Golmud, Qinghai, located on the southern edge of the Qaidam Basin. On the Gobi Desert, blue photovoltaic panels are laid all the way towards the horizon, and white wind turbines are slowly rotating. But when there is no wind or light at night, the green electricity disappears without a trace; During the day when the scenery is in full swing, the power grid often cannot accommodate it. Being able to survive and use it was once the most troublesome thing in this land of infinite scenery.

On October 30th, 2026, the answer will be delivered. The world's largest 60 MW liquid air energy storage national demonstration project, developed and provided with core equipment by China Green Development Investment and Harbin Electric Power Group, has successfully connected to the grid for power generation. It is also a pilot demonstration project for new energy storage by the National Energy Administration and the first major technological equipment in the energy field, marking a significant breakthrough in the localization of China's core technology equipment for liquid air energy storage.

Freeze the air into electricity

The approach sounds like a magic trick. When the electricity consumption is low, surplus electricity drives the compressor to compress and cool the purified air step by step. It condenses into liquid under the ultra-low temperature deep freezing liquefaction process at -194 ℃ and is sent to the storage tank at atmospheric pressure; During peak electricity consumption, liquid air is pressurized, vaporized, and reheated to absorb the previously recovered and stored heat, which drives the expansion generator to generate electricity. The air completes a journey from electricity to cold and then from cold to electricity in a closed loop.

The density of liquid air is about 750 times that of gaseous air at room temperature, but it can be safely stored under normal pressure. The entire system uses air as the working medium, does not rely on geological conditions or chemical batteries, is safe and environmentally friendly, has flexible layout, and has advantages such as large-scale, long time efficiency, and long service life.

Three major national treasures

Running this process relies on equipment. Harbin Electric Power Group Steam Turbine Company provides expansion generator sets and hairpin heat exchangers, among which the expansion machine is currently the world's largest liquid air energy storage turbine, with fast start-up response and low life loss, and can accurately adapt to frequent start stop of energy storage units; The hairpin heat exchanger is specialized in treating large temperature differences, severe temperature fluctuations, and frequent start stop thermal shocks, with outstanding resistance to fatigue and thermal shock. The high-power air compressor unit drive motor provided by Harbin Electric Power Group's dynamic installation company is a key hub for electric energy conversion and air liquefaction energy storage. Its efficient and stable operation directly determines the conversion efficiency and safety reliability of the entire system.

The project has complete independent intellectual property rights, with a 100% localization rate of equipment. Its energy storage power and capacity rank first in the world's liquid air energy storage field, and multiple core indicators have reached the world's leading level.

From the Gobi Desert to the Far East

Grid connection is not the end point. This project has achieved the large-scale development of liquid air energy storage systems from hundreds of kilowatts to tens of thousands of kilowatts, truly enabling new energy power to be stored during low periods and used during high periods, effectively solving the problems of large fluctuations in wind and photovoltaic output and difficulties in on-site consumption. It has also accumulated valuable engineering practice experience for the construction of new power systems, energy structure transformation, and subsequent promotion of similar projects.keywords:New energy information network

During the project execution, Harbin Electric Power Group established a professional service team to provide key support with strong technical capabilities and rich practical experience. Looking towards the future, Harbin Electric Power Group will continue to deepen its cultivation in the fields of new energy storage and advanced energy equipment, contributing more to the construction of a clean, low-carbon, safe and efficient energy system.Editor/Yang Meiling