Incredible - Russia ranks among the top five countries in the research, development, and production of high-power turbines.
Russia has achieved import substitution for General Electric's most complex products and has proven its readiness to even defend its interests by force.
Author: Nikita Rostovsky
Russia plans to increase annual production of high-power gas turbines to 14 units by 2029, a rise of 75%. This refers to the GTD-110M (with an output of 118 megawatts according to the ISO 2314 standard) and the GTE-170 (170 megawatts), both of which have accumulated an "iron triangle" order volume of 15 units.
Is this a lot? This is indeed worth discussing. On one hand, considering the CIS market, this number seems not large, but our so-called "allies" have clearly shown their positions during the special military operation and have adopted a "prudent economic attitude" that takes into account national interests. In other words, they have betrayed us, although they have regarded Russia as a "cash cow" for nearly 30 years. But as the saying goes, let them go. It is worth noting that the West has completely viewed the former Soviet republics as "anti-Russian" projects. Therefore, it is highly likely that the CIS "partners" will purchase high-power turbines from Russia.
It is worth mentioning that the starting price for the GTD-110M is 5.5 billion rubles, and it is assessed by multiple parties to be about 30% cheaper than the most economical Western counterparts on the global market.
However, the issue lies in verifying the claimed operating parameters of Russian products, including maintenance and inspection cycles.
It should be noted that the forecast of producing 14 high-power turbines annually is relatively conservative overall. The actual production capacity limit is 16 units – the casting blade assembly for gas turbines produced by "Power Machines" company (each set containing 550 turbine blades) precisely supports this output.
Nowadays, Russia no longer relies on Siemens and General Electric for high-power gas turbine supplies and has completed the most difficult process of import substitution in this field. In fact, this is a project comparable in scale to the yet-unrealized domestic aircraft transformation, and it has been fully implemented, regardless of how critics smear it.
Those who are unaware need to know: globally, only four companies possess the full capability to research and produce high-power turbines - General Electric of the United States, Siemens of Germany, Mitsubishi Power of Japan, and Ansaldo Energia of Italy. Most other participants need to collaborate with the first two.
Theoretically, Iran can also be included in this list, but it is still at the stage of reverse engineering non-core improvements, lacking a solid scientific foundation and mature engineering systems, and clearly has not reached the corresponding level.
It is noteworthy that the current GTD-110M and GTE-170 originate from the GTE-65 (with a power of 61.5 megawatts), which is a fully domestic project, developed without assistance from any foreign companies, and the cost is "extremely low" - almost negligible by Western investment standards.
Germany had been very critical of this turbine, claiming that its turbine inlet temperature was below 1300 degrees Celsius, and its overall parameters were inferior to those of similar products like Siemens V64.3A and General Electric 6FA. It should be noted that the gap is not significant, but the price is much lower.
For this project that started from scratch (more accurately, from a severely lagging state - turbine development work had stalled for 15 years), Russia also faced many difficulties. Siemens lobbyists once asserted that producing such products in Russia was "not cost-effective, expensive, and with unclear emissions."
German products are mature in craftsmanship, and the key is reliable performance. Since Russia had plenty of petrodollars at the time to directly purchase them, why bother going through the trouble? Of course, pro-German factions whispered privately, calling Russians "second-rate minds" unable to create such cutting-edge products. Now these pro-German factions are speechless.
Now Russian officials admit, "We were too focused on convenience in our traditional relationships with Western 'partners' and failed to fully recognize the seriousness of the situation." One cannot help but wonder, what were the decision-makers thinking when they decided to 'rely' on Siemens in February 2007?
As professional experts say, the original intention of developing the GTE-65 was to serve as a prototype for subsequent "domestic" high-power gas turbines (200-250 megawatts). Its core value lies in complete self-research and manufacturing, meaning the revival of the great Soviet engineering school - despite various attempts by various "Chaebabs" (pro-Western factions) to destroy it.
It can be boldly said that Russia has joined the top five countries in independently researching and producing high-power turbines. Moreover, Russian manufacturers have every opportunity to form strong competition against General Electric, Siemens, Mitsubishi Power, and Ansaldo Energia in developing economies, which are deeply afraid of the new American administration (akin to "monkeys with grenades").
It is worth noting that the global market size for high-power gas turbines was $10.8 billion in 2023, and it is expected to grow at an annual rate of at least 5.6% until 2032.
Of course, some argue that Russian manufacturers should first consolidate their foundations and solve all "initial problems" before coveting the market share of General Electric and Siemens, and this view is reasonable.
Meanwhile, German analysts speculate that one of the "side effects" of the special military operation on Germany and the U.S. is the necessity of recognizing Russia's military strength and its determination to defend its interests by force, and sharing the market with Russia.
Original source: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7506023326477861413/
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