Guoneng Suzhou molten salt thermal storage： Coal-fired generator set is equipped with super ＂charging treasure＂

Dawn News Network-Dawn News On April 1, the reporter walked into the construction site of the molten salt heat storage project of Guoneng Suzhou Thermal Power Co., Ltd., and the engineering vehicles shuttled back and forth, the pile driver rumbled, the workers were skilled, and the steel bars were steadily driven into the foundation … The construction of the molten salt heat storage project was in full swing.

Molten salt has the characteristics of high boiling point, low viscosity, low steam pressure and high volume heat, and it is an excellent heat transfer and storage medium. Molten salt heat storage technology uses the temperature difference generated during the heating and cooling of molten salt to realize thermal energy storage. According to Wu Xing, director of the production technology department of Guoneng Suzhou, by applying molten salt heat storage technology, the heat energy generated in the process of coal-fired power generation is stored in molten salt when the power grid is low, and released when the power supply load is low, which is equivalent to providing a super "charging treasure" for the coal-fired generator set.

In the list of green and low-carbon advanced technology demonstration projects (the first batch) recently published by the National Development and Reform Commission, the molten salt heat storage project of Guoneng Suzhou Thermal Power Co., Ltd. ranks among them, which is a breakthrough in the transformation of molten salt heat storage technology achievements in our city.

This project is the first molten salt energy storage project instead of electrochemical energy storage project in China, and it is also the world’s largest coal-fired generator set coupled molten salt heat storage project at present. It has more than 40 invention patents, completely independent intellectual property rights, and all core equipment is localized.

"The selection of this project marks that the innovation of molten salt heat storage applied to coal-fired power flexibility transformation technology has been fully recognized in the green and low-carbon field, and it has also injected new impetus into the company’s sustainable development." Wu Xing told reporters that the project integrates domestic top scientific research institutes and equipment manufacturing units, breaks through the bottleneck of thermoelectric coupling of some traditional coal-fired generating units, improves the regulation capacity of coal-fired generating units by storing and releasing thermal energy, better adapts to the changes in power system demand, realizes flexible power supply scheduling, and achieves efficient utilization of green and low-carbon energy.

According to the calculation, after the project is put into operation, the maximum load of the generator set with heating can be increased from 80% to 100% of the rated load, and the power generation capacity of renewable energy can be increased by 70 MW and 350 MWh, which can reduce 60,000 tons of coal combustion and 85,000 tons of carbon emissions throughout the year, ensuring the heating safety of 51 industrial and commercial enterprises in Suzhou, which is of great strategic significance for optimizing the energy structure, energy saving and emission reduction and promoting the development of clean energy industry in Suzhou.

The application of molten salt heat storage in coal-fired power flexibility transformation technology is just a microcosm of Guoneng Suzhou Company’s active exploration of new energy storage technology. Wu Xing said that the company will take this as a new starting point, continuously increase investment in energy innovation, strengthen cooperation with the New Energy Technology Research Institute of the National Energy Group and leading enterprises in the industrial chain, jointly accelerate the progress of the project, strive to achieve more independent innovation achievements, provide support for the construction of a new energy system in our city, and help achieve the goal of "double carbon". (Reporter Han Rui)