Startup Tests Compact Gas Turbine Designed for Emission-Free Power and Water Output

Arbor Energy, a Los Angeles-area startup, has developed a gas turbine roughly one-fifth the size of conventional units that uses 3D-printed components and rocket-engine oxy-combustion technology to produce emission-free power while generating fresh water as a byproduct.

Forbes reported that founder Brad Hartwig, a former SpaceX rocket engineer, designed the system to burn fuel with pure oxygen rather than air. The process yields only carbon dioxide and water, allowing the CO2 to be captured directly for sequestration.

The company is testing a one-megawatt prototype. It plans to open a California factory in 2027 with initial annual capacity of 40 units of its 25-megawatt HALCYON turbines. Arbor Energy raised $55 million in 2025 from investors including Lowercarbon Capital, Voyager Ventures, Gigascale Capital, and Marathon Petroleum Corporation.

Its first contract calls for delivery of up to 5 gigawatts of turbines to GridMarket beginning in 2029. Hartwig said the company aims to have the first commercial units operating in 2028 at a target price below $2,000 per kilowatt. Each megawatt deployed is projected to produce about one million gallons of fresh water per year.

The same Forbes report noted that electric vehicles accounted for nearly one-quarter of global new-car sales in 2025. BYD sold 2.26 million pure electric vehicles that year, ahead of Tesla’s 1.64 million. Canada opened its market to Chinese EVs in 2026.

The International Energy Agency forecasts 23 million global EV sales in 2026. Sunrun CEO Mary Powell stated that Sunrun, Tesla, and Renew Home together control 16 gigawatts of residential solar and battery capacity. Sunrun’s battery resources total 7.8 gigawatts, and the company supplies power to the grid through 18 programs across the United States.