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Anthony Brough, P.E. provides business development support for CRDX. He can be reached at abrough@CRDXS.com.

A high-level overview of the centrifugal compressors market.

Centrifugal Compressors: The 'Business End' of Many Critical Industries

Hydrogen plays a significant role in decarbonizing power generation.

Hydrogen Turbines in Power Generation

Greg Gammon, Director of Global and Corporate Partnerships at Texas A&M’s Engineering Experiment Station, gave us a detailed and historical account of College Station’s Turbomachinery Laboratory and its associated programs during our tour in mid-February.

Gammon addressed the Lab’s extensive industry partnerships and research consortia, as well as the role of symposia and short-course programs in shaping students’ and professionals’ education.

Greg Gammon of Texas A&M says that partnerships across hydraulics, vibration, power, and propulsion allow for direct industry engagement.

Texas A&M’s Turbo Lab Broadens Education with Industry Partnerships, Symposiums

TURBO: What external relationships/partnerships does the lab have with the industry?

The laboratory has numerous external industry partners through our sponsored research, which also includes government entities. We run two research consortia, including the Turbomachinery Research Consortia, which has industry and government partners. We’re also establishing the Energy and Propulsion Research Consortia. That’s on our research side.

On the workforce development side, we have the Turbomachinery & Pump Symposium (TPS), which brings together all major players and support companies in rotating equipment to Houston every year. We have Asia TPS (ATPS) in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia—another set of industry partners.

We also have partnership agreements with the Global Power and Propulsion Society, the Hydraulic Institute, and the Vibration Institute so that we have a holistic ability to engage with industry through those avenues.

TURBO: How do the symposia and short-course programs translate into the real world?

We always say that our principal product at the Turbomachinery Lab is educating students. Not only the master’s and PhD students here at the laboratory, but everyone is a lifelong student, and continuing education is extremely important. Coming to TPS in Houston, ATPS in Kuala Lumpur, or the various multi-day short courses allows people to continue their education path and improve their knowledge across various avenues and topics.

, featuring a tour of Texas A&M’s Turbomachinery Laboratory.

B roll video credit: Texas A&M University Division of Marketing & Communications

GE Vernova’s HA Combined-Cycle Assets Power Pulau Indah Plant

In our final video from PowerGen 2025 with Jeffrey Benoit, Vice President of Clean Energy Solutions at PSM - a Hanwha company, and Bobby Noble, Senior Program Manager, Gas Turbine R&D – EPRI, the duo talks about the future of and what a decarbonized electric grid may look like, how OEMs are answering the call to create more power to satisfy demand coming from data centers, and availability versus sustainability.

Bobby Noble of EPRI says gas turbines are “well sought after” thanks to data center power demands and shifts in the energy portfolio mix. 

A Decarbonized Electric Grid is a Mix of Gas Turbines, Low-Carbon Fuels, Renewables

TURBO: In 10 years, what may the decarbonized electric grid look like?

 Ten years from now seems like a long time, but it's really not. Many projects take five to 10 years to develop and actually come full circle. It's one of those deals where, 10 years from now, we really need to start today. We're seeing capabilities being extended for utilizing low-carbon fuels, and we are starting to see some of these examples. When we think about the mix and what the future looks like, we have to think about gas turbines, low-carbon fuels, and carbon capture. Still, we also need to think about how renewables will continue to grow—wind and solar— and energy storage options and how those play into the mix. Lastly, nuclear, advanced nuclear, and small modular reactors —all these advancements that we need to be working on and focusing on today must be part of that mix in the future.

Gas turbines are playing an even more crucial role in ensuring the reliability and flexibility of our power-production landscape and portfolio in the United States. When we look at decarbonization on an overall basis, tremendous quantities of renewables are being put in place that can destabilize the grid. And gas turbines can provide that underpinning of reliability. Battery storage will also be very important in handling the microvoltage variations in various parts of the grid. Hydrogen for power production will be enabled mostly by the oil and gas industry. Here we are in Dallas, but right here in Texas, there are tremendous investments by the oil and gas industries and by those moving hydrocarbons, ammonia, and natural gas around. This is where I believe the genesis of the decarbonized power for gas turbines is going to happen.

Check out our first two videos with Jeff and Bobby! 

Gas Turbines are Centerstage in the Energy Future 

Gas Turbines Evolving to Reduce Technical Barriers, But Go-to-Market Challenges Remain

Conference Coverage

Jeffrey Benoit, Vice President of Clean Energy Solutions at PSM - a Hanwha company, and Bobby Noble, Senior Program Manager, Gas Turbine R&D – EPRI, spoke to

at PowerGen 2025 in downtown Dallas. The duo discussed roadblocks with lower-carbon fuel supply, how technology is not standing in the way of advancing gas turbines in the new energy era, and, as Noble said, “Carbon capture is just another tool in our toolbox” of developing a cleaner energy landscape.

Jeffrey Benoit of PSM says there are no big technical barriers, “it’s a matter of getting these technologies into products and commercially operated gas turbines.”

Gas Turbines Don’t Suffer from Technical Roadblocks, Just To Market 

TURBO: Are there any policy- or technology-related roadblocks for gas turbines during the clean energy transition?

 When we think about roadblocks, there are technical aspects and certain limitations for as-found gas turbines. But then, of course, there's the entire supply chain for the hydrogen. Where is hydrogen or ammonia or other low-carbon/no-carbon fuel coming from? Those are challenges that are being addressed by other parts of the industry. As we focus on the gas turbine itself, it's really just the continual development of capabilities.

 One of the great things that we're focused on is we, from a technology standpoint, don't see any significant barriers. It is simply a just a matter of putting the pedal to the metal and getting these technologies into products, validated, not only in 10th full-pressure, full-condition test rigs but also into gas turbines that are operating in a commercial environment and finding that partner with an operator—that is part of the DNA of PSM. A lot of our capabilities and products have been done with these true innovators looking to put first-of-a-kind types of technology. So, when it comes to fuel flexibility and optionality, this is an area we are very focused on. It's just a matter of focusing on it and getting it done. We know the hydrogen economy; the ammonia economy is coming; we want to be right there and make it as seamless as possible for the end users, particularly those in power, to take advantage of this.

TURBO: How does carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) fit into this developing energy landscape?

 Carbon capture is another tool in our toolbox. So, when we think about options, this is yet another option. As Jeff and some of our other panelists pointed out this morning, as we're looking at 

the role of the gas turbine in the future

, we think about a base-loaded combined cycle unit that may not be the ideal place to utilize hydrogen or ammonia, simply because of the sheer amounts of fuel needed for those gas turbines. So, if this unit is a unit that will be base-loaded, carbon capture can play a crucial role in ensuring that that unit becomes a carbon-free asset that we need for the future. At EPRI, we're doing a lot of work in the space of CCS. We've been involved in a couple of demonstrations, particularly right now a lot of the work full-scale-wise has been around coal units. But we're continuing to move in and looking at opportunities for gas turbines and to continue to push the capabilities there further, so as we see this continuing to progress as in parallel, we're progressing the capability for utilizing low-carbon fuels.

Check out Benoit and Noble's video interview,

 Gas Turbines are Centerstage in the Energy Future

During our visit to PowerGen 2025 in downtown Dallas, 

Jeffrey Benoit, Vice President of Clean Energy Solutions at PSM - a Hanwha company

, and Bobby Noble, Senior Program Manager, Gas Turbine R&D at EPRI, about gas turbine-equipped power plants, hydrogen- and ammonia-fueled 

, and other updates and advancements in the industry.

Jeff Benoit and Bobby Noble discuss the reliability and flexibility of gas turbines and how they satisfy many needs within power generation. 

TURBO: With increasing renewable energy penetration, how will existing gas turbine-equipped power plants be modified to support an intermittent grid?

 With the increased penetration of renewables, one thing we have to continue to focus on is the resiliency and reliability of the grid. Anytime you put an asset onto the grid that is not dispatchable and to the controls outside of your home, there are challenges. So, one of the things for gas turbines is filling that dispatchable need and being flexible and able to respond.

 For me, my company is responsible for retrofits, conversions, and upgrades for the installed fleet of gas turbines. So, one of the things that we're doing, and being asked for by our customers, is how to improve operational flexibility, how to improve efficiency, how to provide peaking power while maintaining emission compliance. All these technologies that we have can be manifested in products that can be easily dropped into these gas turbines, and you need that resiliency and the ability to modify the operational profile to balance renewables.

TURBO: What role will hydrogen- and ammonia-fired gas turbines play in a decarbonized future? What are the latest developments in these fields?

 Hydrogen and ammonia add to our optionality, which is going to be key as we look at the needs for decarbonization. These fuels act not only as fuel and a potential fuel replacement for gas turbines but also as an energy-storage mechanism. Coupled with energy storage and the energy released at dispatchable opportunities, these will continue to be an avenue to help us have that resilient and reliable future.

 Fuel flexibility with hydrogen, refinery off-gas, or ammonia is just a natural extension of the flexibility inherent in the gas turbines. We are focused on combustion retrofits that allow hydrogen consumption up to 100%. So, think about this: meeting emissions requirements, with the ability to operate on 100% natural gas all the way with a variable blend up to 100% hydrogen—these are products that we've spent years and years developing in our test facility in Germany to make sure that we're not going to cause any issues with the operation of the power plant. Of course, the other side of the equation is where is the hydrogen or ammonia going to come from?

Check out our other two interviews with Jeff and Bobby on 

Scott DeNeale, a Water Resources Engineer at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, spoke with 

 about the lab’s current research projects in hydropower and how there’s been a shift toward retrofitting dams and modular designs: The era of building large new dams is largely over. The focus is now on improving existing infrastructure with modular, low-head hydropower solutions that can be more easily integrated and deployed. The lab is also exploring the use of metal additive manufacturing to create standardized and efficient Francis turbines, potentially reducing costs and lead times compared to traditional custom-built turbines.

TURBO: Can you tell us a little about Oak Ridge National Lab?

 Oak Ridge National Laboratory is the largest multi-program science and technology laboratory in the United States. It's managed by UT Battelle but is owned by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). As part of my research, I do a lot of work for hydropower. The research and development that I do touch on a lot of different things. We look at grid integration, markets, reliability, performance, hydrology and hydraulics, water management, biodiversity and ecosystem science. We look at technological advancement as well.

TURBO: What recent advancements have you seen in turbomachinery used in hydropower technology and pumped storage hydropower technology?

 Conventional hydropower—what we would speak to is the age of the big dams is over, so a lot of what we're looking at is retrofitting existing dams, replacing units, or adding new units to existing dams. And there's an area looking at canals and conduits as well. So, some of the advancements I've seen are geared toward the existing infrastructure, which has largely low-head or low-pressure potential. It’s a slightly different design used to capture that design point. Another area is modular technologies and standard technologies. Conventionally, many turbines are custom-built, so the ability to have a standard design that could be plug-and-play has been of interest. We've had some research related to that over the past 10 years, working with industry on advancing their concepts as well.

For pumped storage … I would refer you to a report from some of my friends at Argonne National Laboratory. They have done some great documentation of innovations—a lot of it's conceptual for pumped storage but some cool innovations there. However, there has been no new pumped storage since 2012. And, even with that, that was a very small project. So, since the mid-nineties, there really hasn’t been much of anything in terms of new pumped storage, but there is a great demand for it.

TURBO: You mentioned two technological advancements: modular technology and low head. Can you elaborate on those and any industry trends you’re seeing overall?

 A lot of existing and older hydropower plants used higher head technology. Low head is a different type of turbine—a bulb or Kaplan design works better for those low heads than a Francis or Pelton turbine. Those are relatively established technologies, but getting below 20 feet of head is a challenge, so a lot of smaller companies are trying to innovate in that space.

From the modular standpoint, the idea is to capitalize on the existing infrastructure. There are over 90,000 dams in the United States that are documented, and only 3% of those are hydropower dams, so there's an incredible number of existing dams that could be tapped for hydro. All may not be suitable, but we've seen thousands that really could be easily tapped; many are even at federal facilities. Some damn designs are standard where even a single design could plug in with the existing water conveyances—pipes or spillways or different water conveyances that could be tapped to convey that water through a turbine. As such, modular designs are of interest.

We’ve worked with four different companies on our standard modular hydropower project to advance modular concepts. Of those, two were related to fish passage, and one was related to sediment passage. Natel Energy is focused on fish-friendly technology for generating hydropower, for example. It’s called the FishSafe Hydropower Turbine, and the idea is they can pass fish through a high-speed, high-rotation turbomachine without mortality and safely pass the fish through 98 - 100% of the time. It’s a game changer in the industry and an exciting opportunity to work with them.

TURBO: What are you most excited about in this space?

Hydropower has been around for roughly 150 years, so it’s an old industry. The preconception is that it's mature and we already know everything, but that's not true. There are a lot of opportunities to complement new generation with environmental compatibility to make sure we’re sustainably doing things. It’s exciting watching the next generation of the workforce. I've worked with students, teachers, and interns here at the lab, and it's cool to see them learn about hydropower for the first time. This is an engineering discipline that sits in between two really important resources: water and electricity. Both of those are essential to civilization as a whole and advanced societies. Just working at Oak Ridge National Lab, we have somewhere around 7,000 employees with wide-spanning capabilities. We touch on 24 of the 25 core capabilities that the DOE defines.

Material science is a legacy capability that we've had at the lab. We've been able to work heavily leveraging the DOE’s manufacturing demonstration facility. It's a user facility here in Knoxville, just outside of the Oak Ridge area, but the Oak Ridge National Laboratory manages it. We’ve collaborated with the Manufacturing Demonstration Facility staff, who are experts in advanced manufacturing materials. This is an evolving space where technology continues to advance. Through this, our hydropower technical collaboration program largely targets technology developers who can come to us at the lab and say, “Hey, we have this concept, and we'd like to see if there are opportunities to advance the concept—speed up development or make it more cost-effective or both by using advanced manufacturing or new materials.”

Another program we’re working on is Rapid RUNNERS, in collaboration with numerous people, including Voith—one of the largest turbine manufacturers for hydropower—the Tennessee Valley Authority, and other entities. It uses metal additive manufacturing to manufacture Francis turbines that are inherently very complex. Basically, we 3D print using metal to build sophisticated turbomachines, starting with a 0.4-meter diameter design and then increasing to 1.5 meters and then eventually 4.3 meters, so you’re talking about a ton of metals that are being deposited to build these machines. The goal is to do it quicker to demonstrate this can be done cost-effectively.

To hear the full interview with Scott DeNeale, 

Oak Ridge National Lab is advancing hydropower and using additive manufacturing to build sophisticated turbomachines. 

Anthony Brough

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