Delivering Marine Gas Turbine Generators for over 50 years

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Delivering Marine Gas Turbine Generators for over 50 years

Rolls-Royce has been delivering power at sea since our legendary Merlin engine was installed in the British Coastal Patrol Boats in 1938.

The World's first Marine Gas Turbine

In the early 1950s, we pioneered one of the most significant advances in surface ship propulsion, the RM60, derived from aero technology. From then onwards, our pioneering spirit has seen us develop some of the most efficient and advanced gas turbines for naval ships around the world.

Marine Gas Turbine Generators – how our story began

In addition to a formidable heritage of supplying marine gas turbines for naval propulsive power, 2022 marks the 50th anniversary since our first Allison 501-K17* marine gas turbines were delivered to the U.S. Navy, in 1972. Each rated at 2MW, the Allison 501-K17, installed as ship service generator sets, were supplied to provide all of the electrical power for the DD-963 Spruance-class Destroyers; power for both on-board hotel services such as lighting and HVAC, as well as ship systems including sonar, radar and combat etc. The Allison 501-K17 proved so successful that by 1989, a total of 237 engines had been sold for over 66 ships and spare engines, including the higher rated 2.5MW evolution for the U.S. Navy’s CG-47-class Destroyers.

(*formerly the Allison Division of General Motors Corporation)

Photo credit U.S.Navy

Since the birth of the Allison 501-K17 in 1972, Rolls-Royce has dominated the marine gas turbine generator market. This is a trend that has continued right through to today.

Meeting today’s increasing demand for electrical power

More than 350 Rolls-Royce gas turbine generators are in active operation with navies around the world, including the British Royal Navy, Republic of Korea Navy, Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force and the U.S. Navy. Over 280 of these are in operation with the U.S. Navy alone, delivering a combined electrical capacity of over 1GW which is the equivalent of 3.125 million photovoltaic panels or a typical nuclear reactor!

The U.S. Navy’s DDG-51-class, the longest production program for surface warships in the history of the U.S. Navy, has received over 200 Rolls-Royce AG9140 generator sets (three sets per ship, each delivering 3MW of power). The AG9140s are powered by the 501-K34 engine, an upgrade of the original 501-K17 model delivered to the Spruance-class. As the DDG-51 program has evolved and the demand for more electrical power has intensified, Rolls-Royce has responded by developing next generation capability such as the AG9160 generator set developed to deliver even greater controls, reliability and packaging enhancements. Each AG9160 will deliver 4MW at 4160V, 60Hz of electrical power – a 33 percent increase on its predecessor, the AG9140.

Power for the most advanced propulsion systems

Another claim in our gas turbine generator history is that we are the only manufacturer in the World that has provided navalised marine gas turbine generators into front-line all-electric powered destroyers and aircraft carriers. This includes two of the largest and most advanced integrated propulsion systems in operation today, both fully reliant on Rolls-Royce marine gas turbine generator capability; the U.S. Navy’s Zumwalt-class Destroyers and the Royal Navy’s Queen Elizabeth-class Aircraft Carriers. Both these ship classes feature two installed MT30 marine gas turbine generator sets, each rated at 36MW, which is also the highest power output rating of any gas turbine generator in service today. In addition to generating enough electrical power per ship to meet the demands of a small town, the power output effectively futureproofs these vessels against increasing power demands of unknown future combat technology. This helps guarantee that our customers can retain their military advantage without having to resort to costly power upgrades throughout the life of the ship.

Our mighty MT30 is one of the most versatile marine gas turbines in the Rolls-Royce portfolio, illustrated by its selection for seven ship types in 11 modern naval programs.

Designed specifically for the 21st Century, MT30 entered service in 2008 with the U.S. Navy’s LCS Freedom-class variant. Rated at 36MW-40MW, not only is MT30 the World’s most powerful marine gas turbine in service today, it can deliver its full power in ambient temperatures up to 38°C (100°F), without any power degradation throughout a ship’s life – this means the ship can operate pretty much anywhere in the world without loss of performance or power.

We see the combination of Augmented and Virtual Reality technology completely transforming the way we work with physical objects in the future.

Pioneering for Tomorrow

Looking ahead, it’s vital we continue to meet the needs of our customers. As warships become more electric, Rolls-Royce will focus any future portfolio developments and investment around the need for increased electrical power. We see gas turbine generators as a key enabler for electric propulsion in high-performance, next generation warships due to their exceptional power density. And importantly as navies become leaner in terms of lower-manning operations, the gas turbine generator offers another advantage due to its low on-board maintenance requirements and high availability. The ultra-high reliability and low maintenance profile of a gas turbine also lends itself to having significant benefits and attraction for future unmanned autonomous vessels.

As our advanced aero engine portfolio emerges for next generation air vehicles, we will continue to draw on that technology and apply it to future marine gas turbine solutions. We see these solutions delivering unprecedented fuel efficiency, lower emissions, along with transformational digital capabilities we are developing that will equip our naval customers with decision superiority. In the case of MT30, it already has Engine Health Management (EHM) capability. This enables the collection of reliable data and analysis to further maximize asset availability and optimize on-board maintenance. EHM will deliver additional long-term economical benefits supporting manpower reductions and lower maintenance costs. MT30 customers are also benefitting from our new MT30 Virtual Reality (VR) immersive training capability designed to simulate operator maintenance and service training across the complete engine within a generic compact package and its supporting ancillaries. And it’s not just our customers benefitting from MT30 VR. Our own engineers will use the capability to visualise concept changes and evaluate solutions for maintainability, investigate any in-service issues and develop mitigation options, all without access to the actual hardware itself. Augmented Reality (AR) is another technology we can utilise to create a future which provides much greater data insight into customer operations with significant advances to onboard inspections and maintenance, vastly improving efficiency of operations at sea.

Advanced integrated system solution capability

A final aspect which sets us apart is that we have the capability to provide a complete integrated power solution for our naval customers. So, in addition to military standard gas turbine packages, we also offer complete controls’ integration and optimization, dynamic response analysis and through-life support packages. Combine this with our leading portfolio of military propulsor systems, adaptable and flexible naval handling systems as well as our mtu brand diesel engines and advanced electrical, automation and control systems, we are well positioned to deliver game-changing military capability for next generation naval fleets.