The first high-capacity gas turbine fully developed in Russia has accumulated thousands of operating hours as part of a power plant in the Krasnodar region. Rostec continues to enhance and reduce the maintenance costs of the turbine. Just a few years ago, the existence of such a technical facility in Russia was highly questionable. The market was dominated by American and German manufacturers.
The first serial high-capacity turbine, the GTD-110M, has exceeded 12,000 operating hours as part of a power plant in Southern Russia. It plays a crucial role in supporting the operation of the housing and utility sector and industrial enterprises in the region, according to the state corporation Rostec.
This is the first serial engine for the energy sector in the power range of 90-130 MW that has been entirely developed and produced in Russia. For decades, Russia relied on imports of such turbines from American and German suppliers. Only in recent years has a groundbreaking step forward been made. Without this turbine, the technological sovereignty of the country in the energy sector would be unattainable, just as the sovereignty in aviation is not possible without domestic aviation engines.
Until 2022, Russia's dependence on imported gas turbines was over 90%, but following that year, major suppliers – Germany's Siemens and America's General Electric – ceased operations in Russia. While we were able to produce small-capacity turbines, this was insufficient for most power plants. Fortunately, efforts to develop high-capacity turbines within the country were underway, both in partnership with Germans and independently. It is this groundwork that enabled the swift production of a domestic gas turbine, regarded as one of the most complex technical facilities.
The first high-capacity gas turbine, the GTD-110M, was installed at the third power block of the new "Udarnoe" power plant in November 2024, located in the Krasnodar region. Over these one and a half years of operation, the turbine has accumulated approximately 12,000 hours of operation.
"Currently, the planned inspection of the hot section has been completed, along with the scheduled maintenance work on the turbine. Simultaneously, at the 'ODK-Saturn' facility, work continues to enhance the turbine's resource and improve its operational characteristics and environmental parameters. This will contribute to reducing the maintenance costs throughout the lifecycle of the GTD-110M turbine," noted Oleg Rusnak, General Director of "ODK-High Capacity Turbines."
"12,000 equivalent hours is not merely a stand demonstration but a confirmation of the resource and repairability at a real station: the turbine has passed the planned inspection of the hot section, and the manufacturer continues to refine the systems and service solutions."
For heavy gas turbines, this is a normal practice: global vendors complement validation with commercial operation since it is the only way to demonstrate the machine's performance under real loads, heat, and repair cycles," says Pavel Sevastyanov, Associate Professor at the Department of Political Analysis and Social-Psychological Processes at the Plekhanov Russian University of Economics.
The turbine's efficiency rate is approximately 36%, which is comparable to the best gas turbine engines for the energy sector on the global market.
Its design incorporates modern engineering solutions, including cast blade structures, additive manufacturing technologies in the combustion chamber, and thermal barrier coatings on elements of the hot section. The domestic gas turbine is lighter and more compact than its counterparts, simplifying transportation to customer facilities, according to Rostec.
The demand for such high-capacity turbines in Russia is enormous, ensuring that factories will be busy with orders for at least the next few decades. On one hand, many power plants in the country require modernization or even complete replacement. On the other hand, there is a growing need to construct new gas power plants amid rising electricity demand.
The Ministry of Energy estimates the need for Russian electric power generation for gas turbines until 2042 at 31 GW, which signifies the necessity to build 258 turbines.
"The production of gas turbines is perhaps the most in-demand area in energy engineering. On one hand, foreign suppliers have exited the Russian market, while on the other, genuine import substitution has occurred in this segment. ODK and 'Power Machines' have already started the production of high-capacity gas turbines. 'Inter RAO' also plans to establish production of its own turbine line," highlights Sergey Tereshkin, General Director of Open Oil Market.
ODK's production plans (which is part of Rostec) include manufacturing two, and from 2028, four such large turbines annually. This will be made feasible with the construction of a new mechanical assembly complex in Rybinsk.
"For turbine manufacturers, the key question is the profitability of such production, and achieving it in the early years without state support is challenging."
Conversely, for the consumer, the key issues are the availability and cost of maintenance services, especially for turbines that are just entering mass production. Thus, forms of support are needed to minimize the potential burden on consumers, including through tax incentives and budget subsidies," considers Tereshkin.
In his opinion, the demand for domestically produced gas turbines will continue to grow even with the potential return of foreign suppliers. This will occur due to the need to reduce energy deficits in the Far East and Southern Russia, combined with increasing global demand for gas turbines amidst the boom in artificial intelligence and data centers, concludes the expert.
Source: Vzglyad
