China unveils powerful homegrown heavy-duty gas turbine for commercial use

China's first independently developed 110-megawatt heavy-duty gas turbine, the Taihang 110, rolled off the assembly line at a turbine facility on Monday and is ready for commercial delivery.

The rollout ushers in the commercial operations of the country's most powerful homegrown gas turbine, and will bolster national efforts to achieve its carbon emissions targets, according to the Aero Engine Corporation of China (AECC).

Heavy-duty gas turbines, which are core equipment and a symbol of industrial strength, can be independently developed by only a few countries.

The Taihang 110 boasts a rapid start-up time, a high combined-cycle thermal efficiency level and low maintenance requirements. Capable of running on fuel, including natural gas or low-to-medium heating value gases, it is ideal for combined heat and power generation, natural-gas-peaking power plants and combined-cycle power generation.

Improving upon thermal power generation units of the same capacity, the 110-megawatt heavy-duty gas turbine can reduce carbon emissions by over 1 million tonnes per year. In its combined-cycle mode, it can generate more than 150,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity, which can meet the daily electricity demand of over 10,000 households.

AECC has also initiated research and development on hydrogen-fueled gas turbines, achieving breakthroughs in key rapid hydrogen-air mixing, low-emission hydrogen combustion organization, and the stable combustion control of hydrogen fuel, said Lu Jibin, head of gas turbines at AECC.