The GE Brief: June 15, 2021
RISING TO THE CHALLENGE
How do you build the most advanced aircraft engines while cutting carbon emissions? GE Aviation and Safran Aircraft Engines have done it for nearly 50 years through CFM International, a 50-50 joint venture that continues to revolutionize the aviation industry. On Monday, the pair announced they are extending their partnership to 2050 and launching the Revolutionary Innovation for Sustainable Engines (RISE) program to develop an engine that will use 20% less fuel and produce 20% fewer CO2 emissions than most efficient jet engines built today.
How to start a revolution: “This technology development program demonstrates the commitment GE and Safran share for achieving ambitious goals for a more sustainable future,” says Travis Harper, the GE product manager on the CFM RISE program. "I also spend a lot of time with airlines and lessors trying to understand their strategies for the renewal of their fleets, coupled with their strategies to be more sustainable, and how our future products can help address their needs both in the immediate term and after 2050,” Harper says.
Find out more about the RISE program here.
THE FUTURE OF FLIGHT
Since the first engines developed by CFM International entered service in the early 1980s, the joint venture between GE and Safran Aircraft Engines has reduced their fuel consumption and CO2 emissions by 40%, compared with the engines that were replaced. Now CFM plans to slash those numbers by another 20%, which would represent the greatest decarbonization gain the partners have ever achieved. Their ambitious vision depends on big advancements in engine architecture and technology.
Materials science: The program's open-rotor engine concept could produce significant gains in propulsive efficiency while slashing fuel burn and carbon emissions by incorporating advanced materials such as carbon fiber composites in the fan blades; ceramic matrix composites, which have already been tested in the engine cores of CFM’s LEAP and the GE9X; hybrid-electric systems; 3D-printed parts; and more.
Take a look at our infographic here.
FIRST LINE OF DEFENSE
First responders arriving at an emergency scene in the future may be able to take a device smaller than a smartphone out of their pockets and use it to help them confirm that the air is safe to breathe. GE Research has announced that it’s working with the Department of Defense (DOD) Threat Reduction Agency on a Compact Vapor Chemical Agent Detector (CVCAD) that could give an instant heads-up to first responders. The technology could also be adapted for wearable devices, unpiloted drones and wireless sensor networks.
Detecting a trend: The new sensor joins a growing family of similar devices being developed at GE Research under the leadership of principal scientist Radislav Potyrailo. Potyrailo and his team have developed gas sensors, already in commercial use, that can be installed at oil and gas facilities to detect methane leaks, a potent greenhouse gas. This spring, the team announced it is working on a sensor smaller than a fingertip that could help users find viruses, like the one that causes COVID-19, and other pathogens in the air. “This [work] should be an important step in reaching the desired performance of detect-to-warn devices for DOD applications,” Potyrailo says.
Learn more about GE Research’s advanced sensing technologies here.
GLOBAL WIND DAY
Global Wind Day, which is celebrated on June 15, is an annual event organized by WindEurope, the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC) and various national associations “to introduce the general public to wind energy through a series of activities.” The organizers say that “it is a day for discovering wind, its power and the possibilities it holds to reshape our energy systems, decarbonize our economies and boost jobs and growth.” GE Renewable Energy has become a leading player both in onshore and offshore wind. Take a look at our recent stories covering massive offshore and onshore projects in the U.S., U.K., and Europe, as well as technologies like the Haliade-X, the largest offshore wind turbine ever built.
Winds of change: GE is also helping take the industry into the future. The company recently unveiled a design for a floating offshore wind turbine that could unlock wind’s potential in deeper water. The company is also working on powerful superconductive generators that could allow wind farm operators to produce more electricity and exploring ways to 3D-print parts of wind turbine towers and wind turbine blades.
THE COOLEST THINGS ON EARTH ?
1. Cellular Fountain Of Youth?
Researchers discovered that a “promising anti-aging substance” can change how DNA molecules are arranged inside cells and provide “new possibilities for targeted therapeutic interventions against aging.”
2. Look Ma, No Wires!
MIT engineers found a new way to generate electricity using only carbon particles and liquid solvent — no complicated chemistry or wires required.
3. Send In The Messengers
Pharma researchers are exploring messenger RNA (mRNA), the technology behind some approved and effective COVID-19 vaccines, in early vaccine trials for HIV, seasonal flu and other viruses.
Learn more here about this week’s Coolest Things On Earth.
— QUOTE OF THE DAY —
“Our most sustainable solutions — the ones that provide the greatest benefit — require an open-fan architecture, as a matter of physics. While we are exploring other potential architectures, they cannot deliver the same level of fuel burn and CO2 emissions improvement that we could achieve with an open fan.”
—Travis Harper, GE product manager on the CFM RISE program
Quote: GE Reports. Images: CFM International, GE Reports, GE Research, GE Renewable Energy.