On July 16, the Chinese Academy of Sciences Institute of Engineering Thermophysics achieved a new breakthrough in compressed air energy storage research and development with the successful integration test of the world’s first 100MW CAES expander.
Energy storage technologies have been viewed as a key supporting technology for the energy revolution and a national strategic emerging technology. Compressed air energy storage technology holds many advantages such as high capacity, low cost, high efficiency, and environmental friendliness. For these reasons, CAES is one of the most promising large-scale energy storage technologies. The Chinese Academy of Sciences Institute of Engineering Thermophysics is the first institution to carry out CAES research in China. Through 15 years of hard work, the institute has made successful breakthroughs in key technologies such as full-working system design and control, a multi-stage high-load compressor and expander, high-efficiency supercritical heat storage and heat exchange, and other critical components. In 2013 and 2016, respectively, the institute constructed the world’s first 1.5MW and 10MW advanced CAES systems. The institute has been the world’s first to carry out research and development of an 100MW advanced compressed air energy storage system, beginning the project in 2017.
The expander is the key core component of the compressed air energy storage system, and poses numerous technical challenges, such as high load, large flow, complex flow and heat transfer coupling, and varied working conditions. Following years of effort, the R&D team made successful advancements in areas such as the three-dimensional design of the multi-stage expander, a complex shaft structure, adjustment and control of variable working conditions, and other design features. These advancements led to the development of the world’s first 100MW advanced compressed air energy storage system multi-stage high-load expander. The expander has advantages such as a high level of integration, high efficiency, and long lifespan.
On June 30, 2020, The Chinese Academy of Sciences Institute of Engineering Thermophysics completed the processing, integration, and testing of the expander. All test results were successful, meeting or exceeding design indicators. The successful development of the 100MW expander is an important milestone in the field of compressed air energy storage in China, and has promoted China’s advances compressed air energy storage technology to a new level.
The above work has received the support of the National Natural Science Foundation of China, the Chinese Academy of Sciences Strategic Pilot Project (Class A), the Chinese Academy of Sciences' Frontier Science Key Research Project, the National Renewable Energy Demonstration Zone Industrial Innovation and Development Special Project, and the National Key R&D Program Project.
The world's first 100MW advanced compressed air energy storage system expander