Steel and New Energy Storage: A String-Type Energy Storage Station Has Operated for Over 10,000 Hours
Located at the Nanjing Iron and Steel Group, the Nanjing Nanjing Steel 61MW/123MWh energy storage station (hereinafter referred to as the “Nanjing Steel Energy Storage Station”), supported by Three Gorges Energy and Lingshu Energy, has recently reached a significant milestone. Since being fully connected to the grid in January 2024, the station has continuously and stably operated for over 10,000 hours. It has transferred more than 10 million kilowatt-hours of peak load electricity, effectively saving a substantial amount on electricity costs. This achievement maximizes the economic benefits of the energy storage station in peak shaving and valley filling, while also enhancing the utilization level of the regional energy storage station. Additionally, it has successfully participated in demand response, delayed power system upgrades, and provided ancillary services.
It is noteworthy that the Nanjing Steel Energy Storage Station achieved a system efficiency of up to 90.29%, certified by the State Grid Electric Power Research Institute, setting a new benchmark for the economic viability of commercial energy storage. This makes the Nanjing Steel Energy Storage Station a leading example of the deep integration of traditional heavy industry with new energy technology.
The project investor, Three Gorges Energy, stated that the operational results of the Nanjing Steel Energy Storage Station have been excellent. The project has effectively matched supply and demand through dynamic responses to user-side peak shaving needs. Lingshu Energy closely followed the project from design to operational support, successfully integrating the energy storage system into the production process. The long-term operation has maximized returns on investment from the “energy storage + steel” model.
How is the efficiency of over 90% achieved? This is the result of Lingshu Energy’s in-depth optimization of the technical architecture and meticulous design throughout the project.
On the technical architecture level, Lingshu Energy adopted a string-type solution. The Ocean Energy Blue Sea energy storage cabinet utilizes a “one cluster, one management” design, breaking free from traditional centralized solutions and eliminating circulating flow effects. The thermal management system employs a flexible, intelligent cooling strategy that adjusts the cooling output based on the battery cells, ambient temperature, and operating conditions. The daily energy consumption of the liquid cooling unit can be as low as 45.91 kWh. The 3S full-stack self-research capability ensures harmonious system response, and the proprietary energy management system (EMS) uses AI algorithms to predict production loads in real-time, dynamically optimizing charging and discharging strategies to achieve coordinated control of peak shaving and transformer overload protection, thus enhancing power supply reliability.
In terms of project design, to further enhance system efficiency, Lingshu Energy installed photovoltaic panels on each energy storage cabinet to support the station’s electricity needs. Moreover, every streetlight at the site is equipped with photovoltaic panels and small wind turbines, utilizing new energy sources to minimize station electricity losses and improve system operating efficiency.
In response to the stringent safety requirements of steel enterprises, Lingshu Energy has implemented a comprehensive safety system that includes a “three-tier fire prevention + five-level fuse” fire protection mechanism, “cluster-level thermal management + intelligent monitoring” as proactive safety measures, and fault isolation as a passive safety measure. By anticipating issues, and using locally deployed AI models, the Ocean Energy Blue Sea energy storage cabinet can provide heat runaway safety warnings more than two months in advance and can detect minor internal short circuits with an accuracy rate exceeding 95%.
Additionally, the project has developed a big data analysis module for battery health, applying data analysis technology to manage battery health and providing real-time status monitoring for each cell in the energy storage station. It enables an exception response time of 0.3 seconds and a lifespan prediction accuracy of 97%.
As the first 100MWh-class string-type user-side energy storage project in China, the Nanjing Steel Energy Storage Station has validated the scalability of this technology route. The flexible configuration of the string-type energy storage system deployed at industrial and commercial user sites closely aligns with their actual needs. The modular design allows enterprises to expand capacity in stages according to demand, avoiding a large initial capital investment. The liquid cooling system effectively enhances charging and discharging efficiency, with the total discharge capacity over its lifecycle improved by 4%-5% compared to centralized solutions.
The achievements of Lingshu Energy extend beyond the Nanjing Steel Energy Storage Station. According to data from the High-tech Industry Research Institute (GGII), Lingshu Energy is expected to rank among the top two in string-type energy storage system shipments in 2024, with a total installed capacity exceeding 1GWh, and is among the top ten in commercial energy storage system integration. The company has also successfully established benchmark projects such as the Meigang 50MW/100MWh energy storage station and the Binhai 200MW/400MWh independent shared energy storage station.
The Meigang project employs 252 Ocean 400L liquid cooling energy storage cabinets, yielding a revenue of 32.8 million yuan in the first year. The Binhai project, currently the largest string-type energy storage station on the grid side, utilizes 1,080 energy blue sea storage cabinets to participate in grid peak shaving and frequency modulation, enhancing the capability for renewable energy consumption as an independent shared energy storage station.
With a foundation in string-type energy storage solutions and supported by a model of modular products and intelligent management, Lingshu Energy is helping clients reshape industrial energy management paradigms. Looking ahead, the company aims to become an “energy partner” for customers, providing comprehensive services from energy supply to carbon asset management for high energy-consuming industries such as steel, contributing wisdom and strength to the green transformation of industries.
