In October, the Gobi Desert is still covered in gravel by the early morning wind. The wind turbines on the mountain ridge slowly rotate, and the photovoltaic panels light up repeatedly in the morning light. However, not all of these green lights are heading towards the distance - they turn a corner and are loaded into rows of storage tanks on the Gobi Desert. When night falls and thousands of households light up, they are converted back into electricity and returned to the grid.

On October 6, 2026, it was learned from Dongfang Electric Group that the Huadian Dongfang Electric Mulei Compressed Carbon Dioxide Energy Storage Comprehensive Energy Demonstration Project, which was contracted by the group, has recently been successfully connected to the grid for power generation. This is China's first 100 megawatt level compressed carbon dioxide energy storage project, marking a significant breakthrough in the integrated application of key technologies and engineering for gas-liquid phase change energy storage in China.

How is electricity stored

When electricity is low, surplus electricity drives the compressor to compress carbon dioxide gas at room temperature and pressure into liquid, and the heat generated by compression is sent to the thermal storage unit for storage; During peak electricity consumption, liquid carbon dioxide absorbs heat and vaporizes into high-temperature and high-pressure gas, which drives the turbine expander to rotate and generate electricity. The used carbon dioxide then returns to the storage tank, waiting for the next cycle. Compression liquefaction energy storage gasification expansion energy release power generation, the entire chain is connected without combustion or emission.

Unlike pumped storage that relies on mountains and water, and compressed air storage that requires finding salt caverns, carbon dioxide storage does not rely on geological conditions and can be built on the Gobi Desert; After liquefaction, the energy density is higher and long-term storage is more cost-effective. The project is equipped with 141 liquid storage units, 97 thermal storage units, and 5 gas storage tanks, with an operating life of not less than 30 years and a maximum of 20 minutes from start-up to full load.

Deyang produces hardcore equipment

The project is provided with carbon dioxide compressors, electric motors, turbine expanders, generators, pressure storage tanks, large heat exchangers, high-power frequency converters, and control systems by Dongfang Turbine, Dongfang Electric Machinery, Dongfang Boiler, Dongfang Automation, etc. It adopts non supplementary combustion gas-liquid phase change energy storage technology, and all core equipment is domestically produced and independently controllable. It has been selected for the fourth batch of major technical equipment by the National Energy Administration and the second batch of green and low-carbon advanced technology demonstration projects by the National Development and Reform Commission.

The project innovatively develops high-power density axial flow and centrifugal compressor technology, matched with fully independently developed high-efficiency and high-power carbon dioxide turbine technology. The turbine efficiency can reach over 90%, and the intake flow rate can reach 1472.4 tons per hour. It is currently the most efficient compressed carbon dioxide power generation unit in China. Faced with the challenges of large temperature differences between day and night, sandstorms, severe winter temperatures, and lack of experience to follow for the first set, the team conducted a special demonstration on low-temperature material selection, sandstorm protection, and equipment antifreeze in advance. Through modular prefabrication, segmented installation, and multi line parallel construction, the team established a full process quality control and joint debugging and testing mechanism to overcome them one by one.

Power bank on the Gobi Desert

The project is equipped with 600000 kilowatts of wind power and 400000 kilowatts of photovoltaic power, covering an area of approximately 848 acres. It can achieve low valley power storage and high peak discharge, respond to grid dispatch at the minute level, and generate electricity continuously for more than 6 hours. Every year, it can store 290 million kWh of electricity during low demand periods and release 180 million kWh of clean green electricity during peak demand periods, effectively smoothing out fluctuations in wind and solar power generation, reducing wind and solar power curtailment rates, and enhancing the peak shaving and new energy consumption capacity of the Xinjiang power grid.keywords:New energy information network

After being put into operation, it can save about 50000 tons of standard coal and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by about 170000 tons per year. At the same time, it will drive the development of local equipment manufacturing, engineering construction, and operation and maintenance service industries, and provide a replicable and promotable engineering model for supporting energy storage in the Shagehuang large-scale wind and solar power base.Editor/Yang Meiling