§16298b High efficiency turbines

Summary

Requires the Secretary of Energy, working through the Assistant Secretary for Fossil Energy, to create a multiyear, multiphase program to research, develop, and demonstrate ways to make gas turbines for power plants and aircraft much more efficient. Secretary — the Secretary of Energy acting through the Assistant Secretary for Fossil Energy. The program must fund design work, testing, and demonstrations that cover things like better materials, improved heat transfer, advanced manufacturing for complex parts, cleaner high‑temperature combustion, controls and systems integration, better compressors, and testing facilities. It must test parts at small and full scale, show fielded systems work and are cost‑effective, measure combined and simple cycle performance, increase the ability to run on high shares of hydrogen or renewable gases, improve low‑emission combustion in high‑pressure and high‑temperature conditions, and make turbines start and respond faster. Phase I goals are to design and show technology for combined cycle efficiency of at least 65 percent or simple cycle of at least 47 percent (on a lower heating value basis), and for aviation turbines to cut fuel burn by 25 percent versus current best‑in‑class turbofans. Phase II goals are combined cycle at least 67 percent or simple cycle at least 50 percent (on a lower heating value basis). The Secretary may add more goals if these are met, after consulting industry and the National Academy of Sciences. The Secretary can give financial help, including grants, and must ask for proposals within 180 days after December 27, 2020. Project selection must be competitive, focus on technical merit, and give special weight to U.S. job creation or retention and U.S. technology leadership. Funding is subject to the cost sharing rules in section 16352. There is $50,000,000 authorized for each of fiscal years 2021 through 2025.