Wednesday, June 17, 4:00 PM - 5:30 PM

Panel Session

Session Chairs:
Christer Björkqvist,
Benjamin Emerson,

Presentations

Note: Presentations may start a few minutes before the time listed in the schedule.

Session Introduction
This OEM panel has become a cornerstone technical session at ASME Turbo Expo, providing a unique, engineering-focused dialogue between major gas turbine OEMs and the global R&D community. It offers OEMs a platform to share recent gas turbine developments while providing clear guidance on future R&D direction to the broader turbomachinery research and engineering community.
The 2026 edition will move beyond high-level roadmaps and instead spotlight concrete, recent technical developments that are already shaping the next generation of gas turbine performance, operability, flexibility and decarbonisation readiness.

Each OEM panellist will present one selected technical achievement, chosen for its maturity, novelty and relevance to real-world operation. Topics may range from core engine design, combustion systems and materials, to system integration, operational flexibility, digitalisation, hydrogen readiness and lifetime-extension strategies.

Building on these technical examples, the second part of the session will shift to a moderated panel discussion focused on future R&D priorities. The discussion will address where further research effort is most needed, which technical barriers remain unresolved, and which areas would benefit most from pre-competitive collaboration between OEMs, users, academia and research organisations.
Framed by ETN Global’s user-community perspective, the session will link current technical developments to real-world operational and system challenges, including:
• increasing flexibility and cycling requirements,
• tighter emissions constraints and fuel variability,
• supply-chain and manufacturability challenges and
• rising demand driven by electrification, AI and data-centre growth.
The objective is to provide the audience with a clear picture of the current state of OEM development and actionable insight into future R&D directions, helping to guide research programmes, collaboration initiatives and funding priorities for the next generation of gas turbine technology.


Session Details
Title: OEM Pathways Forward: From Latest Technical Developments to R&D Priorities
Date: tbd
Time: tbd
Location: ASME Turbo Expo, Milano, Italy

Chairs / Moderators
• Christer Björkqvist, ETN Global
• Ben Emerson, Georgia Institute of Technology
Panellists
• Federico Bonzani, CTO, Ansaldo Energia
• John Mason, Director, Technology and Product Development Engineering, Solar Turbines
• Ghenadie Bulat, Head of New Technologies, Gas Services Division, Siemens Energy
• Christopher Pin Harry, Vice president Technology, Baker Hughes
• Yoshifumi Tsuji, Manager, Gas Turbine Integration Team, Mitsubishi Power
• Jeffrey Goldmeer, Senior Director, Technology Strategy & H₂ Value Chain, GE Vernova
Panel Format
• Opening framing (ETN Global)
Summary of user-community priorities and challenges
• OEM Technical Presentations (≈10 minutes each)
Each panellist presents: one flagship technical development they are particularly proud of and the engineering challenge addressed, design choices made, validation status and operational relevance.
• Moderated Panel Discussion

Cross-OEM dialogue on:
o convergence and divergence in R&D priorities;
o impact of market shifts, policy signals and supply-chain constraints;
o responding to rising demand from AI, data centres and electrification;
o implications for future collaborative research and standardisation.