The full-process commissioning of the MW·h-class long-duration high-temperature industrial thermal energy storage experimental demonstration project at Ordos Laboratory has been successfully completed.

Recently, based on the groundbreaking technical concept of "sand thermal battery" proposed by the team of Wei Fei and Zhang Chenxi from Tsinghua University, the pilot plant of the MWh-class long-duration high-temperature industrial thermal energy storage experimental demonstration project — independently developed by Tsinghua University and the Industrial Thermal Energy Storage Team of Ordos Laboratory, and designed and constructed by our company — has achieved full-process operation in Dalu Industrial Park, Jungar Banner, Ordos City. It has successfully produced the target steam, marking that the high-temperature solid particle thermal storage technology of this project has passed the full-process verification of ""heating — heat storage — heat release"". This is a significant milestone for the concept of "sand thermal battery" to move from the "laboratory" to the "production line".
As a project supported by the Science and Technology Support Program of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, it has received strong support from local governments at all levels. The professional design team of Zhida and the R&D team of Ordos Laboratory have spent nearly a year carrying out key technological research and industrialization design focusing on such key directions as high-power and rapid electro-thermal conversion technology and equipment, synthesis of high-temperature resistant thermal storage particle materials, continuous dynamic heat storage/release technology and equipment, thermal insulation technology and materials, and integrated system integration of heating-storage-release. The pilot plant adopts a technical route with electromagnetic induction as the heating method, nitrogen as the heat transfer medium, and particle materials as the thermal storage medium. The particle technology has broken through technical bottlenecks such as the heat transfer limitation of high-power electromagnetic induction heating and the inability to recover heat dissipation from electromagnetic induction coils. The designed technical indicators are as follows: stably outputting 0.1t/h, 3.0MPa industrial steam, with a heat storage temperature of 600-1500℃, an energy storage density of 120-450Wh/kg, and a heat storage-release cycle efficiency of >90%.
The successful commissioning of the pilot plant has initially achieved the expected design goals, verifying the feasibility and advancement of high-temperature solid particle thermal storage technology in engineering applications. It has taken a crucial step in the groundbreaking industrial thermal storage path of ""sand thermal battery"", laying a solid foundation for the subsequent systematic optimization of process parameters and the implementation of 100MWh-class industrial demonstration projects.
Next, Zhida will work closely with the Industrial Thermal Energy Storage Team of Ordos Laboratory to continue focusing on key links such as system energy efficiency improvement, stability verification, and long-term operation evaluation, comprehensively optimize technical indicators, and accelerate the promotion of industrialization demonstration and market-oriented applications.