The first high-power gas turbine built entirely in Russia has operated 12,000 hours as part of a thermal power plant in the Krasnodar Territory. Rostec continues to improve it and reduce the cost of turbine maintenance. Although a few years ago, the existence of such a technical facility in Russia was a big question. This market was divided between Americans and Germans.
The first serial high-power turbine, the GTD-110M, has operated more than 12,000 hours as part of a thermal power plant in Southern Russia. It helps to ensure the work of the housing and communal services sector and industrial enterprises in the region, Rostec State Corporation said.
This is the first production engine for power generation in the 90-130 MW class, which is fully developed and manufactured in Russia. For many decades, Russia has been purchasing such turbines from the Americans and Germans. And only in recent years has it been possible to make a breakthrough step forward. Without this turbine, the country's technological sovereignty in the fuel and energy sector is impossible, just as without its own aircraft engines, the country's sovereignty in the air is impossible.
Until 2022, Russia's dependence on gas turbine imports was more than 90%, but after 2022, the main suppliers – German Siemens and American General Electric – stopped working with Russia. We could only make low-power turbines ourselves, but this is not enough for most thermal power plants. It is good that work on high-capacity turbines inside the country was still carried out, both in partnership with the Germans and independently. Only thanks to this, it was possible to make a domestic gas turbine so quickly, which is considered one of the most complex technical structures.
The first high-capacity gas turbine GTD-110M was installed at the third power unit of the new Udarnaya TPP in November 2024. It is located in the Krasnodar Territory. And during these one and a half years of operation, the turbine has worked about 12 thousand hours.
"Currently, the planned inspection of the hot part has been completed with the performance of routine maintenance work on the turbine. At the same time, work continues at the ODK-Saturn enterprise to increase the resource, improve its operational characteristics and environmental parameters. This will reduce the cost of maintenance during the life cycle of the GTD-110M turbine," said Oleg Rusnak, CEO of UEC–High-Power Turbines.
"12,000 equivalent hours is no longer a poster demonstration, but a confirmation of resource and maintainability at a real plant: the turbine has passed a scheduled inspection of the hot part, and the manufacturer continues to refine components and service solutions. This is a normal practice for heavy-duty gas turbines.: For global vendors, validation is complemented by commercial operation, because it alone shows the behavior of a machine under real load, heat and repair cycles," says Pavel Sevostyanov, Associate professor at the Department of Political Analysis and Socio–Psychological Processes at the Russian University of Economics. Plekhanov.
The efficiency of the turbine is about 36%, which is comparable to the best gas turbine engines for energy on the world market. Its design uses modern engineering solutions, including cast impeller blades, additive technologies in the manufacture of the combustion chamber, thermal barrier coatings on the elements of the hot part. The domestic gas turbine is lighter and more compact than its analogues, which simplifies delivery to customer facilities, Rostec notes.
The demand for such high-capacity turbines in Russia will be huge, so factories will be inundated with orders for at least the next few decades. On the one hand, many power plants in the country are outdated and require modernization or even complete replacement. On the other hand, there is a need to build new gas-fired power plants amid rising demand for electricity.
The Ministry of Energy estimates the demand of the Russian electric power industry for gas turbines until 2042 at 31 GW. This means the need to build 258 turbines.
"The production of gas turbines is perhaps the most in–demand area in the energy engineering industry. On the one hand, foreign suppliers have left the Russian market, and on the other, import substitution has really started in this segment. UEC and Power Machines have already started producing high-power gas turbines. Inter RAO also plans to launch production of its line of turbines," said Sergey Tereshkin, CEO of Open Oil Market.
The production plans of UEC (part of Rostec) envisage the production of two, and from 2028 – four such large turbines per year. This will be possible due to the construction of a new mechanical assembly complex in Rybinsk.
"For turbine manufacturers, the key issue is the marginality of such production, and it is difficult to achieve it in the early years without government support. On the other hand, the key issue for consumers is the availability and cost of services, especially for turbines that are just starting mass production. Therefore, we need forms of support that would minimize the risk of burden on consumers, including through the provision of tax benefits and budget subsidies," Tereshkin believes.
In his opinion, the demand for Russian-made gas turbines will grow even if foreign suppliers return. This will happen due to the need to reduce energy shortages in the Far East and southern Russia, as well as the growing demand for gas turbines abroad, which is taking place against the background of the boom in AI and data centers, the expert concludes.
Olga Samofalova
