Turbomachinery News Network: Doosan Škoda Power, Rolls-Royce, Kawasaki Heavy Industries, and more

Welcome to the 25^th edition of the Turbomachinery News Network. I’m James Cook, associate editor at Turbomachinery International.

Doosan Škoda Power won a contract to modernize Unit TG6 at the Opatovice Power Plant, including the supply of a new condensing turbine and condenser, repair of the current generator, installation of new district water heaters, and a solution for piping and steel structures. Opatovice Power Plant’s modernization will progressively eliminate coal-fired operations and install more efficient, environmentally friendly gas-fired combined cycle operations.

Rolls-Royce, Xanadu, and Riverlane—a collaboration jointly funded by Canada and the United Kingdom—have deployed quantum computing to significantly accelerate large-scale air flow simulations for jet engines. The tests demonstrated reduced simulation times from weeks to under an hour, leveraging Rolls-Royce’s test simulations, Xanadu’s PennyLane software, and Riverlane’s quantum algorithms.

Kawasaki Heavy Industries and Japan Suiso Energy recently hosted a groundbreaking ceremony for the Kawasaki LH2 Terminal, a planned liquefied hydrogen complex in Ogishima, Kawasaki City, Japan. This terminal will be the world’s first commercial-scale facility to handle liquefied hydrogen, featuring a 50,000 m³ liquefied hydrogen storage tank with facilities for liquefaction, gas supply, lorry dispatch, and maritime cargo handling for loading and unloading operations.

Approved by the Louisiana Public Service Commission, Entergy Louisiana will now begin constructing two combined-cycle combustion turbine facilities in Richland Parish, collectively dubbed the Franklin Farms Power Station. Both power plants will generate approximately 1,500 MW of highly efficient natural gas-fired capacity, leveraging turbine technology that burns less fuel to produce more power, lowers emissions, and improves system reliability.