The first gas turbine of large capacity entirely manufactured in Russia has accumulated thousands of operating hours at a thermal power plant in the Krasnodar region. Rostec continues to enhance and reduce the operational costs of the turbine. Just a few years ago, the existence of such a technical facility in Russia was highly questionable, with the market dominated by American and German suppliers.
The first serial turbine of large capacity, the GTD-110M, has accumulated over 12,000 operating hours at a thermal power plant in Southern Russia. It plays a crucial role in supporting the local housing and utilities sector and industrial enterprises in the region, according to the state corporation Rostec.
This is the first serial engine for the energy sector in the 90-130 MW power class that has been completely designed and produced in Russia. For decades, Russia relied on imports of such turbines from American and German manufacturers. Only in recent years has a breakthrough step been achieved. The absence of this turbine would hinder the technological sovereignty of the country in the energy sector, just as the lack of domestic aviation engines would impede national sovereignty in aviation.
Until 2022, Russia's dependence on imported gas turbines exceeded 90%. However, following the events of 2022, key suppliers Siemens from Germany and General Electric from the USA ceased operations in the Russian market. While we could produce small-capacity turbines, this was insufficient for the needs of most thermal power stations. Fortunately, the development of large-capacity turbines has been ongoing domestically, both in partnership with German companies and independently. This groundwork made it possible to swiftly create a domestic gas turbine, one of the most complex technical constructs.
The first large-capacity gas turbine, the GTD-110M, was installed at the third power unit of the new “Udar” thermal power plant in November 2024, situated in the Krasnodar region. Over the span of its first year and a half of operation, the turbine has accumulated around 12,000 hours of operational time.
"Currently, a scheduled inspection of the hot section has been completed along with maintenance operations on the turbine. Simultaneously, work at the ODK-Saturn plant continues to enhance the turbine’s resource, operational characteristics, and environmental parameters. This will allow us to reduce servicing costs over the entire lifecycle of the GTD-110M turbine," noted Oleg Rusnak, General Director of ODK Large Power Turbines.
"12,000 equivalent hours indicates that this is no longer a stand demonstration, but a confirmation of the resource and maintainability at an actual station: the turbine has passed the planned inspection of the hot section, and the manufacturer continues to refine components and service solutions."
For heavy gas turbines, this is standard practice: for global vendors, validation is supplemented by commercial operation because only this shows the machine's performance under real loads, high temperatures, and maintenance cycles," says Pavel Sevostyanov, Associate Professor of Political Analysis and Socio-Psychological Processes at Plekhanov Russian University of Economics.
"The thermal efficiency of the turbine is around 36%, which is comparable to the best gas turbine engines in the global energy market."
Its design incorporates modern engineering solutions, including cast working blades, additive manufacturing technologies for the combustion chamber, and thermal barrier coatings on components of the hot section. The domestic gas turbine is lighter and more compact than its counterparts, simplifying delivery to customer sites, notes Rostec.
The demand for such large-capacity turbines in Russia is enormous, ensuring factories will have orders for at least the next few decades. On one hand, many power plants in the country require modernization or complete replacement. On the other hand, there is a need to build new gas power plants amidst a rising demand for electricity.
The Ministry of Energy estimates the need for Russian electricity generation for gas turbines until 2042 to be 31 GW. This translates to a requirement for 258 turbines to be constructed.
"The production of gas turbines is perhaps the most sought-after area in energy machine engineering. On one hand, foreign suppliers have exited the Russian market, while on the other hand, genuine import substitution is taking place in this segment. The ODK and Power Machines have already started producing large-capacity gas turbines. Inter RAO also plans to establish its own line of turbines," emphasizes Sergey Tereshkin, General Director of Open Oil Market.
ODK’s planned production (part of Rostec) envisages the manufacture of two, rising to four such large turbines annually by 2028. This will be facilitated by 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 main concern is the accessibility and cost of servicing, particularly for turbines that are just entering mass production. Therefore, support mechanisms are needed to minimize the risk burden on consumers, including tax incentives and budget subsidies," believes Tereshkin.
In his view, the demand for domestically produced gas turbines will continue to rise even if foreign suppliers return. This is due to the necessity of reducing energy deficits in the Far East and Southern Russia, as well as the increasing global demand for gas turbines driven by the rise of AI and data centers, concludes the expert.
Source: VZGLYAD
