Turbomachinery International: 2025 Handbook

The annual edition of Turbomachinery International’s Handbook has arrived. This issue is packed with market forecasts—for the power industry as a whole and gas turbines specifically—an expert from ETN Global’s market report on decentralized energy systems, a roundup of our coverage from Turbomachinery & Pump Symposia (TPS) 2024, and insights from our columnists: Turbo Tips and Myth Busters. The 2025 Handbook also includes a category index, a comprehensive directory, and equipment specifications.

The 2024 elections are weighing heavy on the power industry and companies that own and operate power generation assets. Although President Biden pushed many energy and environmental initiatives—including a zero-carbon power sector by 2035—Britt Burt and Brock Ramey, authors of our cover story, U.S. Power Industry Outlook 2025, make a strong supporting case that the United States is indeed not on “a one-way trip to a carbon-free electric future.”

The duo breaks down the power industry sectors: coal, natural gas, renewables, nuclear, microgrids, batteries, and beyond. With political uncertainty, delays in the planned retirement of coal-fired generators, record summer temperatures, and AI data centers skyrocketing electricity demands, Burt and Ramey expect 2025 - 2029 to be “extraordinarily choppy for the new-build U.S. power industry and those who service generators.”

Carter Palmer lays out the global gas turbine market for 2025, which he says is stable and will remain so among factors such as hydrogen, digitalization, and renewable energy. He says gas turbines offer a promising avenue for decarbonization through their adaptability to hydrogen fuel. However, the transition involves significant challenges, including adjustments to control systems, safety concerns, and economic considerations. In terms of digitalization, operators can gain valuable insights into turbine performance and health by utilizing sensors, data analytics, and artificial intelligence.

The integration of digital technologies is revolutionizing the operation and maintenance of gas turbines. - Carter Palmer

Giuseppe Tilocca, Scientific Officer at ETN Global, offers another perspective on gas turbines. Our Q&A conversation examines the association’s global report, Decentralized Energy Systems: Toward Carbon-Neutral Energy Solutions for Gas Turbines, which compares decentralized systems to centralized heat and power units and highlights its advantages—including modularity, the possibility to exploit waste heat avoiding energy transmission losses, and reducing energy distribution costs. Listen to our editor’s podcast conversation with Tilocca here.

TPS 2024 was a spotlight for emerging technologies. It tackled the latest challenges, solutions, and technologies in the turbomachinery industry. Our roundup show report gives readers a snapshot of our onsite reporting. Check out our comprehensive coverage, including session overviews, Q&As, video interviews, and more on our conference page.

Amin Almasi’s Turbo Tips column, Challenges with Dry Gas Seals for Turbocompressors, concludes that compressor seal systems are the most common culprit of unscheduled shutdowns. Check out the column to find out more. Additionally, the Myth Busters close out their two-part series on compressor maps and address the two extremes: surge and choke. Hear Klaus Brun and Rainer Kurz discuss compressor maps in part I and part II of the TurboTime Podcast.

Click here to view the 2025 Handbook.