Shanghai Electric Power’s Minhang Power Plant achieved a major milestone at 7:36 p.m. on September 28. The first H-class combined-cycle gas turbine by Shanghai Electric successfully completed a 168-hour full-load test run, demonstrating excellent environmental, economic, and technical performance. This achievement marks the official commercial operation of the model, coinciding with the celebration of the 74^th Chinese National Day.

The H-class gas turbine is the result of a fruitful collaboration between Shanghai Electric and Shanghai Electric Power. It is the first H-class one-driving-one separate-axis combined-cycle gas turbine manufactured by Shanghai Electric, with all main equipment including turbine island and boiler island supplied by the company. The successful operation of this turbine fully demonstrates Shanghai Electric’s capabilities in independent equipment design, technology, and supply.

The GT36 H-class gas turbine used in this project offers numerous advantages, including high performance, low emissions, operational flexibility, extended maintenance cycles, and the ability to adapt to different fuels. It incorporates advanced combustion turbine technologies, such as four-stage variable stator vanes, two-stage sequential combustion, and compressor intercooling. These features ensure exceptional stability and flexibility, The two-stage sequential combustion allows for stable combustion and achieve ultra-low NOx emissions even at a load level as low as 20%.

The steam turbine used in the project is the first domestically-made steam turbine designed for combined cycle with an H-class gas turbine. It is developed by Shanghai Electric and features advanced specifications, including a three-cylinder two-exhaust modular design and efficient AIBT flow-through technology. The turbine also incorporates advanced technologies such as start/stop system, high operational efficiency, and intelligent programs. Additionally, it is equipped with a water-hydrogen-cooled generator, ensuring high efficiency and reliability. The waste heat boiler, with a DC high-pressure system, enables rapid start/stop and efficient load response.

The Minhang Gas Turbine Demonstration Project, located in the Minhang Industrial Zone in the southwest suburb of the city, is a key project of the city. Once put into operation, it will contribute to Minhang’s role as an important power supply hub, ensuring safe, reliable, economical, and environmentally friendly operation of Shanghai’s power grid. As the first demonstration project equipped with Shanghai Electric’s H-class heavy-duty gas turbine, it will drive innovation in the gas turbine manufacturing industry. It will also play a crucial role in import substitution for heavy-duty gas turbines and establish the “Made in Shanghai” brand. This achievement is a landmark in cultivating domestic enterprises into global leaders in gas turbine manufacturing.

On September 25, Shanghai Electric and the Shanghai Advanced Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, held a completion and delivery ceremony for the first set of “horizontal 10 MWt helium gas turbine”, jointly developed for Generation IV nuclear energy. The ceremony took place at the gas turbine final assembly workshop of Shanghai Electric Power Generation Equipment’s Turbine Plant.

In May 2014, Shanghai Electric and the Shanghai Advanced Research Institute established the “Joint Research Center for Key Technologies of Generation IV Nuclear Reactor Energy Conversion System” to contribute to China’s nuclear energy development. The helium gas turbine technology, a significant research task of the Shanghai Advanced Research Institute in the "12^th, 13^th and 14^th Five-Year Plans” for scientific and technological innovation, has received support from the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Class A pilot projects, namely the “Thorium-based Molten Salt Nuclear Reactor” and “Clean Energy” projects. The Shanghai Advanced Research Institute has been actively involved in fundamental research related to this technology, while Shanghai Electric possesses comprehensive design and manufacturing capabilities for various types of power equipment. Together, they are conducting joint technical research and development to industrialize China’s Generation IV nuclear technology.