Researchers at West Virginia University (WVU) are developing technology to keep natural gas turbines at large-scale power plants intact when using hydrogen to generate electricity.

“In West Virginia, we have access to natural gas,” said WVU’s Xingbo Liu, mechanical and aerospace engineering professor. “We are sitting in one of three major gas fields, the Marcellus Shale area. Today, we simply burn that gas. But 95% or more of hydrogen today is made out of natural gas.”

Liu and his colleagues aim to develop coatings for turbine blades that would “withstand the extreme heat and corrosion of hydrogen combustion but work with the principles and technologies of existing natural gas turbines, primarily in power plants,” according to WVU.

[Download Now: In our 2024...