Gas turbines power nearly every aircraft in the sky and generate over a third of the UK’s electricity, yet their emissions must drop by 60–90% to avoid irreversible climate change. This programme develops new metallic materials—refractory alloys based on molybdenum and cobalt, plus improved nickel-based alloys—that can withstand the extreme temperatures inside a gas turbine, allowing engines to run hotter and more efficiently. The problem is that current materials are reaching their thermal limits. Without better alloys, engineers cannot raise operating temperatures enough to cut CO₂ emissions while still meeting growing demand for air travel and electricity. Passenger numbers are forecast to double or triple by 2050, and gas turbine use in power generation is set to increase sharply. If successful, these materials could make aircraft engines and power station turbines significantly more efficient, reducing fuel consumption and emissions without sacrificing performance. The UK has Europe’s largest gas turbine industry, employing over 400,000 people and generating £2 billion in power-sector exports alone, so the economic and environmental stakes are high. The programme also includes a public engagement effort to improve understanding of metallurgical engineering and encourage young people into the field.
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Dwindling resources and climate change are forcing engineering designers to utilise materials and energy supplies withever-greater efficiency. It is argued that cuts in CO2 emissions of between 60-90% must be achieved if irreversibleclimate change is to be avoided.At present, almost all aircraft propulsion and over 1/3 of the UK's total generating capacity rely on gas turbines. Theirflexibility and efficiency compared with the alternatives mean that their use in power generation is predicted todramatically increase for the foreseeable future. Similarly, a substantial growth in air travel is also predicted withpassenger numbers forecast to double or triple by 2050. Achieving drastic reductions in the emissions from gas turbines,without bring national economic activity to a standstill, requires urgent activity on a very wide number of fronts. This isparticularly important for the UK. It has Europe's largest gas turbine industry, second only to the US, including majorengine makers, such as Rolls-Royce, Alstom and Siemens, together with approximately 3,000 companies supplyingalloys, high integrity components, such as discs, blades and shafts, as well as coatings and seals. The industry as awhole employs over 400,000 people and generates 2 billion in exports in the power sector alone.The aim of this programme is to meet this challenge by identifying and developing materials based on refractory metals,such as Mo and Co alloys, while carrying out shorter term research to extend the usefulness of Ni-based alloys. Thework will involve a coordinated programme of materials development and processing, microstructural and defectmodelling, characterisation and prediction of these high temperature materials designed to answer the fundamentalquestions that will enable their potential to be fully realised.To generate a critical mass of researchers, the programme brings together academics from 6 universities with expertise inthe necessary areas, together with Rolls-Royce plc to ensure the research is appropriate and to establish a route forexploitation.The success of the UK high-value engineering sector is an area in which improved public understanding is needed toimprove the perception of metallurgical engineering generally and to engender enthusiasm to encourage more youngpeople into science and engineering. To address this, a significant programme of public engagement has been designedto run alongside this research programme
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