Recently, the 105 MW two-pole high-speed motor independently developed by China—“Energy Storage No. 105”—entered successful service in the 300 MW compressed-air energy-storage national demonstration project in Feicheng, Shandong. This marks a major breakthrough for China in the R&D and application of high-power synchronous motors, providing key equipment support for the high-quality development of long-duration, large-scale compressed-air energy storage.
The motor was jointly developed by Wolong Electric Nanyang Explosion Protection Group Co., Ltd., China Energy Storage (Beijing) Technology Co., Ltd. and other organisations. It was the first to adopt an integrated design, with a single-unit power rating of 105 MW and a speed of 3,000 rpm. It is capable of operating under both starting and power-generation conditions, and is the largest single-unit synchronous motor in operation in China. Its overall efficiency is 98.8%; vibration at the shaft-extension end is 28 μm and vibration at the non-shaft-extension end is 19 μm, reaching internationally leading levels. Compared with multiple conventional motors of the same power rating, it can save 4,000 square metres of floor space and approximately RMB 1.8 million in annual electricity costs, greatly reducing construction and operating costs.
The motor has fully independent intellectual-property rights and has overcome technical challenges in high efficiency, low vibration and high reliability. It avoids the disadvantages of conventional split configurations that require multiple motors to operate jointly, including complex operating conditions, low system efficiency, and difficult installation and commissioning, thereby improving system stability. At the same time, it has overcome the previous dependence on imported high-power, high-speed motors, taken the lead in overcoming “bottleneck” technology for 100-MW-class motors, and filled the domestic product gap for 100-MW-class dual-operating-condition motors.
The 300 MW compressed-air energy-storage national demonstration power station in Feicheng, Shandong, on which this motor relies, is currently the new compressed-air energy-storage power station with the largest single-unit scale in operation internationally, the most advanced technology and the lowest unit cost. The success of this motor will continue to play a positive role in vigorously developing the market and industry for long-duration, large-scale compressed-air energy storage in the future, empowering green, low-carbon and high-quality development.