Session: 33-09 sCO2 Testing and Component Development

Paper Number: 83588

83588 - The STEP 10 MWe sCO2 Pilot Demonstration Status Update 

The Gas Technology Institute (GTI®), Southwest Research Institute® (SwRI®) and General Electric Global Research (GE-GR) are executing the “STEP” [Supercritical Transformational Electric Power] project, to design, construct, commission, and operate an integrated and reconfigurable 10 MWe sCO₂ [supercritical CO₂] Pilot Plant Test Facility. The $156* million project is funded $115 million by the US DOE’s National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL Award Number DE-FE0028979) and $41* million by the team members, component suppliers and others interested in sCO₂ technology.  The facility is currently under final assembly and is located at SwRI’s San Antonio, Texas, USA campus. This project is a significant step toward sCO₂ cycle based power generation commercialization and is informing the performance, operability, and scale-up to commercial plants.

Supercritical CO₂ (sCO₂) power cycles are Brayton cycles that utilize supercritical CO₂ working fluid to convert heat to power. They offer the potential for higher system efficiencies than other energy conversion technologies such as steam Rankine or Organic Rankine cycles this especially when operating at elevated temperatures.  sCO₂ power cycles are being considered for a wide range of applications including fossil-fired systems, waste heat recovery, concentrated solar power, and nuclear power generation. By the end of this 6-year STEP pilot demo project, the operability of the sCO₂ power cycle will be demonstrated and documented starting with facility commissioning as a simple closed recuperated cycle configuration initially operating at a 500^oC (932^oF) turbine inlet temperature and progressing to a recompression closed Brayton cycle technology (RCBC) configuration operating at 715^oC (1319 ^oF)

Significant progress has been made on this STEP project.  The design phase is complete (Phase 1) and included procurements of long-lead time delivery components.  Now well into Phase 2, a ground-breaking was held in 2018, and civil work and the construction of a dedicated 25,000 ft2 building was completed in 2020. Most major equipment is in final fabrication or delivered to site as of the end of 2021.  These efforts have already provided valuable project learnings for technology commercialization.  At time of paper presentation, equipment will have been received, installed, and commissioning should have begun.  An update on commissioning and experience with sCO2 equipment will be provided.  Plans for testing will be shared along with modeling results to inform operations.

* total funding of project and site

Presenting Author: John Marion Gas Technology Institute

Presenting Author Biography: Mr. John L. Marion is Sr. Program Director, Energy Supply &amp; Conversion division at GTI™ [Gas Technology Institute] Responsible for program management of GTI’s Energy Supply and Conversion division managing a diverse portfolio of technology development and commercialization project efforts including gas conversion, hydrogen generation, advanced power generation, bio-energy, and combustion. Projects ranging from laboratory research to large-scale government/industry collaborative programs. <br/><br/>Prior to joining GTI, John was an R&amp;D director at the Electric Power Research Institute [EPRI] and was a Technology Director for GE Power and, prior to that, VP Engineering and Global Technology and was GM of the Power Plant Laboratories at Alstom Power. Mr. Marion has a broad technical background and forty years of experience in power plant technology, boilers, turbines, environmental control, and technology management and innovation. Mr. Marion has held leadership positions in R&amp;D, Engineering, Strategic Planning, and Business Development. Mr. Marion has an MBA from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (1996), and a B.S. (1980) and a M.S. (1981) degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Massachusetts.

Authors:

John Marion Gas Technology Institute
Scott Macadam Gas Technology Institute
Aaron Mcclung South West Research Institute
Jason Mortzheim GE Global Research