M&H secures order for additively manufactured turbine blades for US power plants
June 21, 2024
M&H CNC Technik GmbH, a provider of metal Additive Manufacturing design, development, production, and finishing services based in Neudorf bei Ilz, Austria, has received a major order in the USA, as reported by Brutkasten. If successful, the project will result in the company delivering over 2,500 components by 2031. The order is reported to be in the double-digit million range, the largest in the company’s history.
In the USA, the expansion of renewable energy is currently thriving, a situation attributable to the Inflation Reduction Act. However, operators also depend on stationary, gas-powered small power plants to maintain a stable power grid. To achieve this, they convert ageing gas turbines into these small power plants.
The additively manufactured turbine blades are used in the exhaust system of the gas turbine unit. These are complex, internally hollow structural elements made of Inconel 718, a heat-resistant nickel-chromium alloy. The company has experience with this alloy as in its time as an Additive Manufacturing producer as well as insider knowledge of aviation, making it suited for the task.
Jochen Wagner, sales manager at M&H, explained, “We were immediately able to convince people of our qualities with the first prototypes submitted.”
