This Compact, Emission-Free Gas Turbine Is Rocket Science
Key takeaways
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- Brad Hartwig, a former SpaceX rocket engineer, thinks he can solve the problem – and cut carbon emissions at the same time.
- Normally, when you burn natural gas and air in a regular gas turbine, you also get CO2 and water, but you also get a whole lot of hot air.
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3D printed turbine components Arbor Energy Welcome back to Current Climate. Spiking demand for electricity from data centers and stressed urban grids is boosting installations of large solar and battery storage systems, but there’s still a huge need for reliable base power generation to supplement renewable power. Natural gas plants fill that role, but demand for new turbines far outstrips supply, leading to wait times of five years or more from manufacturers such as Siemens and GE Vernova.
Brad Hartwig, a former SpaceX rocket engineer, thinks he can solve the problem – and cut carbon emissions at the same time. Arbor, his Los Angeles-area startup, developed a turbine that’s about a fifth the size of conventional units and that can be made relatively fast using 3D printers. Its rocket engine-inspired design has the added benefit of making it easy to capture carbon dioxide for sequestration. It even produces water as a byproduct.