GE Investor Update: Technology milestones and commercial wins

First and foremost, I hope you and your families are remaining safe and healthy as we all continue to navigate through the impact of COVID-19. While the current global environment remains challenging, GE continues to innovate and deliver for its customers in support of essential industries. The businesses are doing this while making progress on our plans to deliver on $2 billion of cost out and $3 billion of cash preservation actions to mitigate the financial impact of COVID-19 in 2020.  

As we have frequently shared in the past, I wanted to take a moment to highlight a handful of recent technology milestones and impactful commercial wins across our portfolio that will help GE emerge stronger on the other side of this pandemic. In addition to the highlights shared below, this morning we announced that we closed the sale of GE lighting to Savant Systems, Inc., which marks another step in our multi-year transformation. Separately, the President and CEO of our Digital business Pat Byrne recently shared his reflections on his first year at GE after joining us from Fortive, including how GE Digital is using lean. As Pat mentions in his remarks, "Lean and Digital are both powerful drivers for transformation. Using digital technologies to enable business process transformation across GE businesses is a priority for our work going forward." You can read more about Pat and his team's lean efforts here. 

As a reminder, we will provide an update on our second quarter performance during the upcoming GE earnings call on July 29th at 8:00 AM ET. Materials and webcast information will be posted to GE’s investor website ahead of the event.

Thanks for your continued interest in GE, and please stay safe.

Steve

Innovating to support customers in the fight against COVID-19

In the United Kingdom, GE Healthcare and the University of Oxford-led National Consortium of Intelligent Medical Imaging (NCIMI) are working together to develop and test algorithms to aid in the diagnosis and management of COVID-19 pneumonia. The program will focus on developing, enhancing and testing potential algorithms to help diagnose COVID-19 pneumonia. These algorithms will help predict which patients will develop severe respiratory distress (a key cause of mortality in patients who develop COVID-19 pneumonia) and which patients might develop longer term lung function problems, even when they recover from respiratory distress.

Separately, GE Aviation has launched a new health credential application named Health Application ID. The tool utilizes secure Blockchain technology which allows airlines and airports to set test result protocols and check the compliance to new COVID-19 medical screening for employees and passengers. Additionally, the offering is flexible and medical-test agnostic, which enables airlines to adapt as regulation and science evolves.

“GE Aviation’s business model is predicated on airlines flying GE engines,” says David Havera, general manager of GE Aviation’s blockchain solutions. “Therefore we are doing everything we can to get passengers back into the air as soon as possible.”

You can read more about GE’s global COVID-19 efforts here.

GE Aviation’s Military business continues to see strong global demand

Earlier this week GE Aviation Distribution Japan was awarded a contract valued at 18.8 Billion Japanese Yen (USD $203 million) from the Japan Ministry of Defense (JMOD) for CF6-80C2K1F Propulsion Systems to power Japan Air Self-Defense Force C-2 transport aircraft. The contract includes 12 units with deliveries starting in late 2021. This represents a continuation of GE Aviation’s efforts to support a JMOD initiative to optimize its acquisition program and reduce costs.

GE Aviation has also been awarded a five-year, $180 million contract by the U.S. Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division (NAWCAD) to repair and overhaul T700 rotorcraft engines in support of the U.S. Navy’s MH-60 Seahawk, and the U.S. Marine Corps’ AH-1Z Viper and Bell UH-1Y Venom/Huey helicopters. The T700/CT7 family of turboshaft and turboprop engines power 15 types of helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft with more than 130 customers in more than 50 countries and has surpassed 100 million total flight hours.

Separately, GE Aviation delivered the first F414-GE-400K engine in May to Korea Aerospace Industries Limited (KAI) for South Korea’s next-generation indigenous fighter, known as the KF-X. KAI selected GE Aviation in May 2016 to supply F414-GE-400K engines for the KF-X fighter. GE’s F414 engine went into service in 1998 and has flown more than 4.6 million flight hours with more than 1,750 engines delivered.

GECAS delivers prototype for 777-300ERSF passenger-to-freighter conversion


Delivery of a 777-300ER in Tel Aviv which will undergo a passenger-to-freighter conversion by IAI. 

GE Capital Aviation Services (GECAS) has delivered a 777-300ER aircraft to Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) for the prototype passenger-to-freighter conversion as part of the “Big Twin” program announced last October. The aircraft was ferried from Dubai to Tel Aviv where it will undergo an extensive conversion including, among other modifications, the addition of the main deck cargo door, freighter lining, window plugs, a modified crew compartment, and a reinforced fuselage a 9G rigid cargo barrier.

The Big Twin will be powered by GE90 engines — the world’s most powerful in-service engine — giving the 777-300ERSF 21% lower fuel burn per ton than the 747-400F.

GE Renewable Energy expands global footprint with wins in Spain and China


An Eco-80 wind turbine.   
 
GE Renewable Energy has been selected by Naturgy for a 5-year full-service agreement (FSA) for the La Rabia Wind Farm in Spain that includes 13 Eco-80 turbines. GE will be providing full preventive and corrective maintenance tasks on these 13 units in addition to the 50 units of the same technology at Naturgy’s Pehimo Wind Farm, already under contract. According to the Spanish Wind Energy Association, Spain has over 25 GW of wind energy capacity, giving it the fifth largest installed base in the world.

Separately, GE Renewable Energy continues to grow its onshore wind energy business in China with its first contract with Power China Guizhou Engineering Co., Ltd to supply 12 units of 2.5-132 low-wind speed turbines for a 30 MW wind farm near Puyang city, China. The order includes a two-year service agreement and marks the first onshore wind contract in China with PowerChina, a long-term global EPC partner of GE. Construction of the project is planned to commence in the fourth quarter of 2020 and is expected to be fully operational by the end of 2020.

GE Renewable granted provisional type certificate for the Haliade-X and partners to develop 3D printed concrete bases


Haliade-X 12 MW prototype. 

GE Renewable Energy was recently granted a provisional type certificate from DNV-GL, an independent global certification body based in Norway, for the Offshore Haliade-X 12 MW prototype. This certification demonstrates that GE’s Haliade-X prototype has the highest safety and quality standards and provides evidence that its design is on-track to meet the full type certification requirements in the coming months. The prototype, located in Rotterdam, set a new world record in January 2020 by generating 288 MWh of continuous power in one day and was recognized as the Best Sustainable Invention of the Year by TIME magazine and Best Wind Turbine of the Year by Wind Power Monthly magazine.

Separately, GE Renewable Energy, COBOD and LafargeHolcim announced that they are partnering to develop wind turbines with optimized 3D printed concrete bases. Printing a variable height base directly on-site with 3D-printed concrete technology will enable the construction of towers up to 200 meters tall, which can increase energy production. For example, typically a 5 MW turbine at 80 meters generates 15.1 gigawatt hours (GWh) annually whereas the same turbine at 160 meters would generate 20.2 GWh, or more than 33% extra power. This innovative solution will also lower the Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE) of wind energy and optimize construction costs.

GE Gas Power reaches F-class milestone, achieves start of commercial operation in Mexico, and is selected to upgrade Italian power plant

 

Building on the success of the installation of GE's AGP at its Candela power plant in 2018, Edison chose GE to modernize Torviscosa 780-megawatt (MW) power plant in Italy. 

GE Gas Power is celebrating the 30-year anniversary of its 7F gas turbine technology which is core to GE’s Gas Power portfolio. Through three decades of reliable performance, GE has completed over 3,400 7F outages, from unplanned repairs to advanced performance upgrades, providing it with an unsurpassed understanding of the machine and the broader fleet. The 7F’s 60.4% efficiency has also set a new standard for F-class turbines, providing customers with lower fuel costs and features 99.3% reliability. Its installed base of 950+ units generates 150 gigawatts daily.

On a related note, Techint’s Norte III combined cycle power plant in Mexico achieved the start of commercial operation using four GE 7F.04 gas turbines and four GE H33 generators earlier this month. As part of the 25-year operations agreement, GE will provide a full spectrum of digital solutions, including GE’s Asset Performance Management and Operations Optimization solutions, to help predict and reduce unplanned downtime and improve power plant productivity. Alejandro Maluf, CEO Techint North America said, “We chose GE to collaborate with us on the Norte III plant because of its reliable technology and total plant-service solutions.”

GE Gas Power also continues to integrate upgraded technology with its customers to increase output and efficiency. Most recently, Gas Power was selected by Edison to modernize the Torviscosa 780 Megawatt (MW) power plant, located in Italy, with Advanced Gas Path (AGP) technology. This modernization builds on the successful installation of GE’s AGP technology at Edison’s Candela combined-cycle power plant in 2018. The modernization to the existing two GE 9F.03 gas turbines at Torviscosa will increase the plant’s output by more than 6% and its efficiency by around 1%.

Marco Stangalino, Executive Vice President of Edison's Power Asset Division, says, “We have had great success at our Candela plant by using GE’s AGP technology, with a significant increase of output and efficiency and now we are looking forward to the same benefits at our Torviscosa plant. GE is helping us to increase fuel savings, generation capacity, and, more importantly, our competitiveness in an evolving Italian energy segment.”

GE Power Conversion powers US Navy’s 1st full-electric power and propulsion ship


DDG 1000 class vessels are the U.S. Navy's first full-electric power and propulsion ships powered by GE Power Conversion. Image credit: U.S. Navy

Earlier this month, the U.S. Navy accepted the delivery of the USS Zumwalt, the Navy’s first full-electric power and propulsion ship. GE Power Conversion designed and provided the high-voltage (HV) system that drives power trains consisting of multiphase converters and advanced induction motors for the DDG 1000 class of destroyers.

Compared to a traditional mechanical solution, GE Power Conversion’s electric propulsion solution delivers greater efficiency, lower cost-of-ownership, and system redundancy for enhanced vessel safety. In addition, the machinery layout is more flexible and configurable for containment and isolation. Since 2007, GE has been the Original Equipment Manufacturer for HV system, installation, commissioning and servicing for the US Navy’s three DDG 1000 class vessels.