GE Energy today opened a new Technology Center in Belfort, the company’s European headquarters for the past 10 years and its international center of excellence for the manufacturing of medium-sized gas turbines. The new Technology Center will house up to 400 engineers from 15 different countries, who will work to develop the most advanced technology to help customers address environmental and energy challenges.

Covering 12,000 m2, the center will be fully operational by September2009 and represents GE Energy and Sempat’s (Société patrimoniale du Territoire de Belfort) joint investment of approximately € 25 million.

“Despite the current global economic downturn, GE Energy continues to invest in innovation,” said Ricardo Cordoba, GE Energy’s president for Western Europe and Northern Africa. “We are opening our new Technology Center at a time when most of the world is discussing energy and environmental challenges such as growing demand, the effects of climate change and the need to reduce energy production costs. The future lies in the development of the most advanced, most effective and cleaner technologies and that will be part of the mission of our new center.”

The opening of the Technology Center reinforces Belfort’s role as one of GE Energy’s most important global centers of excellence for the production of heavy duty gas turbines. Constructed with the support of SEMPAT the Technology Center is dedicated to the management of customer projectsworldwide and on-going research and development for existing gas turbine technologies.

Emmanuel Kerrand, director of the Technology Center, noted that the facility is designed to provide “an ultra-modern work environment” for its staff. “We are banking on the expertise of our European team of engineers to design new, cutting-edge technologies for energy production, including higher performing gas turbines,” he said.

The new Technology Center culminates 10 years of investments by GE Energy in Belfort. Since setting up its European headquarters here in 1999, GE Energy has become the leading exporter in the region, and currently employs 2,000 people.