GE Conducts Outage, Inaugurates XEOS, Baker Hughes Executes Drilling, KHI Builds Demo Facility, LNGameChanger Develops Powertrain

Welcome to the second edition of the Turbomachinery News Network. I’m James Cook, assistant editor at Turbomachinery International.

GE Vernova and the Saudi Electricity Co. completed gas turbine outage and maintenance operations at the Riyadh 8 power plant. The outage was led by GE Vernova’s Gas Power One Field Services Team and supported the reliability and efficiency of the plant’s power generation assets.Saudi engineers and specialists conducted detailed planning and execution, established strict safety protocols, and delivered the project on schedule with GE Vernova’s Live Outage digital tool.

GE Aerospace and Lufthansa Technik recently inaugurated the XEOS engine maintenance, repair, and overhaul facility—a 35,000-square-meter facility that leverages GE Aerospace’s lean operating system, FLIGHT DECK, to deploy best practices in design and operation.XEOS is currently conducting LEAP-1B shop visits and LEAP-1A module work and engine testing, with plans to increase overhaul capacity and repair capability in the coming months.

Baker Hughes, under a multi-year contract with the Dubai Petroleum Establishment and Dubai Supply Authority, will execute integrated coiled-tubing drilling work at the Margham Gas Storage Project. The company will leverage its CoilTrak coiled-tubing bottomhole assembly system and under-balanced drilling expertise.

Kawasaki Heavy Industries (KHI) started building a hydrogen compressor demonstration facility at its Harima Works in Hyogo Prefecture, Japan. The facility will test the company’s new, world-first centrifugal hydrogen compressor for hydrogen liquefaction plants, the KM Comp-H₂. KHI expects to complete construction in November 2025, followed by one year of operational testing. The new machine achieves high-boosting performance through ultra-high-speed rotating technology, including KHI’s newly developed impeller, which optimizes a small molecular weight gas like hydrogen.

The HAV Group, Havila Voyages, Molgas Norway, and SINTEF established a consortium to decarbonize the maritime transport industry: LNGameChanger. Their main objective is to design, manufacture, test, and commercialize an LNG-fired power train that uses solid-oxide fuel cells and onboard CO₂ liquefaction and storage, meeting the CO₂-equivalent intensity of Norway’s 2045-2050 emission standards.