China schaltet Maschine ein, die Strom aus CO₂ erzeugt – 50% effizienter als Dampfturbinen

China Launches Machine Generating Electricity from CO₂ – 50% More Efficient Than Steam Turbines In December 2024, China brought the world's first commercial supercritical CO₂ power plant online – and the figures are remarkable: 50% more electricity from the same waste heat, requiring half the space. What's behind this, and why hasn't the West built this technology for decades? In this video, we explain why conventional steam turbines have converted only 35% of the input heat into electricity for 140 years – and how supercritical CO₂ can increase this efficiency to 45–50%. We delve into the fourth state of matter, which is rarely covered in school, and show which engineering problems have held this technology back for so long: creep deformation, chemical embrittlement, and the extreme demands placed on heat exchangers under 200 atmospheres of pressure. This breakthrough doesn't just affect the steel industry – it could fundamentally change nuclear power plants, gas-fired power plants, and solar thermal plants in the long term. 🔍 Topics in the video: – Why steam turbines have barely become more efficient since the 19th century – What a supercritical fluid is and why CO₂ is ideally suited for it – Why this technology is so difficult to build – What China's SCCO₂-1 plant has actually achieved – Which industries could benefit next #Energy #China #Technology #CO₂ #Turbine #EnergyTransition #Physics #Innovation #Electricity #FutureTechnology