Present Research Status of MHD Electrical Power Generation

Recent research activities for open and closed cycle MHD electrical power generations are reviewed. World first full scale 500MWe natural gas fired open cycle MHD is now under construction in USSR. Coal-fired open cycle MHD researches are in the stage of proof of concept and retrofitting of old coal power stations with MHD is planned in US and other countries. Basic research for closed MHD is most actively pursued in Japan, which potentially can provide a very high efficiency and a simple and reliable system.