GE revealed on Thursday (July 28) the funding is anticipated be used for two projects, one of which to explore the use of a natural gas and hydrogen blend to power its advanced gas turbines, driving forward the decarbonisation of power generation.

Entitled ‘Lifted-flame combustion for high-hydrogen reheat gas turbines’ the project aims to establish new gas turbine combined (GTCC) combustion technology and research to break the current materials-limited upper bound efficiency barrier for new gas turbines and installed base retrofits.

The US-based company also hopes to create new GTCC growth trajectory, targeting net plant efficiencies of 67% of greater on a wide range of fuel compositions.

GE’s latest funding announcement comes just two months after the US DOE’s Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management awarded two GE projects more than $12m to develop and test key components required for high hydrogen combustion.

Read more: $12m of US funding for hydrogen gas turbine projects

Jeffrey Goldmeer, Emergent Technologies Director for Decarbonisation at GE Gas Power, said, “Our goal of increasing GTCC plant efficiency by five or more percentage points in the next decade will position GE’s technology to help lead the energy transition.

“The proposed technology offers transformative value for both high-hydrogen and post-combustion carbon capture applications, ensuring dispatchable power with significantly reduced carbon emissions via highly efficient gas turbine-driven generation.”

Set to be executed at GE’s Gas Turbine Technology Centre in Greenville, South Carolina, the foundational testing of the technology is planned to be conducted at the Atlanta-based Georgia Institute for technology, the company has said.

The second APRA-E funded project GE will undertake plans to develop and combine key elements of technology with minimal energy, including an innovative furnace development.