Why Breaking Records Matters

The history of corporate innovation is one of people and companies trying to outdo themselves (and each other). After all, the corporate world mirrors the natural world; only the fittest survive. If we don’t innovate and become the best in the world, someone else might.

I like to think our principle motivation, however, is the need to continue to surprise and surpass expectations for our customers. In my view, the surest way to disappoint a customer is to just deliver. We must aim to exceed expectations. We have to deliver the future, now.

So we aim for new heights. Today, we announced that we’ve been recognized along with EDF by Guinness World Records for powering the world’s most efficient combined-cycle power plant based on an achieved efficiency rate of up to 62.22% at EDF’s power plant in Bouchain, France.  This is the first ever combined-cycle power plant equipped with GE’s 9HA gas turbine. Together, GE and EDF are launching a new era of power generation technology and digital integration. 

Why do these achievements matter?

Solving tomorrow’s energy needs

A Guinness World Record demonstrates that we are solving tomorrow’s energy needs with the most ambitious and sophisticated technology available today. The HA is the most efficient gas turbine in history, and has been the cornerstone of GE’s transformation into the world’s premiere digital industrial company – a billion dollar investment plan for a vision we believe will change the world.

Why is this digital future so important? Well, there is a global race to integrate renewables into our grids to deliver a more sustainable energy future, to meet the ambitions set at COP 21. To deliver this, flexibility and efficiency are key. The ability to spin up and spin down traditional power sources like the Bouchain facility is vital for meeting today’s – and future – energy demands.

Powering Everyone

What’s the bigger picture here? Well, there are over a billion people in the world who still don’t have power and over two billion with inadequate access to it.

What we are doing in Bouchain with EDF plays a critical role in helping Powering Everyone in the most efficient, reliable and sustainable way.  Our founder Thomas Edison said, “I never perfected an invention that I did not think about in terms of service it might give others …I find out what the world needs, then I proceed to invent it.”

We found out what the world needs, and our joint French, American, and global teams proceeded to invent it. This first HA turbine in Bouchain is a beacon for what is to come – better power, enhanced with the best digital industrial capabilities that will ultimately find its way across borders, deserts and oceans to nations across the globe.  Great innovations also come from great team work and this is what I saw highlighted at the event today onsite.

Being prepared for what’s next

As we navigate a volatile global economy and rising power demand from a growing global population, the power industry is being transformed by the introduction of digital technologies. Close collaboration with our customers, as we have had with EDF for over 45 years, is going to be vital.

Today is about more than winning a world record. It’s about being prepared for what’s next. EDF is ready, GE is ready, and Bouchain is ready.

This is only the beginning. We will continue to strive for new records, and new heights. Reaching for these goals will help us, and our customers, cut through the challenges we face as an industry and help deliver power to everyone, today and in the future. Our work matters!