The first gas turbine of high capacity fully developed in Russia has operated for thousands of hours as part of a thermal power plant in the Krasnodar region. Rostec continues to enhance and reduce the maintenance costs of the turbine. Just a few years ago, the existence of such a technical facility in Russia was highly uncertain, as this market was dominated by American and German manufacturers.
The first serial high-capacity turbine, GTD-110M, has accumulated over 12,000 hours of operation at a thermal power plant in Southern Russia. This turbine is crucial in supporting the operation of the housing and utilities sector as well as industrial enterprises in the region, as reported by the state corporation Rostec.
This is the first serial power plant engine in the 90-130 MW class, which has been entirely designed and manufactured in Russia. For decades, Russia procured such turbines from American and German suppliers. It is only in recent years that a significant breakthrough has been achieved. Without this turbine, the technological sovereignty of the country in the fuel and energy sector would be unattainable, just as the sovereignty in aviation would be impossible without domestically produced aviation engines.
Until 2022, Russia's dependence on gas turbine imports exceeded 90%, but after 2022, major suppliers - Germany's Siemens and America's General Electric - ceased operations in Russia. While we could manufacture small-capacity turbines ourselves, this was insufficient for the majority of thermal power plants. Fortunately, work on high-capacity turbines has been ongoing in the country, both in partnership with German companies and independently. Thanks to these efforts, it was possible to produce a domestic gas turbine, which is considered one of the most complex technical constructions, so swiftly.
The first high-capacity gas turbine, GTD-110M, was installed at the third energy block of the new "Udarniy" thermal power plant in November 2024, located in the Krasnodar region. Over the past one and a half years of operation, the turbine has accumulated approximately 12,000 hours of usage.
“Currently, the scheduled inspection of the hot section is completed with the execution of maintenance operations for the turbine. Simultaneously, at the 'ODK-Saturn' facility, work is ongoing to enhance the resource, improve its operational characteristics, and environmental parameters. This will help reduce maintenance costs throughout the life cycle of the GTD-110M turbine,” stated Oleg Rusnak, General Director of 'ODK-Powerful Turbines.'
“12,000 equivalent hours is no longer just a stand demonstration, but a confirmation of resource and reparability at a real station: the turbine has passed the scheduled inspection of the hot section, and the manufacturer continues to refine the components and service solutions.
For heavy gas turbines, this is a common practice: validation by global vendors is supplemented by commercial operation since only this demonstrates the machine's behavior under real load, heat, and repair cycles,” says Pavel Sevostyanov, Associate Professor at the Department of Political Analysis and Socio-Psychological Processes of Plekhanov Russian University of Economics.
The turbine's efficiency coefficient is approximately 36%, which is comparable to the best gas turbine engines for the energy sector on the global market.
The design incorporates modern engineering solutions, including cast working blades, additive technologies in the production of the combustion chamber, and thermal barrier coatings on elements of the hot section. The domestic gas turbine is lighter and more compact than its counterparts, which simplifies delivery to customer sites, according to Rostec.
The demand for such high-capacity turbines in Russia is immense, ensuring that factories will have orders for at least the next few decades. On one hand, many power plants in the country require modernization or even complete replacement. On the other hand, there is a growing need to build new gas power plants against the backdrop of increasing electricity demand.
The Ministry of Energy estimates the demand of the Russian electric power industry for gas turbines by 2042 at 31 GW. This means the necessity to construct 258 turbines.
“The production of gas turbines is perhaps the most demanded direction in energy engineering. On one side, foreign suppliers have exited the Russian market, while on the other side, genuine import substitution has begun to take effect in this segment. ODK and 'Power Machines' have already commenced the production of high-capacity gas turbines. 'Inter RAO' also plans to establish its own line of turbines,” notes Sergey Tereshkin, General Director of Open Oil Market.
ODK's production plans (part of Rostec) envision the manufacturing of two, and starting in 2028, four high-capacity turbines per year. This will become feasible due to the construction of a new mechanical assembly complex in Rybinsk.
“For turbine manufacturers, the key issue is the profitability of such production, and achieving it in the initial years without government support is challenging.
Conversely, for consumers, the critical question pertains to the availability and cost of service offerings, especially for turbines that are just entering mass production. Therefore, forms of support are necessary to minimize the risk burden on consumers, including tax benefits and budget subsidies,” believes Tereshkin.
In his view, the demand for domestically produced gas turbines will increase even if foreign suppliers return. This will be due to the need to reduce energy deficits in the Far East and the south of Russia, as well as the growing demand for gas turbines abroad, which is fueled by the boom in AI and data centers, concludes the expert.
Source: Vzgljad
