en.Wedoany.com Reported - On August 1, the 20 MW flywheel energy storage project of China Green Development Investment Group (China Green Development) broke ground in Golmud City, Haixi Prefecture, Qinghai Province. The project adopts multi-type flywheel coordination technology, enabling millisecond-level response to address the issue of inertia deficiency in power grids with a high proportion of renewable energy. It is a national key R&D program project approved by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, jointly advanced by 10 institutions including China Green Development Qinghai Branch, China Electric Power Research Institute, and Tsinghua University.
Construction site of China Green Development's 20 MW flywheel energy storage project.
Flywheel energy storage technology is a high-power physical energy storage technology that uses a motor to accelerate a flywheel for energy storage and decelerates the flywheel to drive the motor for power generation and release. It features high rotational inertia, high power density, high frequency cycling, fast response, high efficiency, long lifespan, low cycle cost, sub-second power support, and zero pollution. It provides inertia support and primary/secondary frequency regulation capabilities, making it an advanced technology and effective solution for addressing high-frequency power fluctuations and inertia support in power grids. A large-scale flywheel energy storage array can provide foundational inertia support and frequency regulation for a new type of power system, helping to build a new power system with a high proportion of renewable energy.
The 20 MW flywheel energy storage project now under construction is part of the Golmud Dongyue Energy Storage Station of China Green Development Qinghai Branch. The Dongyue Energy Storage Station is a large-scale hybrid new-type energy storage project, mainly comprising a 150 MW/600 MWh grid-forming lithium iron phosphate electrochemical energy storage system, a 20 MW flywheel energy storage system, and a 5 MW lithium-ion supercapacitor system.
The project innovates new energy storage technology routes. The flywheel energy storage adopts multi-type flywheel coordination technology combining high-speed flywheels and inertia flywheels, achieving millisecond-level response to address the issue of inertia deficiency in power grids with a high proportion of renewable energy. The electrochemical energy storage section applies grid-forming technology to break away from the traditional follow-the-grid mode, actively supporting grid voltage/frequency. The 5 MW lithium-ion supercapacitor system adopts China's first and the world's first 5MW-class all-carbon supercapacitor power storage equipment independently developed by China Green Development, achieving rapid response in less than 10 milliseconds and over one million ultra-long cycles, providing a standardized model for minute-level high-rate power-type energy storage.
The 150 MW/600 MWh grid-forming lithium iron phosphate electrochemical energy storage system at the Golmud Dongyue Energy Storage Station in Qinghai.
The Dongyue Energy Storage Project broke ground in April 2026 and is scheduled to be completed and put into operation in 2027. Upon completion, the project will effectively drive advancements in grid-forming, flywheel, lithium-ion supercapacitor, and other energy storage technologies in the energy sector. Together with China Green Development's existing Haixi Prefecture multi-energy complementary integration optimization demonstration project—including the 50 MW concentrated solar power station, electrochemical energy storage stations, the world's first 100 MWh smart string-type grid-forming energy storage station, and high-voltage direct-connected grid-forming energy storage stations—the project will form a concentrated zone for new-type energy storage applications in China, serving as a demonstration and leading example to better support the national "dual carbon" goals and promote the diversified, high-quality development of new-type energy storage in China.
