On April 21, the world's largest aperture—8.6-meter molten salt trough collector complete set of equipment and processes, independently developed by China General Nuclear Power Group (CGN), successfully completed technical validation at the pilot platform of CGN's solar thermal testing base in Delingha, Qinghai Province. This marks China's comprehensive mastery of core molten salt trough heat collection technology, laying a solid foundation for the large-scale development of China's large-scale molten salt trough solar thermal projects.

Yin Hang, CGN's chief expert on solar thermal technology models, stated that this heat collection technology uses molten salt as the heat transfer medium, achieving a concentration ratio of 107.5 times, enabling stable operation from a 290°C inlet to a 550°C outlet, with a thermal energy storage temperature difference of 260°C, which is 2.6 times that of traditional heat transfer oil systems, significantly enhancing grid peak-shaving support capabilities.

Since its official operation in December 2025, the system has successively completed operational tests under typical conditions such as the winter solstice and vernal equinox, with the maximum heat collection temperature reaching 574°C, achieving stable operation under conditions of -23°C and force 9 winds. Third-party testing confirmed that the optical efficiency of the collector unit and the heat collection efficiency of the loop fully met design values, verifying the collector's performance stability, structural safety, and all-weather operational capability.

The key equipment of this complete set—including the collector support structure, flexible connection components, local controllers, and support precision surface inspection devices—were all developed jointly by CGN leading advantageous enterprises in China's industrial chain, achieving 100% independent controllability of core technologies.