an energy carrier. They then discuss how ammonia is produced, its advantages and limitations, and for what industries it’s a suitable solution.

“We’ve previously talked about hydrogen in some of our Myth Buster podcasts and how it’s relevant to a decarbonized energy economy as an energy carrier. Unfortunately, hydrogen itself has a lot of nasty characteristics: it's hard to compress, highly flammable, as a gas it’s not easy to deal with, etc. From a transportation and storage perspective, it leaks, has many safety issues, causes hydrogen embrittlement, etc., making it difficult to transport.”

“Making ammonia is nothing new. We know how to how the process works, but it is an energy-intensive process. But ammonia is a very toxic gas. It causes skin burns rapidly if you touch it in liquid form. In vapor form, even at less than 100 PPMs, it’s very irritating, so it creates a lot of issues from the handling perspective.”

In this episode of the TurboTime podcast, Myth Buster Klaus Brun and Rainer Kurz discuss ammonia. 

TurboTime Podcast: Ammonia with the Myth Busters

This episode of the TurboTime podcast features an onsite interview from our Turbo Tour of EthosEnergy’s Light Gas Turbine and Performance Center Facility in Houston. Assistant Editor James Cook talks with Daniel Tegtmeier, Director of EthosEnergy's Performance Center, about remote monitoring and operations, the changing energy landscape, and the benefits of remote start/stop and virtual capabilities.

Q: How does remote monitoring keep simple-cycle assets viable in a market focused on renewable energy?

 If you think about a machine built 20+ years ago and its efficiency, it still has a place in the market when competing with renewables. It’s not like it used to be though—these units used to run wide-open, 24/7. They’re now intermittent assets competing with renewables and zero-cost fuels, but once the wind stops blowing and the sun stops shining, that load is gone.

These are simple-cycle configurations, so they can come online quickly and be at 100 - 120 MW in less than an hour. So, you’re going to staff a facility 8,000 hours per year in case they call you up? That’s part of what we do and the justification for remote operations—you need the intermittent load from simple-cycle assets in rapid fashion, but you can’t afford to staff these places full-time.

Q: In addition to that justification, are there any safety improvements delivered through remote start/stop and control capabilities?

 Economics seems to drive most decision processes behind whether you’re remotely operating a facility or not; however, there’s a huge safety aspect. You don’t need people there 24 hours a day around equipment with a lot of pent-up energy, so exposure levels drop dramatically. For the most part, these machines are designed so well and over-engineered from day one that they’re conducive to [remote monitoring].

In this episode of the TurboTime podcast, Daniel Tegtmeier, Director of EthosEnergy’s Performance Center, talks about remote operations and monitoring. 

TurboTime Podcast: Remote Monitoring with EthosEnergy

In this episode of the TurboTime Podcast, we talk with Giuseppe Tilocca, Scientific Officer at ETN Global, a non-profit member association in the gas turbine technology space. ETN Global’s recent global report, 

Decentralized Energy Systems: Toward Carbon-Neutral Energy Solutions for Gas Turbines

, compares decentralized systems to centralized heat and power units and highlights its advantages—including modularity, the possibility to exploit waste heat avoiding energy transmission losses, and reducing energy distribution costs. Tilocca reviews these advantages in detail, as well as trends and emerging market opportunities, and he dives into gas turbines and how they fit into decentralized energy systems.

“Considering this specific report, we all know that the energy sector is transforming very quickly, and it's mainly driven by the increasingly high share of renewable energy sources,” Ticolla said. “In this scenario, which is dominated by variable sources whose daily, weekly, and seasonal flexibility are set to go dramatically, to meet the system requirements while accomplishing the ambitious decarbonization goals, we need to support traditional centralized generation with a mix of the centralized components.”

So, how does ETN Global define decentralized energy systems, and what are their advantages?

“Historically, we established centralized energy systems, meaning large plants located far from consumers,” Tilocca explained. “The reason behind it is merely economy of scale and efficiency, so it is cheaper to have one big plant than many small ones; however, with the increasing integration of variable renewable energy sources, which are inherently decentralized, we now need to adapt our infrastructure and incorporate technologies that are traditionally used for centralized energy. By definition, a decentralized energy system is located close to the consumption nodes—so on the end user side of the network—and therefore it's connected to the distribution grid rather than the transmission grid. The advantages of a decentralized energy system are mainly modularity, the possibility of exploiting waste heat, and a positive contribution to stability. In particular, one of the main advantages of being close to consumption nodes is avoiding transmission and distribution losses and also costs compared to centralized generation. Centralized energy systems are pivotal in meeting the pillars of the energy trilemma, which stress the principles of affordability, security, and climate neutrality and hence it aligns with the requirements for the transition toward 2030 but also 2040 and 2050.”

ETN Global’s Scientific Officer, Giuseppe Tilocca, talks about the association’s recent report on decentralized energy systems—their advantages and challenges, trends, and where and how gas turbines fit in.  

TurboTime Podcast: Decentralized Energy Systems with ETN Global 

In this episode of the TurboTime Podcast, the Myth Busters discusses the role of turbomachinery in energy transport and storage, including how gas turbines maximize energy density. They dive into various forms of energy storage—including batteries, hydrogen, and mechanical and thermal energy—for various energy sources such as wind, solar, fossil fuels, etc., and more.

During the energy transport and conversion processes, for example in the case of hydrogen, there are significant energy losses. The lowest losses are with coal, then oil and fossil fuels. As a result of these losses, “Hydrogen is a viable solution for storage, but it’s not a great solution to power a large-scale electric power plant by itself,” Kurz said.

Really, energy comes down to sustainability, affordability, and sustainability of supply – and in this equation, renewables are typically intermittent and not a reliable full-time source of energy.

So where does turbomachinery fit into all of this?

“From a turbomachinery perspective, if you exclude electric—because as Rainer said, it's not always applicable, as you can’t transport energy from Venezuela to Florida along an electric line—then you have to convert your energy stored material, be it natural gas, oil, coal, or from an alternative source then you have to convert it into hydrogen or ammonia or something else, and then transport it,” Brun explained. “All these convergent processes utilize turbomachinery. We have maybe 100 years of experience transporting oil in pipelines and ships and trucks and that involves a lot of pumping—we're very good at pumping – it’s very efficient. We also have about a similar amount of time compressing natural gas, which over the last 40 - 50 years we've used a lot more centrifugal compressors for transporting natural gas. Now we're running into the challenge of sustainable alternative energies where basically you're saying, ‘OK, I'm going to take my wind and solar electric and convert them to let's say hydrogen or ammonia or dimethyl ether or methanol—there are a lot of fluids that you can make from electricity that are energy carriers—but then they have to be transported. Hydrogen is the lightest gas (We had a previous podcast where we talked about the challenges of 

). Similarly, ammonia is a liquid that has to be transported at slightly refrigerated temperatures, and it brings its own challenges because it's highly poisonous and very corrosive to a lot of materials. Dimethyl ether is not that hard to transport—it’s similar to diesel—but it's very expensive to make. Methanol is also highly poisonous. So there are a lot of other challenges that you now face with these energy carriers that you worry about when transporting your original form of energy to the end user.”

Klaus Brun and Rainer Kurz dial into energy storage and transport—why they are necessary, how turbomachinery fits into these processes, and more. 

TurboTime Podcast: Energy Transport and Storage with the Myth Busters 

Baker Hughes and PETRONAS will explore implementing enhanced LNG services, mature asset solutions, AI, and CCUS, among other technological solutions. 

Baker Hughes, PETRONAS Collaborate to Support Asia’s Energy Expansion

Using AI-assisted optimization methods, Voith and the DLR Institute are improving the water turbine design process and enhancing turbine development. 

Voith, DLR Enhance Hydropower Turbine Development using AI Tool: AutoOpti

GE Aerospace signed an agreement with SkyWest for its CF34-8E engines and a multi-year MRO service agreement with China Airlines for its GE9X engines. 

GE Aerospace Signs Agreements with SkyWest, China Airlines

Everllence’s first order for its 175DF-M engine includes two 12V175DF-M, one 16V175DF-M variable-speed yacht gensets, and methanol fuel-supply systems.

Everllence Secures First Order for 175 Dual-Fuel Methanol Engine for Superyacht

The first block at the Taiwan power plant provides 1.3 GW of cleaner energy, aiming to replace coal units and reduce emissions while stabilizing the country’s electricity grid.

Hsinta Power Plant Goes Online with GE Vernova’s 7HA.03 to Support Coal-to-Gas Transition

 surveyed its readers about the state of the industry. One recurring challenge in our readers’ responses was labor shortages and skill gaps.

At Tubo Expo 2025, held June 17-18 in Memphis, Tennessee, we asked industry leaders about how they are collaborating with partners and academia, and networking at conferences to build a skilled workforce and address shortages.

Hear insights from Antonio Escamilla Perejon, Client Relationship Manager at ETN Global; Tim Allison, Director of R&D in the Machinery Department of Southwest Research Institute; Dr. Eric Petersen, Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Director of the Turbomachinery Laboratory at Texas A&M, Angelique Vesey, Senior Director of TEC Strategy & Operations at ASME; and Susan Scofield, VP of Business Operations for North America at Siemens Energy.

Industry leaders discuss strategies—collaborating with academia, partners, and networking—to cultivate a skilled workforce and address labor challenges.

Building a Skilled Turbomachinery Workforce: Collaboration and Innovation

to listen to Ulrich Schmitz, Vice President of Marketing in the Gas and Processing Division at Atlas Copco, discuss pressing issues facing the turbomachinery industry. 

Conference Coverage

Susan Scofield, a co-curator for the Celebrating Women in Turbomachinery program at Turbo Expo 2025, shared her insights on how the industry can and does support women in the industry. Scofield is also the Vice President of Business Operations for North America at Siemens Energy, Vice Chair of the IGTI Strategy Department, and Executive Conference Chair of the Turbo Expo Organizing Committee.

At Turbo Expo 2025, Susan Scofield of Siemens Energy says great role models, mentoring programs, and building networks support women in turbomachinery. 

How Industry Can Support Women in Turbomachinery

How can the industry support and uplift women in turbomachinery?

Going into it, sometimes you fall into a great role model—a great mentor who gives you that boost of courage or just shows you what the future possibility is like. Other times, you have to be intentional around it. We have great opportunities with things like the ASME mentoring program and the Young Student Advisory Committee, which promotes what jobs and careers could look like in turbomachinery. And then sometimes you get lucky with professors like Jackie O'Connor at Penn State, who are just fantastic and do awesome work. You then get a chance to showcase what you've learned and build a bridge into an industry of what the future possibilities could be like for your own career. So, building these networks in the places that do exist—there are places that exist with a lot of great opportunity—is a key to helping the next generation of women and men be fantastic in the turbomachinery industry.

 to hear the biggest challenges for women working in the turbomachinery industry. 

At Turbo Expo 2025, Michael Smiarowski, Manager Steam Turbine Modernizations at Siemens Energy, shared with 

 the most common challenges in the steam turbine market and dove into key technological advancements in modernization projects to extend asset life and increase performance.

Michael Smiarowski of Siemens Energy says the steam turbine market is managing unprecedented demand, so advanced implementation planning is key.

Siemens Energy Optimizes Its Resources to Meet Steam Turbine Market Demand 

What are the most common challenges in modernizing aging steam turbine fleets, and what solutions is Siemens Energy employing to overcome them?

Our current challenge is primarily related to marketplace demand. We are experiencing unprecedented activity in this industry. I have been in the steam turbine business for nearly 38 years, and the current market is very active. The main challenge we face is supporting customers who have a target implementation date for their projects. If they want to complete installations within the next three years, they must start discussions with us and begin planning now. Advanced planning from the customer's side is essential.

On our end, Siemens Energy is focused on managing our resources effectively. We have a finite amount of engineering, project management, and project development talent available for these projects. As customers reach out to us, we need to prioritize their requests and respond accordingly.

What key technological advancements is Siemens Energy implementing in modernization projects to extend asset life or boost performance?

A steam turbine modernization project that replaces the steam path is a typical project, which essentially resets the life of the critical and highly stressed components—the rotating element as well as the stationary blading of a steam turbine. Where we can, we optimize the steam path to your existing steam conditions to get the best possible efficiency. Over the years, there have been advances in blade design, ceiling design, materials, etc., that boost efficiency as well as the unit’s lifetime.

If you implement a steam turbine modernization, you’re getting the latest and greatest technology. In addition to efficiency and lifetime extension, modernization enables longer inspection intervals and boosts reliability.

 to hear Smiarowski discuss what's driving steam turbine modernizations. 

caught up with Dr. Eric Petersen, Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Director of the Turbomachinery Laboratory at Texas A&M, to hear about the latest updates at its recently opened Propulsion and Energetics Research Laboratory (PERL) and the university’s Energy and Propulsion Research Consortium, a new sister entity to the established Turbomachinery Research Consortium.

Dr. Eric Petersen of Texas A&M says the newly established Energy and Propulsion Research Consortium aims to foster research funding to support research. 

Texas A&M's Plans to Expand the PERL’s Lab Scope, Establishes EPR

We have been building this facility over the last couple of years with support from the College of Engineering at Texas A&M University. I am happy to announce that as of May 2025, it is now open for business. Currently, we are in the process of setting up our instrumentation center and diagnostics and control room, as well as testing and conducting shakedown activities for the facility itself. While we are not yet conducting large-scale experiments, we are testing the rooms and various capabilities of the facility in preparation for upcoming larger, more established projects that will be funded in this laboratory. We are very excited about expanding our scope to include high-pressure, energetic, and potentially dangerous experiments, all conducted in a controlled manner within this unique lab space.

Is there anything you want to highlight from a program or research standpoint?

At the Turbomachinery Laboratory, recent collaborations with the Department of Mechanical Engineering and the Department of Aerospace Engineering at Texas A&M have led to the hiring of several faculty members with expertise in thermofluids, propulsion, and combustion. This represents an area of new growth for us and aligns directly with the recently developed PEARL facility, as well as what we refer to as the Energy and Propulsion Research Consortium (EPRC). The EPRC is a sister entity to the established Turbomachinery Research Consortium (TRC). Our goal is to create a funding mechanism through various industry sponsors to support research projects focused on energy and propulsion, mirroring the successful format we have used for several decades through the TRC.

Texas A&M's Plans to Expand the PERL’s Lab Scope, Establishes EPRC

At Turbo Expo 2025, Antonio Escamilla Perejon, Client Relationship Manager at ETN Global, sat down with 

rnational to discuss how micro-gas turbines are adapting to alternative fuels like hydrogen, their role in the push to decarbonize, and their inherent built-in features such as fuel flexibility and modularity. 

ETN Global's presentation at Turbo Expo. 

ETN Global says micro gas turbines are improving due to advances in heat recovery, fuel flexibility

Micro Gas Turbine Advancements and Market Dynamics

TURBO: How are micro-gas turbines adapting to alternative fuels like hydrogen, and what's their role in the push to decarbonize?

Antonio Perejon of ETN Global says micro-gas turbines are well-suited to lead the transition to cleaner fuels due to their inherent fuel flexibility and modularity. 

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