NUOVO PIGNONE SRL

Their core work

Nuovo Pignone is a Florence-based industrial turbomachinery manufacturer (part of the Baker Hughes group) that designs, builds, and maintains gas turbines, compressors, and related rotating equipment for power generation and oil & gas applications. In H2020, they contribute their deep turbomachinery engineering expertise to projects developing supercritical CO2 (sCO2) power cycles, flexible fossil power plant operation, and industrial waste heat recovery systems. They serve as the industrial partner that translates laboratory-scale thermodynamic concepts into real turbine and compressor hardware capable of operating at commercial scale.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

In the early period (2016–2018), Nuovo Pignone focused on conventional fossil power plant flexibility — turbine blade dynamics, sealing, bearing lifetime, and aero-elastic response — reflecting the industry's push to make existing gas turbines handle variable renewable energy grids. From 2018 onward, their focus shifted decisively toward supercritical CO2 power cycles, with three major projects (sCO2-Flex, SOLARSCO2OL, CO2OLHEAT) developing sCO2 turbomachinery for solar, industrial waste heat, and grid flexibility applications. This evolution shows a clear strategic pivot from optimizing legacy fossil technology to building next-generation power conversion hardware.

Nuovo Pignone is positioning itself as a leading industrial manufacturer of sCO2 turbomachinery, targeting waste heat recovery, solar thermal, and desalination as application markets beyond traditional power generation.

How they like to work

Nuovo Pignone consistently operates as a participant, never coordinating — typical of a large industrial company that brings manufacturing capability and hardware expertise to research-driven consortia led by universities or research institutes. With 137 unique partners across 25 countries, they work in large consortia (their energy projects typically involve 10+ partners) and appear comfortable integrating into multi-national teams. Their third-party roles in Clean Sky 2 suggest they also provide specialized components or testing through subcontracting arrangements with aerospace OEMs.

Extensive European network spanning 137 unique partners across 25 countries, reflecting their role as an industrial anchor in large energy research consortia. Their geographic reach covers most of the EU, with particularly strong ties to energy research groups working on advanced power cycles.

What sets them apart

Nuovo Pignone is one of very few industrial turbomachinery OEMs actively participating in H2020 sCO2 power cycle research — most competitors stay at arms length from pre-commercial EU projects. Their combination of real manufacturing floors in Florence, deep rotating equipment engineering, and willingness to build prototype sCO2 turboexpanders makes them an essential partner for any consortium that needs to move beyond paper studies to hardware demonstration. For consortium builders, they bring TRL advancement credibility that academic partners cannot provide alone.

Highlights from their portfolio

• CO2OLHEAT
  Largest single EC contribution (EUR 3.5M) — demonstrates sCO2 cycles for industrial waste heat recovery across cement, glass, and aluminum sectors, signaling serious commitment to commercialization.
• SOLARSCO2OL
  Combines sCO2 turbomachinery with concentrated solar power and molten salt thermal storage — positions the company at the intersection of two high-growth clean energy technologies.
• FLEXTURBINE
  Addressed critical grid flexibility challenge for fossil power plants — focused on advanced turbine blade aerodynamics, flutter prediction, and component lifetime under cycling loads.