The GE Brief: September 1, 2021

CATALYST GETS ONE STEP CLOSER

The aviation world has been eagerly awaiting the launch of the Beechcraft Denali single-engine turboprop, which will be powered by GE Aviation’s Catalyst engine. Last week the high-performance plane got one step closer to taking wing. At its west campus in Wichita, Kansas, Textron Aviation completed its first ground engine run of the Denali. More ground tests will follow, and by the end of 2021 the company plans to take the Denali on its inaugural flight, with an eye toward delivering to customers as soon as 2023.
 
Why the Catalyst matters: Developed by a team of 400 aviation engineers throughout Europe, the Catalyst engine employs advanced technologies never before used in GE turboprops, such as the variable-geometry compressor vanes originally developed for supersonic engines. The Catalyst boasts a computer system called a FADEC that will give turboprop pilots more of the autonomy enjoyed by jet pilots. The engine could also use sustainable aviation fuel and will feature a digital pressurization system that will make passengers cruising at 30,000 feet feel like they’re at just 6,000 feet, providing an experience more akin to flying a business jet than a turboprop plane.
 
See the news on the Denali’s milestone here, and learn more about the Catalyst engine here.

THIS LONDON POWER PLANT IS BURNING CLEANER
 
Bringing more renewable energy online is one way to address climate change. But when the wind stops blowing, countries and utilities need a way to keep the lights on. This is where natural gas can play an important role — and it’s why the Enfield Power Station in London just got its upgrade.
 
Making quick work: The upgrade of Enfield’s gas turbine, which engineers tested with more than 2,000 new sensors, is the most advanced overhaul GE has implemented on its GT26 gas turbine. Just a 2% performance boost could lead to as much as $4 million in annual fuel savings at baseload. When connected to a steam turbine in the so-called combined cycle regime, the efficiency of upgraded plants can approach 60%. GE Gas Power has finalized deals for GT26 HE upgrades (the HE stands for “high efficiency”) in Singapore and Argentina. “With the world shifting towards a lower-carbon future, improving energy efficiency while increasing power output is a key way to generate more energy per unit of fuel with lower carbon emissions,” said Amit Kulkarni, head of product management for heavy duty gas turbines at GE Gas Power.
 
Find out more about the Enfield plant’s revamping here.

A PROJECT WITH HEART
 
In 1992, Beat Richner, a Zurich-based pediatrician and concert cellist, set up the Kantha Bopha Foundation in Cambodia to bring better medical treatment to children in that country. The situation was dire; 1 in 5 kids didn’t survive past their fifth birthday. The foundation, funded mostly by Swiss donors and staffed by Cambodian doctors, was a huge success and helped lower the country’s child mortality rate by 78%. But until recently, one thing was still lacking: a sophisticated imaging system that could noninvasively diagnose and treat children with cardiac conditions and other diseases.
 
Yes, we scan: This year Kantha Bopha installed an MRI scanner from GE at its hospital in Siem Reap. “Kantha Bopha wanted state-of-the-art imaging, allowing Cambodian children to receive exactly the same quality of diagnosis that children in Switzerland might receive,” explains Dr. Christian Kellenberger, professor of pediatric radiology and radiologist in chief at the Children’s Hospital Zurich–Eleonore Foundation. With the MRI now up and running, Dr. Denis Laurent, general director of Kantha Bopha, says the best way of honoring Richner’s legacy is by continuing to improve outcomes for Cambodia’s children: “Dr. Richner was a unique pediatrician who had a vision of justice for every child.”
 
Read more about how MRI is coming to the rescue in Cambodia here.

— QUOTE OF THE DAY —

“More power enables the aircraft-maker to design a bigger, more comfortable cabin and build a plane that can fly fast at high altitude. But not only can I fly fast, I burn less fuel and emit less CO2. We know how to do it because we’ve done all of that on the big engines.”
— Paul Corkery, general manager for turboprop engines at GE Aviation

Quote: GE Reports. Images: Textron, GE Gas Power, Kantha Bopha Foundation.