"Supergen Life Management of Efficient

Fossil Power Plant Consortium"

         Many of the original conventional fossil fired power plant design codes were conservative, providing opportunities to develop novel R&D tools, life prediction methodologies and condition monitoring methods that extend life, reduce maintenance costs and which take into account increased plant flexibility, for example, by co-firing with biomass, and allow more cyclic operation. Hence, the focus of the early work of the Consortium was on conventional steam and combined cycle plant utilizing well established materials systems which have been in service for a number of years.

         This focus has now moved to take the research to the next level by developing and adapting the new tools and methods to address the lifetime assessment challenges for a wide range of components in new fossil power plant technologies. These technologies include:

• ultra-supercritical steam plant operating at higher temperatures (reducing CO₂ emissions through the more efficient conversion of energy), as well as using oxy-firing, increased levels of biomass co-firing and post combustion CO₂ technologies to produce additional significant reductions in CO₂ emissions.

• gas turbines operating with more frequent cycles (as they are moved from base load to part load operations) as well as progressively more contaminated (cheaper) fuels