GE HA gas turbine available at 64 per cent efficiency

• 6 years ago (2017-12-06)
• David Flin

Gas 370 North America 996

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GE Power has announced that its largest and most efficient gas turbine, the HA, is available at over 64 per cent efficiency in combined cycle plants. This has been achieved largely through advances in additive manufacturing and combustion technology. This comes just 18 months after GE set a world record with the HA for powering the world’s most efficient combined cycle power plant at 62.22 per cent.

Joe Mastrangelo, President and CEO of GE’s Gas Power Systems, said: “The HA is our most advanced gas turbine technology, and we’ve never stopped pushing the boundaries of what it can do. With the ability to deliver 64 per cent efficiency, GE is proud to achieve an industry first and offer customers the most efficient gas turbine technology available in the world today.”

GE’s long-term investments in additive manufacturing play an important role in the HA’s latest efficiency upgrades. Specifically, GE developed additively-manufactured components for the 9HA’s combustion system, using metal 3D-printing to unlock new geometries for better premixing of fuel and air, leading to greater efficiency. The new combustion system has already been successfully tested at full-load and full-speed at GE’s test stand in Greenville, South Carolina, USA.

As a result of these innovations, the 9HA.02 can now be quoted at 64.0 per cent net efficiency in specified conditions with a total output of 826 MW in 1x1 combined cycle configuration. Customers will be able to order 64.0 per cent machines in 2018.

GE Power said that it is on track to achieve 65.0 per cent efficiency by the early 2020s.