Recently, Shandong Aobo Energy Storage Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Aobo Energy Storage"), a molten salt supplier currently fulfilling the contract for the 1,000-MW photovoltaic and solar thermal project in Gonghe, Qinghai, has completed the alliance entry process and officially become a director unit of China Solar Thermal Alliance (hereinafter referred to as the "CSTA").
Aobo Energy Storage was established in September 2023 and is a new material enterprise integrating the research and development, promotion, and sales of molten salt energy storage materials. The company actively lays out in the thermal energy storage field, focusing on core products such as solar molten salt, molten salt-grade potassium nitrate, molten salt-grade sodium nitrate, and sodium nitrite. It is committed to providing core energy storage product supply and professional salt services for fields such as CSP, multi-energy complementation of photovoltaic, wind, and thermal energy storage, flexibility transformation of thermal power plants, and grid peak regulation and frequency modulation energy storage.
Focusing on Niche Markets and Precise Market Positioning
As a new entrant in the solar thermal industry, Aobo Energy Storage always adheres to the business philosophy of "innovation, responsibility, cooperation, and win-win." It insists on taking technological innovation as the core, relying on its solid industry resource accumulation and project operation experience, and providing customers with safe, reliable, and economical product services and technical support through professional technical support and considerate supply chain services.
In March 2024, Aobo Energy Storage signed a molten salt supply order for the Dunhuang 100-MW molten salt tower solar thermal power generation project with Dunhuang Shouhang Energy Conservation.
In August 2024, Aobo Energy Storage successfully won the bid for the molten salt procurement of the 1,000-MW photovoltaic and solar thermal project in Gonghe, Qinghai. The company will provide a solid mixture of 60% NaNO₃ and 40% KNO₃ molten salt for the project. The scope of supply includes manufacturing, testing, packaging, transportation, and on-site handover within the supply range. Aobo Energy Storage is also responsible for all materials, transportation, services, personnel safety, on-site temporary storage management, and fire protection technical requirements within the supply range. It will provide guidance on salt melting and technical requirements, on-site technical training, guide on-site testing and acceptance, participate in trial operation, and assist in handover acceptance. Additionally, it is responsible for the preparation and submission of product documentation, covering the entire process of molten salt services. This successful bid also demonstrates Aobo Energy Storage's focus on niche markets and the formation of distinctive core competitiveness.
Deepening Technology Research and Innovation
The core management team of Aobo Energy Storage has over a decade of experience in the solar thermal industry, with rich technical and engineering expertise. It is understood that Aobo Energy Storage, leveraging its own advantages, has partnered with Weifang Shengxing Chemical Co., Ltd., a well-known domestic potassium salt producer, and currently has an annual supply capacity of 120,000 tons of various types of molten salt, including potassium nitrate, sodium nitrate, and sodium nitrite, and can provide a complete set of salt supply, preheating, and melting services.
In the current pursuit of sustainable and efficient energy solutions, molten salt energy storage technology is not only applicable to the heat transfer and thermal storage processes in CSP stations but also widely used in multiple fields due to its high-temperature working capability, broad operating temperature range, excellent heat transfer capacity, low system pressure, and cost-effectiveness. These fields include energy storage retrofitting of thermal power plants, reuse of industrial waste heat, industrial heating during off-peak electricity hours, and storage for photovoltaic and wind power generation. In the future, Aobo Energy Storage will continue to increase R&D investment, follow the trend of advanced industry technologies, and develop energy storage products and solutions with independent intellectual property rights to meet project needs and enhance project economic efficiency.
Forming Industrial Synergy on the Alliance Platform
With continuous technological progress and cost reduction, molten salt energy storage technology has a significant market space in the "source, grid, load, and storage" segments of power systems. CSTA as a national-level platform composed of relevant enterprises, universities, and research institutions, is the only one of its kind in this field. Aobo Energy Storage actively applied to join CSTA to leverage the complementary advantages of technology, R&D, manufacturing, market, and capital platforms among alliance members. It aims to strengthen cooperation and synergy between upstream and downstream enterprises, form a united industrial front, enhance overall competitiveness, and accelerate the development of Aobo Energy Storage's molten salt energy storage industry through high-quality resources.
