Turbo Expo Panel Says AI Requires Creativity, Experimentation to Solve Complex Turbomachinery Challenges

Turbo Expo 2025 opened its exhibition hall at the Renasant Convention Center in Memphis, Tennessee, this morning to roughly 2,500 attendees from the turbomachinery industry. Tuesday morning kicked off with the plenary session, Envisioning the Future of Gas Turbines with Artificial Intelligence, featuring panelists Richard Voorberg, President, North America at Siemens Energy, Paul Sloup, Executive Director of AI tools and FLIGHT DECK at GE Aerospace, and Pete Bradley, Principal Fellow in digital tools and data science at RTX Pratt & Whitney.

AI is revolutionizing engineering fields—from predictive maintenance and design optimization to advanced manufacturing and beyond. The OEM-centered panel session provided perspectives on the current and future vision of working with AI in gas turbine technology and a few key takeaways for the turbomachinery industry:

• AI is a Transformative Force Multiplier: Companies like RTX, GE Aerospace, and Siemens Energy are using AI to optimize design processes, improve manufacturing, enhance product performance, and drive innovation across the entire product lifecycle.
• Cultural Adaptation is Critical: Successfully implementing AI requires more than just technology—it demands building an AI-ready culture that encourages experimentation, reduces fear of change, and empowers engineers to leverage new tools creatively.
• Collaborative Innovation is the Future: The industry recognizes that AI advancement cannot happen in isolation. Companies are calling for increased data collaboration, shared learning, and community-wide approaches to solving complex challenges in turbomachinery and energy systems.

AI is not just a technological upgrade, but a fundamental reimagining of how the turbomachinery industry develops, manufactures, and operates its systems.

Plenary OEM panel at Turbo Expo 2025. Credit: Turbomachinery International

RTX Pratt & Whitney

Bradley highlighted AI's transformative potential across RTX’s business. He said AI is already integrated into every aspect of its operations—from design optimization to product development and manufacturing, and it has over 20 AI-enabled products with 100 more in development, including advanced systems like the RAIVEN electro-optical imaging platform that can work in air, ground, and sea.

“I think one of the things that's really important about these AI-enabled capabilities is they make it possible to do really complex things without creating extra complexity for the operator,” Bradley said.

In the aftermarket, RTX’s advanced oil analysis technology examines oil samples, predicts various potential engine problems, and provides tailored recommendations for customers.

He emphasized that anytime you have an industry disrupter, like AI, you have to navigate three key aspects: managing fear, avoiding hype, and seizing opportunities. He stressed the importance of building an AI culture, incentivizing realistic proof-of-concept evaluations, and leveraging experienced engineers' knowledge. His core message: AI can transform the impossible into the routine by combining deep domain expertise with innovative technological approaches.

GE Aerospace

Sloup discussed AI's role in transforming GE Aerospace, focusing on a mindset shift rather than just technological change. GE Aerospace, in partnership with Microsoft, launched AI Wingmate, a proprietary generative pre-trained transformer (GPT) tool used by over 50% of employees, and developed an engineering assistant to help engineers spend more time on critical thinking. Sloup outlined the company’s AI strategy across supercomputing, design cycles, and connected systems.

"We don't know all the answers,” he said. “We're not sure how all this should play out, but we have a very intelligent organization, and we have a lot of engineers, and so if we put the tools in their hands, they can help us figure it out."

Siemens Energy

Voorberg presented a comprehensive view of AI integration into Siemens Energy’s 100,000-person, 175-year-old company.

“There are numerous opportunities at Siemens Energy, which is truly exciting,” Voorberg said. “Just look at how this business has transformed over the last couple of years. Two years ago, especially in the gas turbine sector, it was dead. Three years ago, the large gas turbine market in the United States had only one large gas turbine. My friends at GE won that unit that year, while my market share stood at 0%. How do you explain that to the board, right? How did we end up with 0% gas turbines in the market? The good news is, this year, the market has completely flipped. We've sold over 100 gas turbines here in the United States, and it continues to grow like that. So, we need to ensure that we're expanding and growing our business.”

With a $1.4 billion annual R&D investment, it is strategically deploying AI across multiple domains. Key AI applications include:

• Grid optimization through digital-twin technology
• Inventory management to prevent parts from sitting unused
• Digitalizing historical data from century-old equipment
• Developing an AI Lab in Orlando to foster innovation

"AI can be really beneficial, but we've got to make sure that it's creating something," he said. “If I tell you what to do, I’m going to limit you. I want to give you the tools, and that's what our AI Lab is going to be: a tool.”

Siemens Energy’s AI initiatives include:

• Partnering with Nvidia to analyze grid power distribution
• Creating an AI Lab with dedicated data scientists
• Enabling engineers to use supercomputer resources without bureaucratic barriers
• Transforming maintenance by using AI to analyze historical equipment data

Siemens Energy’s approach to AI focuses on giving employees tools and freedom to innovate, believing that unexpected breakthroughs can happen when talented people have access to advanced resources.