Changing the Game

This article reviews potentially radical advances in gas turbines that came in all shapes and sizes in 2007. Gas turbine production is now a $30 billion industry, one that has been dominated, except for a stretch in the late 1990s, by commercial and military aviation. In its 70-year history, the gas turbine has become one of society’s most important and versatile energy conversion, which is relatively inert. Fuel converted to power through a gas turbine is as kinetic a substance as you can find, and one that can create great wealth. In the $21.8 billion aviation market, nearly 80 percent is for commercial aircraft engines, while the dominance of electrical generation in the $10.5 billion non-aviation market is even greater. New aircraft represents advances for commercial aviation, but commercial jet engines are themselves the key to future growth of the airline industry. While the aviation market has seen steady growth over the past decade or so, the non-aviation market for gas turbines has a noticeable production spike.