DOE announces US$5 million to improve flexibility and reliability of advanced power plant technology
Published by Jessica Casey,
Editor
World Coal,
The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management has announced that it has selected the West Virginia University Research Corporation to receive US$5 million for the research and development of an advanced component that can improve the ability of thermal power plants to generate highly-flexible, low-carbon power from traditional, renewable, and nuclear energy.
The component – an additively-manufactured graded composite transition joint (AM-GCTJ) – will aim to join different metals within thermal power plant parts so they can better withstand the numerous stresses and extreme changes in weather that come from cold and warm startups, fast-load ramping, and frequent shutdowns that are typically associated with thermal power plant operations.
The successful completion of this project will develop a cost-effective and readily scalable AM-GCTJ that eliminates the common problems experienced with conventional dissimilar metal welds, which can fail prematurely under those same conditions. This project will support DOE’s High Performance Materials programme, which focuses on improvements in low-carbon thermal power generation to enhance the nation’s materials supply chain while creating good-paying jobs.
Selected project
Additively Manufactured Graded Composite Transition Joints for Dissimilar Metal Weldments in Advanced Ultra-Supercritical Power Plant – West Virginia University Research Corporation.
- DOE funding: US$4 999 998.
- Non-DOE funding: US$1 253 601.
- Total value: US$6 253 599.
The Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management’s (FECM) National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) will manage the project.
Read the article online at: https://www.worldcoal.com/power/09062021/doe-announces-us5-million-to-improve-flexibility-and-reliability-of-advanced-power-plant-technology/
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