bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

moreOnThisArticles

urlAlias

commentCount

sponsorType

authorLocations

authors

paywallTypes

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

socialHeadline

headline

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

publishedDate

additionalInfoBoxes

images

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

createdDate

sponsor

factSheets

series

knowledgeQuestion

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

copyrighted

customTimezone

liveContents

Zhang Tong

China’s first domestically built 300-megawatt heavy-duty gas turbine – used for generating electricity and powering warships – has passed an ignition test.
It marks a key milestone for the Chinese technology, which was said to lag behind that of the West by about 30 years when the project began in 2016. The team’s rapid progress has closed that gap in less than a decade.
Speaking at a launch ceremony attended by government and industry officials in Shanghai on Monday, Industry and Information Technology Minister Jin Zhuanglong said the project had “overcome numerous challenges and mastered several key technologies, completing the full design and manufacturing process”.
“This successful ignition marks another major milestone,” Jin said.
Developed by China United Heavy-Duty Gas Turbine Technology Co, the first prototype of the gas turbine was completed in February.

Gas turbines work by burning fuel to generate the gas that drives the turbine blades, similar to engines in planes and cars.
Heavy-duty gas turbines – which are hundreds of times more powerful than conventional engines – are used in natural gas power generation, grid peak shaving or load shedding, and as power sources for medium-sized aircraft carriers and destroyers.
They are complex to manufacture as they operate under high temperatures and stress, and corrosive conditions.
The biggest gas turbine currently operating is the SGT5-8000H made by German company Siemens. It weighs in at 390 tonnes – about the same as an Airbus A380 – and its 375MW capacity is equal to the combined turbocharged engine power of 1,300 Porsche 911 cars. Yet the precision of its core blades is maintained within the thickness of a hair.
The gas turbine ignited on Monday is comparable to the mainstream models in service globally, known as F-class. It has an operating temperature of around 1,400 degrees Celsius (2,552 Fahrenheit) and a capacity of 300MW.
The global market for heavy-duty gas turbines has been dominated by Siemens, US firm GE and Mitsubishi from Japan, and the high technical barriers involved in manufacturing the machinery have prevented new entrants.
Chinese companies began building heavy-duty gas turbines in the early 2000s, but they depended on foreign technology for the design, manufacture and maintenance of high-temperature components and control systems.
To address this, the State Council, China’s cabinet, made gas turbines one of the nation’s key science and tech projects in 2012. That led to the establishment of China United Heavy-Duty Gas Turbine Technology two years later by the State Power Investment Corporation, Harbin Electric Corporation, Dongfang Electric Corporation and Shanghai Electric Group.
The first commercial demonstration unit – a 50MW F-class heavy-duty gas turbine – went into operation in March last year, developed by Dongfang Electric.
And in June 2023, Aero Engine Corporation of China’s Taihang 110 – another domestically built heavy-duty gas turbine with a capacity of 110MW – passed product verification testing.
The goal of building an F-class 300MW heavy-duty gas turbine was listed in the government’s “Made in China 2025” plan to upgrade hi-tech industries and reduce dependency on imports, and an even more advanced 400MW turbine is targeted by 2030.
In Shanghai on Monday, the minister emphasised the need to make more progress on the technology.
“We must persistently continue our efforts and leverage the advantages of China’s national system,” Jin said. “[Also] ensure the research resources are there, allow researchers to focus solely on tackling key problems, and fully commit to validating the overall performance and reliability of the system.”


Xi Jinping pushes hi-tech China message during visit to science city in once-poor Hefei

Can China’s BeiDou radar detect F-22 stealth fighters?

Renewal of US-China science pact said to be close, but may hold until after Election Day

China launches more satellites for Starlink rival G60 as it races to meet target

Science

‘Milestone’ for China’s gas turbine technology as it closes gap with the West

The heavy-duty gas turbine developed by China United Heavy-Duty Gas Turbine Technology has an operating temperature of around 1,400 degrees Celsius and a capacity of 300MW. Photo: CCTV

The gas turbine project has been under way for eight years. Photo: CCTV

Chip war: China claims breakthrough in silicon photonics that could clear technical hurdle

A state-funded lab in China has announced a breakthrough in chip-design technology. Photo: Shutterstock

A semiconductor wafer seen at an industry expo in Shanghai, China,. Photo: Bloomberg

Companies such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company see silicon photonics as the future of chip design. Photo: Reuters

China’s dinosaur research ready to go global in first Central Asia expeditions

Chinese dinosaur researcher Xu Xing gathers fossils at a field site. Photo: Handout

“I have witnessed China’s dinosaur research rise from its low ebb to the vibrant state it is in now. We are ready to go global,” Xu Xing says. Photo: Handout

China scientists develop space battery that can run on Mars’ atmosphere: paper

A battery developed by researchers from the University of Science and Technology of China could operate for nearly two Martian months at zero degrees, they say. Photo: Shutterstock

Researchers say the battery operates like a fuel cell, converting the chemical reactions of an energy source into electricity. Photo: Sciencedirect

News

China

First domestically built 300MW heavy-duty gas turbine passes ignition test in Shanghai


First domestically built 300MW heavy-duty gas turbine passes ignition test in Shanghai.
