China’s Huai’an Salt Cavern Compressed Air Energy Storage (CAES) project in Jiangsu Province has achieved full commissioning with both 300 MW units operational.
Shanghai Electric supplied core equipment including air turbine units, generators, electric motors, and molten salt storage tanks for the 600 MW / 2,400 MWh facility.
Unit 2 successfully achieved grid connection and full-load power generation on its first attempt, providing critical engineering data for China’s new-type power system.
The first 300 MW unit reached full-load operation in December 2025.
The project uses non-supplementary combustion CAES technology with “molten salt + pressurized thermal water” heat storage, achieving ~71% conversion efficiency without fossil fuels.
Air is compressed into 980,000 m3 salt caverns (1,150-1,500m underground) during off-peak periods, then released to drive turbines during peak demand for grid stability.
The $520 million facility will generate 792 million kWh of electricity annually, while saving 250,000 tons of coal and cutting CO2 emissions by 600,000 tons yearly.
Shanghai Electric’s integrated power generation and thermal storage solution demonstrates replicable technology for long-duration storage, supporting global renewable integration and carbon neutrality goals.
