Siemens Energy Wins Steel Innovation Award
Erlangen, Germany, July 6, 2009 - The Siemens Energy Sector received the special award for "Climate protection with steel" at the German Steel Innovation Awards for its new SGT5-8000H gas turbine. The machine is deployed as a prime mover in combined cycle power plants. In combination with a steam turbine it will attain a world-record efficiency of over 60 percent. High efficiency levels are essential for saving fuels and thus conserving natural resources, and for significantly reducing CO2 emissions to protect the climate. Combined cycle power plants currently attain efficiencies of over 58 percent. An increase in efficiency of two percent points translates into annual CO2 savings totaling approximately 40,000 metric tons. That is equivalent to the CO2 emissions of approximately 10,000 mid-range automobiles clocking up 20,000 kilometers a year. Siemens invested approximately EUR500 million in development of the new turbine, construction of the gas turbine plant in Irsching and subsequent trial operation.
Approximately 95 percent of the new Siemens gas turbine weighing a total of 444 metric tons is made of steel. In spite of this these machines are not "heavy metal" but special "high tech" products, in which steel contributes toward climate and environmental protection. The new gas turbine is a unique combination of classic heavy mechanical engineering and ultramodern manufacturing technology. Miniscule parts and parts weighing several tons - in total more than 7000 individual parts - were assembled together using the most advanced methods with the precision of a watchmaker. The combustion chamber housing constitutes a manufacturing innovation. In addition, the new turbine features a number of design improvements such as an innovative air cooling system for the turbine blades and vanes, which are exposed to temperatures as high as 1500 degree C. The air cooling makes a significant contribution toward faster gas turbne startup. This is becoming increasingly important because modern power plants are more and more frequently deployed as a backup for wind farms.
The new Siemens H Class gas turbine has an output of approximately 340 megawatts (MW) in simple cycle operation. That is sufficient to provide electricity for the entire population of a city the size of Hamburg. In combined cycle duty the output will be approximately 530 MW, which would be enough to supply the city of Berlin with its more than 3 million inhabitants with eco-friendly electricity. The turbine was produced at the gas turbine manafacturing plant in Berlin, which has since 1972 delivered over 600 gas turbines for deloyment in power plants to customers in more than 60 countries around the globe.
High-efficiency gas turbines are an important feature of the Siemens environmental portfolio. In 2008, revenue from the products and solutions of Siemens environmental portfolio was nearly EUR19 billion, which is equivalent to around a quarter of Siemens total revenue.
The Siemens Energy Sector is the world's leading supplier of a complete spectrum of products, services and solutions for the generation, transmission and distribution of power and for the extraction, conversion and transport of oil and gas. In fiscal 2008 (ended September 30), the Energy Sector had revenues of approximately EUR22.6 billion and received new orders totaling approximately EUR33.4 billion and posted a profit of EUR1.4 billion. On September 30, 2008, the Energy Sector had a work force of approximately 83,500. Further information is available at: http://www.siemens.com/energy.
Press Photo Siemens AG, Energy Sector
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Gerda Gottschick
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