Sulzer, a Swiss fluid engineering firm, has been selected to supply a large Chinese concentrated solar power (CSP) tower project with hot and cold molten salts.
The site is expected to produce 100MW of renewable power, prepared to meet China’s increasing demand for renewable electricity.
Molten salts are no stranger to carbon-free energy, having been used in the nuclear industry for almost 70 years. Sulzer uses the technology to facilitate overnight heat energy storage through their pumps that transfer high-temperature fluids around cooling circuits.
The salts allow solar plants to deliver consistent power without a break, as the circuit operates similarly to a thermal battery.
With custom pumps and technology designed in-house, Sulzer claims that they were chosen for the project due to their cost-effective result – which also meets the project’s preferences for using internationally developed equipment manufactured in China.
Sulzer has also provided pumps for several other projects in China. These have included hot pumps for a different 100MW CSP, and five cold and six hot pumps for a parabolic trough installation totalling 42MW.
