The 5-megawatt all-carbon lithium‑ion capacitor (LIC) energy storage system, independently developed by a subsidiary of China Green Development Investment Group (CGDG), has completed a full suite of type tests and obtained a certification report issued by the China National Accreditation Service for Conformity Assessment (CNAS). It is China’s first as well as the world’s first energy storage equipment of its type that passed CNAS-certified type testing.
The 5-megawatt all-carbon lithium‑ion capacitor (LIC) energy storage system. [Photo/sasac.gov.cn]
As the development of a new power system advances, energy storage has become an essential technology for grid frequency regulation. Over the past two years, the CGDG’s research team has overcome more than 100 technical challenges spanning material formulation, balancing algorithms, system integration and extreme environment adaptability, securing 42 invention patents along the way. The successful testing of the 5-MW all-carbon LIC energy storage system has established a fully self-reliant and controllable technology chain that ranges from all-carbon cell R&D and manufacturing, PACK module integration, and container-level coordinated control, to system-wide safety protection.
China’s first pilot production line for all-carbon LICs. [Photo/sasac.gov.cn]
Compared with conventional hybrid solutions, all-carbon LICs have a longer service life, enhanced safety, minimal low-temperature degradation and zero risk of lithium dendrite-induced thermal runaway. These attributes make them the preferred solution for minute-level, high-frequency grid regulation.
Having CGDG-made high-capacity LICs at its core energy units, the system achieves a cluster-level dynamic voltage deviation of just 64 millivolts and an instantaneous power response time of no more than 10 milliseconds.
Under a standard configuration of 5 MW power output and 125 kWh energy capacity, the container occupies only 70 percent of the volume and 60 percent of the land footprint of comparable competitor systems. It means over 40 percent reduction of transportation, civil engineering, and foundation construction costs for each unit.
The CGDG research team. [Photo/sasac.gov.cn]
The container will be first deployed at the Dongyue Energy Storage Plant in Northwest China’s Qinghai Province. Due to its adaptability to high-altitude, extreme‑cold environments, there is no need for additional temperature-control and pressurization equipment, significantly reducing investment and boosting revenues.
(Executive editor: Zuo Shihan)
