Research and Development

  • TAE Technologies Welcomes Secretary of Energy Rick Perry on Tour of World’s Leading Private Fusion Energy Facility

    TAE Technologies’ plasma performance is rapidly ramping up in Norman using advanced active feedback controls, further validating the company’s unique approach to fusion energy. FOOTHILL RANCH, CA, July 19, 2018 — Secretary Rick Perry today joined executives of TAE Technologies, Inc., the world’s largest and most advanced private fusion energy company, at its headquarters in […]

  • Refinery Hydrogen Power Pilot Takes Shape in Australia

    An industrial-scale pilot plant that will use surplus hydrogen from refinery operations to produce power is taking shape in Australia. Industrial alkaline fuel cell power company AFC Energy on July 12 said it received its first commercial order for a hydrogen power generation unit in Australia from Southern Oil Refining, a subsidiary of Northern Oil. […]

  • Siemens launches performance enhancement for select SGT-800 gas turbines

    Siemens has introduced a new SGT-800 performance enhancement that is applicable to all existing SGT-800 units with 43-47.5-MW ratings. The new upgrade is designed to provide owners and operators with significant fuel savings and CO2emissions reduction for improved sustainable energy production. The upgrade offers up to a 3.5 percent increase of simple cycle gas turbine […]

  • Small Modular Reactor Project Advances in Canada

    A Maryland-based company and its Canadian subsidiary have joined with a Canada utility in a project to develop, license, and build an advanced small modular reactor (SMR). Advanced Reactor Concepts of Chevy Chase, Maryland, along with ARC Nuclear Canada—operating collectively as ARC Nuclear (ARC)—and New Brunswick Power (NB Power) on July 9 said their SMR […]

  • China Tabs Siemens as Partner on Gas Turbines

    Siemens on July 9 said it has a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to work with China’s State Power Investment Corporation (SPIC) on heavy-duty gas turbines. Siemens said it will support SPIC’s research and development of the turbines and provide training and technical consultation. “The signing today will expedite finalization of a technology cooperation agreement in […]

  • Japan’s New Energy Plan Commits to Renewables—And Nuclear and Coal, Too

    Japan’s government on July 3 approved a new Basic Energy Plan for the country, saying it is committed to increasing the role of renewable resources for power generation while also confirming it wants nuclear power to remain a vital part of the nation’s energy strategy. Japan issues a revised Basic Energy Plan, which outlines the […]

  • Market for Dispatching Services: Be Power and ABB together for first projects of VPP and Demand Response

    Milan, Italy (July 2, 2018) — Be Power and ABB will cooperate in the Dispatching Service Market (MSD). Be Power is the Digital Green Utility of the Building Energy Group with a trailblazing business model based on the synergies between the markets of energy and mobility. This model aims at integrating the opportunities arising from the […]

  • Floating Solar Panel Industry Makes a Splash

    Floating solar panel technology has been gaining traction as a favorable and cost-effective alternative to land-based photovoltaic systems. Thriving on the cusp of a massive inclination toward renewable energy

  • Electric Vehicles—Subsidies for an Environmental Pretender

    On May 22, the Edison Electric Institute (EEI), the American Public Power Association (APPA), and two groups representing U.S. and foreign automakers sent a letter to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

  • Russia Will Help Nigeria Develop Nuclear Plant

    Nigeria’s government joined with Russia’s State Atomic Energy Corp. (Rosatom) last year with a goal to develop the country’s first nuclear power plant, a plan that both sides confirmed and talked about

  • More Efficient with Fewer Emissions: Cement Factory Finds Sugar-Based Biomass a Sweet Solution

    Environmental regulations and a need to reduce its fuel consumption provide the incentive for an Egyptian plant to change its manufacturing process. Energy companies constantly grapple with controlling the

  • ABB, Ballard Power Systems Sign MOU on Zero-Emission Fuel Cell Power Plant

    ABB, the pioneering technology leader, and Ballard Power Systems, the leading global provider of innovative clean energy fuel cell solutions, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on developing the next-generation fuel cell power system for sustainable marine e-mobility. The fuel cell power system, to be jointly designed, developed and validated by ABB and Ballard […]

  • Ice Energy announces long-term funding agreement with Argo Infrastructure Partners

    COSTA MESA, CA (June 26, 2018)— Ice Energy, the leading provider of distributed thermal energy storage solutions, announced that it has entered into a long-term funding agreement with private equity manager Argo Infrastructure Partners LLC (“Argo”). The investment establishes a strategic relationship that begins with $40 million in funding for Ice Energy and its current projects, […]

  • M&I Electric Announces $3M+ Project for New Offshore Drilling Rig Power System

    HOUSTON, June 20, 2018 — American Electric Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:AETI), a leading provider of power delivery solutions for the global energy industry, announced today that its M&I Electric business has been awarded a $3M contract  to provide a power delivery solution for a new North America-deployed offshore drilling platform. The M&I project award includes M&I low […]

  • Analysts: Coal Generation Will Plummet More Than 70%

    About half the world’s power will be generated by wind and solar resources by 2050. Generation from coal will drop more than 70% from today’s levels. That’s according to research from energy analysts published June 19 in the “New Energy Outlook 2018” (NEO) from Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF). The NEO report outlines information from […]

  • GE Power Announces New Achievements by HA Gas Turbine and Services Upgrades

    GREENVILLE, S.C.—June 14, 2018—GE Power (NYSE: GE) today announced a growing list of accomplishments by its industry-leading HA gas turbine and its services portfolio—including the 26th HA in commercial operation and the new MXL2 with Additive Manufactured Performance upgrade for the GT13E2 turbine. These accomplishments reiterate GE Power’s unique position to help gas power producers efficiently […]

  • General Atomics Awarded ARPA-E Funding for Advanced Reactor Research

    San Diego, June 5, 2018 – The U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) on Monday awarded General Atomics (GA) a total of nearly $3 million in funding to continue development of two key technologies associated with GA’s Energy Multiplier Module (EM2) concept. The awards are part of ARPA-E’s Modeling-Enhanced Innovations Trailblazing Nuclear […]

  • Maintaining Nuclear Plant Ice Condensers: A ‘Cool’ Responsibility

    Although nuclear plant ice condensers are rare—only seven sites throughout the world have them—the theory behind these passive heat sinks is quite novel. In fact, some next-generation plant designers have built upon the concept and incorporated passive accident intervention schemes into their plans. A nuclear plant ice condenser is a passive, static heat sink that […]

  • Using Artificial Intelligence to Develop Electricity Load Forecasts

    Electricity is produced by a variety of generating units, each with different lead times and costs to be readied for service, and production costs once brought online. Because electricity is a commodity that

  • Developments in Energy Storage Could Spell the End of the Duck Curve

    The duck curve is named for its resemblance to a duck, with its peaks and valleys highlighting the effect solar production has on the power demanded from thermal generators and hydropower resources throughout

  • Pioneering Zero-Emission Natural Gas Power Cycle Achieves First-Fire

    First-fire has been achieved at NET Power’s supercritical carbon dioxide (sCO₂) power plant—a test facility in La Porte, Texas, to demonstrate the potentially revolutionary natural gas–fueled Allam Cycle. The project is designed to produce low-cost electricity from natural gas while generating near-zero atmospheric emissions, including full CO₂ capture. NET Power, which is based in Durham, […]

  • DOE Lays Out How Power Sector Could Win the Cybersecurity Battle

    Cybersecurity threats are outpacing the energy sector’s “best defenses,” and costs of preventing and responding to cyber incidents are straining company efforts to protect critical infrastructure, the Department of Energy (DOE) warned as it released a comprehensive five-year cybersecurity strategy for the industry. The Multiyear Plan for Energy Sector Cybersecurity, dated March 2018 but which […]

  • M&I Electric announces $5M Dredge vessel power and control system project award

    HOUSTON, May 16, 2018 — American Electric Technologies, Inc., a leading provider of power delivery solutions for the global energy industry, announced today that its M&I Electric business has been awarded a $5M project award for a complete power and control system for a new dredge vessel for a leading US Gulf Coast dredging company. […]

  • Siemens Plans Temporary Shutdown of Power & Gas Division

    Siemens, one of the world’s largest turbine manufacturers, said it plans to temporarily shut its Power & Gas (PG) division operations worldwide in an effort to cut costs. The Germany-based energy giant in a May 7 news release said, “The shutdowns are part of a comprehensive package of measures, which also includes issues such as […]

  • Carboline Breaks Ground on New Fire Protective Lab

    St. Louis, Missouri, May 2, 2018 – Carboline has broken ground on a state-of-the-art full-scale passive fire protection testing facility at its Research, Development, & Innovation (RD&I) Center. This $4 million investment is scheduled to be complete by the end of the 2018 calendar year. The new space will be the first manufacturer owned UL-approved […]

  • Renewable Energy Storage Takes Off in Europe

    Just weeks after the 12th International Renewable Energy Storage Conference (IRES2018) concluded in Düsseldorf, Germany, newly announced figures from Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) confirmed that battery storage technologies coupled with rapidly expanding renewables are blunting new fossil fuel investments. BNEF’s 2017 figures show that over $330 billion was invested in renewables with comparative costs […]

  • Could Advanced Reactor Technology Save the Nuclear Industry?

    Constructing a new nuclear power plant is a massive undertaking. It involves years of planning and countless hurdles just to get the necessary regulatory approval to break ground. Once physical work begins

  • MHPS Will Convert Dutch CCGT to Run on Hydrogen

    Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems (MHPS) in March said it would work with the Netherlands Carbon-Free Gas Power project to support the conversion of the country’s 1.32-GW Magnum gas-fired power plant to run

  • Distributed Gas Generation: Big Power in Small(er) Packages

    The traditional electricity grid is being transformed, as more businesses look to control their costs by producing their own power. A need for reliable backup power, the push for more resiliency in generation

  • Offshore Wind May Finally Be Here (Really)

    New low prices for offshore wind energy projects in Europe have excited policymakers up and down the East Coast about prospects in the U.S. and emboldened some to finally pull the trigger on long-mooted plans