…“This is an important step toward highly efficient and flexible hydrogen energy for a fossil-free energy system,” explains Professor Daniel Banuti, Director of the Institute of Thermal Energy Technology and Safety (ITES).

One of the key advantages of this design is that it eliminates the need to compress air before ignition. “A conventional gas turbine, such as those used in power plants or under aircraft wings, consumes about 50 percent of its power to compress air to the high pressure needed for efficient combustion—power that is then unavailable for electricity generation,” Banuti explains…

…this system creates the required pressure through detonation waves inside the combustion chamber…

…Integrating a turbine with the combustion chamber to produce electricity introduces additional complexity. “This is extremely difficult because the very fast and intense combustion processes in the chamber make stable energy transfer to the turbine challenging. We are the first to successfully operate such a turbine and generate electricity in the process,” says Banuti…