GE, Exergy Move Forward with Kalina Cycle Development

Business Wire, May 22, 1995

AMSTERDAM, The Netherlands--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 22, 1995--GE Power Systems (GEPS) is in the process of identifying a site for a commercial-scale plant to demonstrate the Kalina Cycle as a highly efficient, cost-effective bottoming cycle for GE combined-cycle power systems, GE said today at Power-Gen Europe '95.

"We've established a team to develop the demonstration plant, and we are working with several candidate hosts," said James Corman, general manager, GE Power Generation Systems. "Our objective is to have the plant in operation by 1998." The demonstration plant is expected to be in the 40-140 megawatt size range, and will include a GE gas turbine and a GE ammonia/steam vapor turbine in the 15-50 megawatt size range.

GE has a worldwide exclusive licensing agreement with Exergy, Inc. of Hayward, CA to develop and market the Kalina Cycle technology, which GE-Exergy studies indicate will increase combined-cycle efficiency by 2-3 percentage points in commercial-scale power plants, compared with a three-pressure reheat Rankine bottoming cycle. For example, these efficiency advantages for the Kalina Cycle would apply to GE's current F technology gas turbines as well as to GE's just-introduced H technology combined-cycle system. Increases in efficiency can mean millions of dollars in fuel cost savings over the life of a power plant.

The Kalina Cycle, invented by Alexander Kalina, president of Exergy, improves efficiency by increasing the thermodynamic availability of energy transferred from the topping to the bottoming cycle in a combined-cycle system.

Corman said that recent system advances by the Exergy/GE team "have significantly improved the economics of the Kalina Cycle. An objective of the commercial demonstration project is to confirm the operational and maintenance characteristics of a Kalina Cycle power plant."

The world leader in combined-cycle experience, GEPS has designed and furnished more than 100 combined-cycle systems for power generation plants, and nearly 200 additional cogeneration plants. In power generation alone, GE combined-cycle plants have accumulated more than four million operating hours.

GEPS is one of GE's major businesses and is the world's largest supplier of power generation equipment. GEPS has three regional headquarters serving the global market -- GEPS Asia in Hong Kong, GEPS Europe in Florence, Italy and GEPS Americas in Schenectady, N.Y. -- in addition to local offices and service centers worldwide.

CONTACT: GE Power Systems

Ken Darling or Howard Masto, 518/786-6488

or

Kamer-Singer & Associates, Inc.

Jeff Tarmy, 415/512-6800