The U.S. Department of Energy, Washington, announces up to $28 million in funding for a new Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy program: ULtrahigh Temperature Impervious Materials Advancing Turbine Efficiency (ULTIMATE). The program will be managed by Program Director Dr. Z. Zak Fang, Fellow of ASM International.
The ULTIMATE program will develop and demonstrate ultrahigh temperature materials that can operate in high temperature and high stress environments of a gas turbine blade. Projects will specifically target gas turbine applications in the power generation and aviation industries.
Gas turbines are used for a variety of applications, from aerospace engines to industrial power generation. Natural gas turbines currently produce an estimated 35% of the electricity generated across the United States. Improving turbine efficiency will create opportunities to generate more energy savings, lower carbon emissions, and benefit the economy in these sectors, as well as across many other sectors.
According to ARPA-E Director Lane Genatowski, “The development of novel ultrahigh-temperature alloys, in conjunction with coatings and advanced manufacturing, will help to increase the efficiency of our nation’s power generation and aviation industries. Enabling turbines to operate at higher temperatures for longer sustained periods will result in significant reductions of both wasted energy and carbon emissions across many crucial power generation applications.”
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