Siemens Builds Berlin Turbine Test Facility

Siemens is building a new US$86 million combustion test center for gas turbines near Berlin. The test center will begin operations in 2014 on a 36,000 square meter site in Ludwigsfelde, approximately 15 kilometers south of Berlin.

The new test center will have three cells for investigating combustion processes under real-life service conditions, according to a statement from the German company. The Ludwigsfelde site has access to natural gas via a local pipeline and is also connected to the high-voltage power grid.

Up to now, Siemens has relied on external test facilities in evolving its gas turbine burners. In the future the company will be able run more tests, as in-house trials will no longer be dependent on the availability of external capacities.