Featuring oil-free, air-cooled, electromagnetic bearings, the SST-600 steam turbine operates almost entirely without lubricants, and has been developed by Siemens in cooperation with the University of Zittau/Görlitz.
The delivery follows completion of testing of the first magnetic bearings-equipped steam turbine in Vattenfall-owned lignite-fired Jänschwalde steam power plant, located in the southeast of Brandenburg, Germany.
Since February 2015, the turbine is claimed to be operating at speeds of up to 5,700 rpm in regular full-load operation and is also used as a feedwater pump drive.
Vattenfall managing board member responsible for power plants, Hubertus Altmann said: "Continuing research and development efforts together with Siemens and other reliable partners enable us to operate our power plants according to the state of the art.
"As a result, our Jänschwalde power plant is now also well-equipped to meet the high technical challenges posed by the energy transition."
In order to assess the feasibility of the magnetic bearing steam turbines, the Siemens-University of Zittau/Görlitz team designed, installed, operated and tested a common test bay.
In addition to undertaking technical project management of the test bay and the prototype project, Siemens was responsible for designing of the steam turbine and the magnetic bearings.
The company also assumed responsibility for the construction, commissioning and trial operation of the magnetic bearing steam turbine.
According to Siemens, the oil-free turbines can be used by customers with highly stringent requirements for operating safety and reliability in the oil and gas industry or in offshore applications such as drilling platforms.
