The SolarPACES international cooperation project led by the Institute of Electrical Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences has been approved.
CSTA has learned that recently, the "Proposal for Research on the Thermal Energy Storage Tank" project, led by the Research Department of Solar Thermal Utilization of the Institute of Electrical Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences (IEECAS), and funded by SolarPACES, has been approved. This marks the first time China has taken the lead in applying for an international cooperation project with SolarPACES, signifying that China's scientific research capabilities in the field of CSP have been widely recognized by the international community, and it is another brilliant display of China's scientific and technological strength on the international stage.
The project, applied for and led by Associate Researcher Zhang Chuncheng of IEECAS as the Chief Scientist, has brought together top scientific research institutions from countries such as the United States' NREL, Germany's DLR, Spain's CIEMAT, and France's CSP Energies, as well as leading domestic enterprises such as Northwest Electric Power Design Institute Co., LTD, of China Power Engineering Consulting Group and Zhejiang KeSheng Technology Co., Ltd., demonstrating a high level of international cooperation.
The safety of high-temperature molten salt tanks in CSP systems is an important consideration. It is understood that accidents involving high-temperature molten salt tanks have caused significant losses. For example, the estimated economic loss from the sale of electricity due to the molten salt leak accident at the Crescent Dunes power station in the United States is more than 4 million US dollars. The rough estimate of the repair costs for the molten salt tank accident at Spain's Gemasolar solar thermal power station is around 9 million euros. After the thermal salt tank leak at Morocco's NOORo III 150MW tower solar thermal power station, the project company's revenue loss reached 47 million US dollars.
These accidents highlight the safety issues of high-temperature molten salt tanks in CSP systems, especially in terms of welding quality, selection of insulation materials, tank design, and construction acceptance. These accidents have not only caused casualties and economic losses but also affected the operation of the power station and the reputation of CSP industry. Therefore, ensuring the safe operation of molten salt tanks is crucial for CSP projects.
Chief Scientist Dr. Zhang Chuncheng introduced that the research content of the project mainly includes: in-depth investigation of the causes of molten salt tank leakage accidents in tower-type solar thermal power stations, analysis of complex and variable operating conditions and load conditions, and research on the failure mechanism of the tank; numerical simulation of molten salt tanks under charging and discharging conditions, studying the stress response rules of the tank under the coupling action of temperature field and flow field; research on the life prediction theory of molten salt tanks, proposing methods for tank life assessment; and development of structural simulation design optimization software for tanks. Each member unit of the project team will fully leverage their technical advantages, cooperate, combine basic theory with engineering practice, solve the leakage problems of molten salt tanks in tower-type solar thermal power stations, and provide technical support for achieving low-cost and safe and reliable operation of molten salt tanks. In addition, it is hoped that through this project, a path of industry-academia-research international cooperation will be explored to help deepen technical exchanges among domestic and international peers and enhance the international status and influence of China's solar thermal technology.
