Why is it important to independently develop heavy-duty gas turbines

introduction

In the wave of technological innovation and energy transformation, China's energy equipment field has received another exciting news - China's independently developed 300 MW F-class heavy-duty gas turbine has successfully ignited for the first time in Shanghai Lingang. This is another important milestone achievement since the first prototype was assembled and rolled off the assembly line in February this year, marking the comprehensive entry of China's independently developed heavy-duty gas turbine into the whole machine testing and verification stage. This achievement not only demonstrates the strength of China's energy technology, but also raises a question worth exploring in depth: why do heavy-duty gas turbines occupy such a pivotal position in the global energy system and national development strategies?

Gas turbines are the core power equipment in the fields of aviation, shipbuilding, and energy. According to their structural design characteristics, they can be divided into heavy-duty gas turbines, aviation engines, and light-duty gas turbines (or aviation to gas turbines). The design and manufacturing of gas turbines are extremely difficult, with high technological intensity, wide industrial driving range, and strong military civilian integration attributes. It is a concentrated reflection of a country's industrial level and a "national treasure" related to national security and economic development. Therefore, it is known as the "pearl on the crown" of equipment manufacturing industry.

The power of heavy-duty gas turbines is hundreds of times that of traditional engines, which can be used for natural gas power generation, grid peak shaving or load shedding, and as a power source for medium-sized aircraft carriers and destroyers. In terms of working principle, heavy-duty gas turbines are high-speed rotating turbomachinery that convert the chemical energy of fuel and fluid kinetic energy into power through four thermodynamic processes: compression, heating, expansion, and heat release. In this conversion process, the initial gas temperature and compressor pressure ratio are the main factors affecting the efficiency of gas turbines. In the 1950s, the power generation industry introduced gas turbines. At present, gas turbine combined cycle power generation has reached one-fifth of the global total power generation (more than one-third in European and American countries). With the development and utilization of natural gas resources worldwide, heavy-duty gas turbines have been widely used in the field of power generation. Their excellent peak shaving ability makes them play an increasingly important role in future new energy dominated power systems. The demand for heavy-duty gas turbine products in China's power industry is urgent. In the most important direction of clean power generation, the total installed capacity of gas power in 2021 is about 108.6 million kilowatts (accounting for 4.6% of the total installed capacity of power sources), and it is expected to add 32 million kilowatts of gas power installed capacity before 2025. After the carbon peak and carbon neutrality strategic goals are proposed, the process of clean and low-carbon energy consumption will be further accelerated, and electricity will also occupy the dominant position in the energy system, making the related development tasks arduous.

For a long time, a highly monopolized heavy gas turbine technology and industry development pattern has been formed internationally, mainly due to historical factors such as high core technology barriers, industrial scale development, and market competition. The international mainstream heavy-duty gas turbine manufacturers mainly include General Electric of the United States, Siemens of Germany, and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries of Japan. In addition, Ansaldo of Italy acquired the gas turbine assets of Alstom of France in 2016, becoming one of the world's largest gas turbine manufacturers.

China started relatively late in the field of heavy-duty gas turbine manufacturing, with weak technological accumulation. In the past, it relied on foreign enterprises for a long time to meet equipment needs and carry out product maintenance. Tracing back history, China began developing gas turbine technology in the late 1950s. Through imitation and development, by the early 1970s, domestic manufacturers had developed several gas turbines for vehicles and power generation, laying a preliminary foundation for China's gas turbine industry. However, from the 1980s to the end of the 20th century, due to the shortage of domestic oil and gas supply, the gas and oil power generation industries entered a low tide period, delaying the progress of China's gas turbine technology and rapidly widening the gap with the international advanced level.

Since July 2002, the National Development and Reform Commission has organized multiple "bundled bidding" for F-class and E-class gas turbines, aiming to promote cooperation between Shanghai Electric, Dongfang Electric, and Harbin Electric (i.e. the three major electrical groups) and foreign gas turbine enterprises through market for technology exchange and other cooperation methods, and introduce heavy-duty gas turbine manufacturing technology. Despite these collaborations, the design technology of gas turbines, manufacturing and maintenance technology of core components (burner components, high-temperature turbine blade components), testing technology, etc. are still in the hands of foreign parties and technology transfer has not been achieved. Therefore, currently in service heavy-duty gas turbines are still mainly foreign products, which pose a risk of supply chain interruption or shutdown, threatening the stability of power supply and national energy security. In this context, independent research and development of heavy-duty gas turbines has become the key to resisting external environmental risks. Faced with external technological blockades and internal resource constraints, enterprises must start from scratch and accelerate the process of independent research and development to ensure the country's autonomy and innovation capabilities in technology and equipment, and promote the transformation and upgrading of the industrial chain.

Under the guidance of the strategy of building a strong technological country, China's heavy-duty gas turbine industry has entered a critical stage of independent research and development, innovative development, and strategic transformation. Gas turbine manufacturing enterprises focus on heavy-duty gas turbines, overcome multiple key technologies, and integrate the entire design and manufacturing process, achieving a series of significant breakthroughs. In November 2022, Dongfang Electric's independently developed F-class 50 MW heavy-duty gas turbine was officially shipped, marking the beginning of a new chapter of high-quality development in China's independent gas turbine industry. Subsequently, in June 2023, the "Taihang 110" heavy-duty gas turbine (AGT-110) developed by AVIC was validated in Shenzhen. In February 2024, China's first independently developed 300 MW F-class heavy-duty gas turbine prototype was successfully launched, with technical indicators comparable to international mainstream. It was implemented by China United Heavy Duty Gas Turbine Technology Co., Ltd. (China Heavy Duty), jointly established by State Power Investment Corporation and three major electrical groups, and assembled and manufactured by Shanghai Electric Group. More than 200 units from 19 provinces and cities participated. In July of this year, the 15 MW heavy-duty gas turbine (G15) independently developed by Dongfang Electric was produced in Deyang, Sichuan.

At present, the technological development of heavy-duty gas turbines is focusing on multiple key areas, including advanced materials and intelligent manufacturing, flexible fuel low pollution combustion, efficient aerodynamics and advanced cooling technology, system intelligent measurement and maintenance, and new high-efficiency power generation systems. The progress in these fields not only promotes the improvement of gas turbine performance, but also lays a solid foundation for its future development. Looking ahead to the future, heavy-duty gas turbines are developing towards ultimate efficiency, economic reliability, and ultra long lifespan. The pressure ratio between the initial temperature of the gas and the compressor is a key factor determining the efficiency of the gas turbine. To achieve this goal, it is necessary to continuously improve the initial gas temperature, component efficiency, and enhance structural reliability. Therefore, fields such as combustion technology, structural materials and coatings, additive manufacturing, thermal management, high fidelity comprehensive simulation and verification testing, advanced thermodynamic cycles, system integration and optimization, state based operation and maintenance, digital twin technology, and corresponding infrastructure will become the focus of future research. Meanwhile, with the proposal of the carbon peak and carbon neutrality strategic goals, the development of net zero emissions and flexible fuel gas turbines is accelerating. This requires gas turbines not only to have stronger adaptability to blended and pure hydrogen fuels, but also to have wider load regulation capabilities and lower pollutant emission performance. Therefore, the materials and manufacturing processes of key components such as fuel systems and combustion chambers, as well as the design of new combustion chambers, have become critical technical issues that urgently need to be addressed.

The reason why heavy-duty gas turbines are so important is not only because they play a key role in the global energy system as core equipment for energy conversion and supply, but also because their technological development and breakthroughs have a profound impact on the overall scientific and technological strength, energy security, green transformation, and national defense capabilities of the country. The Third Plenum of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China explicitly proposed to improve policies and governance systems for promoting the development of strategic industries such as new energy, new materials, and high-end equipment. Heavy duty gas turbines are an important part of this strategic direction. Therefore, the independent development of heavy-duty gas turbines in China is not only a major technological task, but also a necessary path to achieve high-quality development, ensure energy security, promote green transformation, and enhance national defense security.