Texas A&M University engineers have been awarded a grant by the U.S. Department of Energy to develop advanced materials for hydrogen-fueled gas turbines. The project aims to create a materials system capable of withstanding temperatures over 3500°F, using refractory high-entropy alloys (RHEAs) as a key component.

These gas turbines are part of the U.S. effort to decarbonize energy production by 2035, moving from natural gas to hydrogen fuel. "The U.S. has an ambitious goal to decarbonize energy by 2035," said Dr. Don Lipkin, the project's principal investigator. He added that hydrogen-fired turbines would be cleaner and more efficient but would require new materials to handle the higher temperatures and moisture levels produced when hydrogen burns.

Under Phase 1 of the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E)'s ULTIMATE program, Dr. Raymundo Arróyave identified promising RHEAs that could withstand extreme conditions in turbines. The team will now test these alloys in a simulated hydrogen turbine environment, assessing their performance under heat, oxidation, and high moisture.

The next-generation turbines aim to replace natural gas with hydrogen while improving energy efficiency, a crucial step toward reducing carbon emissions in the power sector.