China Energy Storage Network: 2024 is called the first year of industrialization of compressed air energy storage technology by industry insiders. In the process of large-scale commercialization in the market, new energy storage technologies including compressed air energy storage still need to overcome further difficulties.

▲The main plant of the 300MW advanced compressed air energy storage national demonstration power station in Feicheng, Shandong. China National Energy Storage/Photo

Nowadays, new energy storage technologies are constantly emerging, and technical routes are "blooming". Compressed air energy storage has the advantages of large scale, low cost, long life, clean and pollution-free, safe and reliable, and is gradually moving from demonstration application to the market. 2024 is called the first year of industrialization of compressed air energy storage technology by industry insiders. The reporter of "China Energy News" learned that in the process of large-scale commercialization, new energy storage technologies including compressed air energy storage need to further overcome difficulties.

Forming a new situation of construction

Recently, the first 300MW/1800MWh advanced compressed air energy storage national demonstration power station in Feicheng, Shandong Province, was successfully connected to the grid for the first time. It is understood that the power station uses the advanced compressed air energy storage technology independently developed by the Institute of Engineering Thermophysics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. The construction scale is 300 MW/1,800 MWh, and the total investment of the project is 1.496 billion yuan. After being fully charged, it can achieve continuous discharge for 6 hours, with an annual power generation of about 600 million kWh. During peak power consumption, it can provide power guarantee for 200,000 to 300,000 households, save about 189,000 tons of standard coal each year, and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by about 490,000 tons.

Ji Li, general manager of China National Energy Storage (Beijing) Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "China National Energy Storage Company"), the investment and construction unit of the project, said in an interview with a reporter from China Energy News: "The grid-connected power generation of the 300 MW power station in Feicheng, Shandong is a milestone in the field of compressed air energy storage. It not only means that the scale of the compressed air energy storage system has increased, the efficiency has been improved, and the cost has been reduced, but it is also of great significance in terms of technology, products and business models."

According to Ji Li, the power station can be replicated in other regions, quickly promoting the application and promotion of 300 MW compressed air energy storage technology, and the power station can participate in electricity spot market transactions to form reasonable and stable long-term benefits, which will help to form a replicable business model in demonstration applications.

In the past ten years, the installed capacity of compressed air energy storage in my country has developed from kilowatts to megawatts and hundreds of megawatts. With the grid-connected power generation of the 300 MW compressed air energy storage power station, compressed air energy storage has shown a rapid industrial development trend, and a new situation of large-scale construction and application has been formed.

It is understood that the larger the scale of the compressed air energy storage system, the higher the efficiency and the lower the cost. From 1.5 MW to 10 MW and then to 100 MW, every time the scale of the system is enlarged, there are new equipment and system problems to be overcome and re-developed. In the view of discipline, the small-scale power stations that have been built and operated before are more of a phased achievement, and the main ones that truly give play to the advantages of compressed air energy storage and are suitable for market promotion are 100 MW and larger systems.

It is reported that the 300 MW advanced compressed air energy storage project of China National Energy Storage Corporation in Xinyang, Henan is under construction, and large-scale advanced compressed air energy storage projects in Jiangxi, Hebei, Xinjiang, Hunan, Shaanxi, Qinghai and other places are also gradually starting.

The technology has gradually matured

The "2024 China Compressed Air Energy Storage Industry Development White Paper" edited by the China Chemical and Physical Power Industry Association shows that by the end of 2023, there will be 7 compressed air energy storage projects in operation in my country, with a cumulative installed capacity of about 182.5 MW.

"We have verified the feasibility and performance of compressed air energy storage technology through demonstration power stations including the 300 MW project. In the future, our focus will be on the construction and commissioning of more power stations, and advancing in the direction of scale, industrialization and marketization." Ji said. In his opinion, compressed air energy storage technology has basically matured, and the focus in the future will be on large-scale market application and promotion. In 2024, compressed air energy storage will enter the fast lane of industrial development, and it is expected to show explosive growth in the future. It is expected that the installed capacity this year will increase by at least 3 times on the original basis.

In the past two years, the popularity of new energy storage has been extraordinary. In addition to compressed air energy storage, new energy storage also includes lithium-ion batteries, flow batteries, flywheel energy storage, etc. Ji believes that several mainstream energy storage technology routes have their own market space, and comprehensive energy storage power stations combining multiple technologies will also be a trend in the future.

Li Chuangjun, director of the New Energy and Renewable Energy Department of the National Energy Administration, pointed out at a press conference of the State Council Information Office on June 20 that as of the end of May this year, my country has built and put into operation new energy storage projects with an installed capacity of more than 38 million kilowatts, with an average energy storage time of 2.2 hours, and 12 provinces and regions have installed capacity of more than one million kilowatts.

Large-scale development still needs to break through

Although new energy storage technology has already stood on the "trend", as a new type of industry, it will inevitably face a series of challenges on the road to development. In the future, if it wants to achieve large-scale development, it still needs to solve several difficulties.

Ji believes that first of all, the business model, new energy storage technology must have a relatively reasonable and stable electricity price mechanism to ensure its long-term stable and reasonable income; secondly, it is necessary to plan and layout reasonably, and coordinate the management and layout of energy storage project construction; thirdly, it is necessary to establish and improve the industry standards and specifications of new energy storage technology, which is conducive to the standardized development of the entire industry and the promotion of subsequent projects.

The reporter learned that many new energy storage technologies have not yet formed a mature industrial chain, and many equipment products are non-standard and need to be customized. In the process of gradual industrialization, it is possible to further reduce technical costs, increase production scale, and meet the market demand for subsequent energy storage. The continuous iteration of energy storage technology is the core driving force for the development of the industry. Advanced energy storage technology can significantly improve system efficiency and reduce costs, thereby enhancing the market competitiveness of enterprises. Compressed air energy storage technology has gradually matured, but it still needs to be further improved at the technical level.

New energy storage is an important part of the new power system and new energy system, and has become a key supporting technology for the construction of new power systems and new energy systems in my country. "To truly play an important role and function in the power system, it is also necessary to reflect the commercial value of energy storage power stations through the long-term operation and benefits after the completion of the power station." Ji said.

For the future development of new energy storage, Li Chuangjun also said that the National Energy Administration will strengthen the demonstration and tracking of new energy storage pilots and promote the innovation of new energy storage technologies; improve the grid connection and dispatching operation mechanism of new energy storage, and promote the regulation of new energy storage; plan in advance to strengthen top-level design, promote the scientific and reasonable configuration of new energy storage in new energy bases, and promote the high-quality development of the new energy storage industry.

[Editor: Gao Qian]