Research and Development

A consortium that includes power industry giants Siemens Energy and ENGIE said it completed what the group called the world’s first operational test of a gas turbine fueled with 100% renewable hydrogen. Siemens Energy on Oct. 13 said the HYFLEXPOWER consortium conducted the test using a gas turbine at Smurfit Kappa, a paper packaging company […]

Constellation Energy will use a portion of newly announced federal funding for the Midwest Hydrogen Hub (MachH2) to build “the world’s largest nuclear-powered clean hydrogen facility” at its 2.3-GW LaSalle Clean Energy Center in Illinois. The company on Oct. 16 said it plans to leverage a $1 billion award announced by the Department of Energy (DOE) last […]

Decarbonization of the U.S. power sector is bringing new technologies to the forefront, including an array of new battery types for energy storage, electric vehicles (EVs), and more. Lyten, a San Jose, California-based advanced materials manufacturer known for its Lyten 3D Graphene technology platform, along with other decarbonization materials, is moving forward with several projects. […]

Fifty-eight projects spearheaded by major U.S. power stakeholders will receive up to $3.5 billion in federal funding to improve grid flexibility and boost power system resiliency against extreme weather and climate change, the Biden administration announced on Oct. 18. The projects mark the  Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) first competitive selections under the Grid Resilience and […]

Artificial intelligence (AI) is becoming a ubiquitous part of our lives, impacting much of what we do at work and home. AI’s growth trajectory is expected to skyrocket, with new potentials identified to help address and solve today’s challenges and tomorrow’s opportunities. AI advances have been remarkable, but so far relatively little attention has been […]

Seven regional hydrogen hubs spanning Appalachia, California, the Midwest, the Gulf Coast, the American heartland, the Mid-Atlantic, and the Pacific Northwest are poised to receive $7 billion in Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) funding under the Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Regional Clean Hydrogen Hubs Program (H2Hubs). The selections, unveiled by the Biden administration on […]

The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) MARVEL microreactor achieved 90% final design, a key step that will allow the project to move forward with preparation for fabrication and construction. “This is an incredible milestone for the Department of Energy,” John Jackson, national technical director for DOE’s Microreactor Program headquartered at Idaho National Laboratory (INL), told […]

Fossil-fueled power plants are billion-pound investments that businesses (as well as whole nations themselves) around the world can’t afford to simply discard. Yet, the combinations of old plant, new fuels, and new operating conditions lead to corrosion, faults, downtime, and inefficiencies for plant operators and manufacturers. But these kinds of bridging technologies—between the “black” and […]

The New York Power Authority (NYPA) is leading the way in New York by piloting new technologies that can help accelerate the state’s clean energy transition. Among its accomplishments is a hydrogen

There are many reasons for the nuclear power industry to feel optimistic about the future. For example, the entry of Vogtle Unit 3 into commercial operation on July 31 was a significant milestone and one worth

Pingshan Phase II, a cutting-edge 1.4-GW ultrasupercritical coal-fired unit, achieves a remarkable net efficiency of 49.37%—making it the world’s most efficient coal-fired power plant. The state-of-the-art

For maximum efficiency and operational flexibility, advanced gas turbines have rightly been optimized to the nth degree. However, there are big opportunities in important related components like the air inlet filtration systems too. The latest developments from Parker Hannifin show what can be achieved when a new approach is taken. Today’s advanced gas turbines are […]

Electrification is often presented as an optimal way to reduce carbon emissions, but it’s simply not practical to rely on electricity alone. No single energy source can solve the long-term environmental challenges the world faces. Why isn’t all electrification the answer? The infrastructure required to keep up with the electrification movement would take decades to […]

As part of the UK’s Humber Zero initiative, VPI Immingham’s gas-fired combined heat and power (CHP) plant will be home to the world’s largest post-combustion carbon capture facility. The Humber region is

Nucor Corp., a manufacturer of steel and steel products, and Helion, a fusion energy company, are collaborating to develop a 500-MW fusion power plant to supply baseload electricity to a steelmaking facility. The companies are working together to set a firm timeline, saying they are “committed to beginning operations as soon as possible with a […]

There are many reasons to be optimistic about the prospects for nuclear energy. As a carbon-free energy source, it is a great option for power generation in a world trying to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and stop climate change. The fact that nuclear reactors can operate at baseload with capacity factors regularly greater than 90% […]

Power generation represents a varied and evolving landscape, both globally and within the U.S., with numerous technology types contributing to the energy mix. From traditional simple cycle gas and turbine peaking plants to modern photovoltaic (PV) solar, battery energy storage systems (BESS), wind, hydro and distributed generation facilities, the energy sector continues to experience dynamic […]

The Department of Defense (DOD) has moved to develop a second transportable microreactor under Project Pele, granting X-energy a contract option to advance the design of its mobile advanced nuclear microreactor prototype. The one-year contract option will continue to provide funding for X-energy’s nuclear technology development, allowing the firm to develop its design to meet […]

BWX Technologies (BWXT) said it was awarded a “two-phase, two-year contract” with the Wyoming Energy Authority (WEA) to assess the viability of deploying small-scale nuclear reactors in the state to augment existing power generation resources. The WEA says it combines the existing scopes of the Wyoming Infrastructure Authority, Wyoming Pipeline Authority, and the State Energy […]

India has begun commercial operation of its first domestically designed 700-MWe pressurized heavy water reactor (PHWR) at the Kakrapar nuclear power plant in Gujarat, state-owned Nuclear Power Corp. of India Ltd. (NPCIL) reported on Aug. 30. Commercial operation of  Unit 3 at Kakrapar Atomic Power Project, which is located near the city of Vyara in the […]

In order to meet decarbonization goals and limit the impacts of climate change, national power systems need to reach 100% renewable power generation without delay. Renewables like solar and wind will be needed in vast amounts, alongside flexible technology solutions, such as engine power plants and energy storage, to balance the intermittency of these power […]

Voith Hydro in 2022 replaced four vertical Pelton turbines at Verbund’s 75-year-old 326-GWh Gerlos 1 pumped storage facility in Austria with a first-of-its-kind horizontal six-nozzle Pelton turbine

The global market for diesel- and gas-powered engines continues to grow, as manufacturing companies unveil products designed to produce power more efficiently while at the same time lowering emissions. The

Marking a significant inroad to establish a South Korean foothold in the world’s gas turbine technology market, heavy industrial company Doosan Enerbility this summer began commercial operation of its first

While using low-carbon hydrogen is not a viable economic option in most markets today, the wheels are set in motion for hydrogen to support the decarbonization of the world’s energy supply. It is a journey

The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), signed into law just more than a one year ago, improves the economics for battery energy storage projects in the U.S. Standalone storage projects are now eligible for a 30% investment tax credit (ITC), a figure that could reach 70% with additional incentives around the use of domestic equipment, and […]

Canada’s federal government has committed C$74 million ($55 million) to support SaskPower’s potential deployment of a 300-MW small modular reactor (SMR) in the mid-2030s. Federal agency Natural Resources Canada on Aug. 19 confirmed that up to C$50 million is designated for SaskPower from the agency’s C$250 million Electricity Predevelopment Program. Another C$24 million will be […]

In 2021, Idaho National Laboratory (INL) Director John Wagner set a lofty goal for the lab to achieve net-zero carbon emissions within 10 years. An uninformed observer might think that would be an easy task for an organization as focused on energy as INL, but it’s important to recognize that the lab is spread over […]

A number of companies with ties to the power industry revealed new projects and other interesting developments this week. The following are some the more noteworthy announcements that POWER has been monitoring. Landfill Gas to Renewable Natural Gas Project Enters Service in Missouri Vision RNG (VRNG) said its Landfill Gas (LFG) to Renewable Natural Gas […]

Pilot testing under the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation’s Pitch-to-Pilot desalination research funding proved an electro-coagulation, clarification, micro-filtration, reverse osmosis with vacuum-assisted