Recently, ITT Pump Industry (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "ITT Company") completed its membership procedures and officially became a governing member of the CSTA. As a global high-end specialty pump manufacturer with over 160 years of technical heritage, ITT Company will leverage its core technological advantages and proven engineering track record in high-temperature molten salt pumps to deeply participate in the development of China's concentrated solar power (CSP) and molten salt energy storage industry systems, empowering the high-quality development of new power systems with premium equipment.
Under the national "Dual Carbon" strategy, CSP—an electricity-grid-friendly power source with dual functions of peak-load regulation and long-duration energy storage—has become a key component of the new energy system. The "Opinions on Promoting the Scaled Development of Concentrating Solar Power" issued by the National Development and Reform Commission and the National Energy Administration clearly states that by 2030, the total installed capacity of CSP is expected to reach approximately 15 million kilowatts, with significant trends toward industrial scaling and high-parameter development.
As the core equipment of the heat storage and exchange system in CSP plants, molten salt pumps undertake the function of high-temperature molten salt circulation and transportation, directly determining plant operational reliability, system efficiency, and lifecycle costs. They are regarded as the "system heart" of CSP plants. In the early stages of China's CSP industry development, high-end molten salt pumps were heavily dependent on imports, and premium equipment with high-temperature resistance, high-pressure endurance, corrosion resistance, and long service life became critical support for industry initiation and stable operation.
ITT Company, as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Rheinhuette Pumps in China, was founded in 1857 in Wiesbaden, Germany. Its parent company is a diversified manufacturer providing high-performance key components and customized technical solutions for the energy, transportation, and industrial markets, specializing in the R&D and manufacturing of corrosion-resistant, wear-resistant, and special-condition pump products, and is a globally renowned brand in the molten salt pump sector.
Core Advantages:
✓ Over 160 years of fluid equipment R&D and engineering application experience;
✓ Adopts a China-Germany dual-base collaborative model, with 25 personnel at the Shanghai facility and 300 at the German facility, ensuring global technical collaboration for R&D, production, and service capabilities;
✓ Products can stably transport molten salt, high-temperature sulfuric acid, and various highly corrosive and abrasive media, adapted to demanding conditions in CSP, fine chemicals, metallurgy, and other sectors.
Core Performance Data (CSP Sector):
✓ ITT Company's high-temperature molten salt pumps have been batch-applied in China's first batch of national-level CSP demonstration projects, including benchmark CSP plants in Delingha, Qinghai; Hami, Xinjiang; and Yumen, Gansu;
✓ As a leading brand of early imported high-end molten salt pumps, provided complete sets of main circulation molten salt pump equipment for multiple hundred-megawatt CSP plants;
✓ Products have operated continuously and stably under high-temperature and high-pressure conditions, with long trouble-free operation cycles and high system reliability, supporting long-term safe power generation for projects;
✓ Has cumulatively provided dozens of high-temperature molten salt pump units for China's CSP demonstration projects, covering mainstream technical routes including tower-type and trough-type, and is one of the domestic CSP demonstration projects' high-share imported pump suppliers.
Rheinhuette Pumps, with its outstanding reliability under high-temperature and high-pressure conditions, provides critical support for the smooth commissioning and long-term safe and stable power generation of projects, earning high recognition from the industry.
Facing the development needs of next-generation CSP technology, ITT Company continues to maintain technological leadership:
✓ Achieved stable operation under ultra-high-temperature conditions of 600°C;
✓ Focused on long-life, maintenance-free technology directions, significantly reducing plant operation and maintenance costs;
✓ Material systems and structural designs are specifically optimized for molten salt conditions, with excellent anti-corrosion and erosion resistance performance.
The above technical capabilities highly align with the development direction of the CSP industry toward large-scale, high-parameter, cost-reduction, and efficiency-improvement, constituting its core value in participating in industrial collaborative innovation.
As a global manufacturer, ITT produces industrial pumps, valves, monitoring and control systems, providing equipment and corresponding after-sales services for the chemical, oil and gas, mining, pulp and paper, power, and biopharmaceutical markets. ITT Company was established in 2014 as a wholly foreign-owned enterprise with a registered capital of 1.61 million euros, and has established a comprehensive localized R&D, production, sales, and technical service system.
ITT Company's application to join the Solar Thermal Alliance aims to deeply integrate into industrial chain collaboration, strengthen cooperation and exchange with end-users, design institutes, construction units, and equipment suppliers; continuously consolidate core technological advantages in ultra-high temperatures and long service life; promote the iterative upgrading of new-generation molten salt pumps and energy storage fluid equipment; accelerate localized service upgrades; carry out joint innovation with domestic partners; and drive continuous optimization of CSP technology and costs.
"ITT Company joining the CSTA represents both a firm confidence in the development prospects of China's CSP market and an important symbol of the deep integration of international high-end equipment technology with China's new energy industry."Relevant personnel stated that in the future, ITT Company will continue to provide support for the safe and efficient operation of China's CSP plants with reliable, efficient, and intelligent pump solutions, working hand in hand with all parties in the industrial chain to promote the scaled development of CSP; taking molten salt as the pulse and pumps as the backbone, taking solar thermal as the industry and carbon reduction as the path, together embarking on China's magnificent journey of new energy!