Turbine

As a way to keep small natural gas power plants operating in anticipation of a hydrogen economy, the German Aerospace Center and Power Service Consulting have tested a way for micro-turbines to burn hydrogen, gas, or both.

Another day, another wild electrified aircraft concept that reimagines the future of air travel. This time around, it's a turbine-electric hybrid that tilts its ducted electric fans to offer helicopter versatility with airplane range and efficiency.

Since revealing an wind turbine wall concept back in 2021, Joe Doucet has been working on bringing the idea to life. That time is here with the launch of Airiva, a modular rotary wind turbine wall destined for installation on city infrastructure.

Connecticut-based WaveAerospace has announced "the world's fastest multirotor UAS," a "new class of aircraft" that's effectively a quadcopter drone with a raging jet turbine in the middle, capable of insane speeds and all-weather operation.

Steam turbines still produce most of the world's power, but supercritical CO2 promises to be much cheaper, and 10% more efficient as a medium than water, using 10X smaller turbines. A US$155-million pilot plant is now complete in San Antonio.

Researchers have used a novel 3D printing technique to create a new superalloy with "previously unobtainable combinations of high strength, low weight and high-temperature resiliency" – and they say the implications in aerospace and energy are huge.

When a wind turbine reaches the end of its working life, some components can be recycled but blades often end up in landfill. Vestas is looking to commercialize a new chemical process that can break down all epoxy-based turbine blades for reuse.

Early last month, Siemens Gamesa reported that recyclable turbine blades had been successfully installed at the Kaskasi offshore wind farm in the North Sea. Now the company has announced the market availability of an onshore equivalent.

The Ariel "Hipercar" breaks from the electric supercar pack with a little performance-rounding innovation. Not only does it leverage a 4-motor drive for eyebrow-shearing performance, it packs a turbine range-extender for the flexibility of a gas car.

Boston startup T-Omega Wind says it's prototyped and tested a unique floating offshore wind turbine that can withstand massive storms, but at 20% the weight and around 30% the price of conventional designs, unlocking the world's best wind resources.

We interviewed the core team at Norway's World Wide Wind to learn more about its floating, tilting, contra-rotating, double turbine design, which it says can unlock unprecedented scale, power and density to radically lower the cost of offshore wind.

When we last saw Franky Zapata back in May, he was spinning uncontrollably down into the water from a serious height in a terrifying jetboard crash. But the flying Frenchman is back to launch a new, high-speed personal aircraft called the JetRacer.