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Steam turbines <strong>and</strong> steam turbine operation – A topical issue Dear readers, At the beginning <strong>of</strong> 2020 we were all confronted with an event unknown to us - a p<strong>and</strong>emic. With a heavy heart we decided to postpone the symposium “Steam turbines <strong>and</strong> steam turbine operation”, originally planned <strong>for</strong> 2020, to 2021. But we had done the maths without the host. Even in 2021, the p<strong>and</strong>emic-related restrictions did not allow us to hold such an event in a secure manner. However, the crash course we all took in the use <strong>and</strong> further development <strong>of</strong> online <strong>for</strong>mats <strong>of</strong>fered us the opportunity to try our h<strong>and</strong> at an online <strong>for</strong>mat <strong>for</strong> the symposium in 2021. And I think with success. However, even though we will not want to <strong>and</strong> will not be able to permanently do without the digitalisation facilitations we have come to love in the spatial <strong>and</strong> temporal sense in the future. An event like the Steam Turbine Conference lives not only from the technical content, but in a special way from the interpersonal contacts, from networking <strong>and</strong> the shared experience. In this respect, it was particularly pleasing that the “Steam Turbines <strong>and</strong> Steam Turbine Operation <strong>2022</strong>” symposium could take place as an attendance event in Cologne. Approximately 260 participants attended the event, who were able to obtain in<strong>for</strong>mation about products <strong>and</strong> services from 37 exhibitors at the trade exhibition. Of course, the lectures at the symposium play a central role. Here the main topics were: –– Repair options <strong>and</strong> measures <strong>for</strong> steam turbines on steam turbines –– Numerical analyses <strong>and</strong> reverse engineering –– Retr<strong>of</strong>its <strong>and</strong> possibilities <strong>for</strong> plant optimisation –– Steam quality <strong>and</strong> analysis –– Government regulations on the <strong>energy</strong> market (Grid Code, Energy Tax Act) Since the symposium in June, the topic <strong>of</strong> government requirements on the <strong>energy</strong> market has once again taken on a new significance. The ambitious climate protection goals that have been set are to be achieved through increasingly stringent implementation <strong>of</strong> the <strong>energy</strong> turnaround <strong>and</strong> decarbonisation by industry <strong>and</strong> society. The actual implementation <strong>of</strong> the goals through the nuclear <strong>and</strong> coal phase-out, the expansion <strong>of</strong> renewable energies, <strong>energy</strong> storage <strong>and</strong> gas-fired generation as well as through the entry into the hydrogen economy would be challenge enough <strong>for</strong> all <strong>energy</strong> plant manufacturers <strong>and</strong> operators. The nuclear phase-out <strong>and</strong> the implementation <strong>of</strong> the proposals <strong>of</strong> the Commission “Growth, Structural Change <strong>and</strong> Employment” on the coal phase-out into concrete legislation had already unfolded their corresponding effects on the industry, both <strong>for</strong> operators <strong>and</strong> <strong>for</strong> manufacturers <strong>and</strong> service providers. In addition to the decisions to decommission power plants, various power plants were also kept on st<strong>and</strong>by to ensure security <strong>of</strong> supply. Since the beginning <strong>of</strong> the conflict between Russia <strong>and</strong> Ukraine, security <strong>of</strong> supply has now taken on another, previously underestimated dimension. Up to this point, the topic was discussed more in the technical framework between redispatch <strong>and</strong> system stability <strong>and</strong> was almost postulated as a given. Now the fatal import dependency <strong>of</strong> the EU - <strong>and</strong> especially Germany - on natural gas, coal <strong>and</strong> crude oil has hit the collective consciousness, <strong>and</strong> with it the desire <strong>for</strong> self-sufficiency from Russian <strong>energy</strong> supplies. Apart from questions such as how to deal with the Schwedt refinery <strong>and</strong> its importance <strong>for</strong> the fuel supply in north-eastern Germany, securing the gas supply is the greatest challenge <strong>for</strong> Germany <strong>and</strong> Europe. Around 50 % <strong>of</strong> natural gas consumption in Germany was purchased from Russia in 2021. That is approx. 55 billion m 3 . This corresponded to the maximum transport capacity <strong>of</strong> Nord Stream I. Work is feverishly underway to replace this with LNG, but the quantities required pose a challenge in any case. Whether it will be possible to build a complex chemical-processing infrastructure on a greenfield site (or rather in the Wadden Sea) in Germany within a very short time remains to be seen, given the approval <strong>and</strong> construction times <strong>for</strong> other projects. Four sites have now been selected <strong>and</strong> work is underway. Building the <strong>energy</strong> system <strong>of</strong> the future based on electricity, heat <strong>and</strong> hydrogen from renewable generation in combination with <strong>energy</strong> storage <strong>and</strong> intelligent consumption remains a top priority. In this context, the use <strong>of</strong> natural gas <strong>for</strong> power generation was <strong>and</strong> is intended to have an appropriate bridging function. However, things sometimes develop differently than one thinks, <strong>and</strong> current events are shaking up this adjustment process. In any case, politicians have recognised the point <strong>of</strong> secure generation. On 7 July <strong>2022</strong>, the Deutscher Bundestag passed the Act on the Provision <strong>of</strong> Replacement Power Plants. More <strong>and</strong> more power plant units are being brought back into continuous operation from the grid reserve. Making a plant from the reserve fit <strong>for</strong> longer continuous operation <strong>and</strong> operating it in the shortest possible time would be a challenge even in times when there is no shortage <strong>of</strong> personnel or materials. Ingenuity <strong>and</strong> unconventional solutions are needed here. There is certainly no shortage <strong>of</strong> topics <strong>for</strong> future joint work in <strong>vgbe</strong> <strong>energy</strong> e.V.. Hartmut Strangfeld Dipl.-Ing., RWE Power AG, Grevenbroich Chair <strong>of</strong> the Technical Committee “Steam Turbines” at <strong>vgbe</strong> <strong>energy</strong> e.V. <strong>vgbe</strong> <strong>energy</strong> <strong>journal</strong> <strong>11</strong> · <strong>2022</strong> | 1