Tang Guangfu, Academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and Director of Huairou Laboratory: China’s Energy Technology is Making Rapid Progress, Turning Many “Impossibilities” into “Possibilities”

Energy is a crucial pillar of national security and development. The 14th Five-Year Plan period is a critical phase for ensuring energy security and facilitating green transformation in China. Under the overarching requirements of the “dual carbon” goals and the new energy security strategy, guided by the “14th Five-Year Plan for Science and Technology Innovation in the Energy Sector,” China has made breakthroughs in several key technologies. These breakthroughs include large-scale development of clean energy, clean utilization of fossil fuels, and the integrated development of multiple energy sources. The country’s original technological innovation capabilities have been continuously strengthened, and national strategic technological forces have been reinforced. This has effectively supported China’s energy self-sufficiency rate of over 80%, with the share of non-fossil energy consumption increasing from 15.9% to approximately 20%, laying a solid foundation for high-quality energy development.

Technological Innovation Leads Industrial Development, Strongly Supporting Energy Supply Security and Transformation

China’s energy consumption and carbon emissions are immense. In 2024, the total energy consumption reached 5.96 billion tons of standard coal. Facing significant challenges such as immense demand pressure, supply constraints, and the daunting task of transitioning to a green and low-carbon economy, the solution lies in vigorously developing new energy sources, with the key being technological innovation. Since the 14th Five-Year Plan period, the support for technological innovation in the energy sector has steadily increased, accelerating the formation of new quality productive forces, and remarkable achievements have been made.

Large-Scale Development of Clean Energy: During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, the adjustment of the energy structure has accelerated. By July 2025, the installed capacity of non-fossil fuel power generation had reached 2.23 billion kilowatts, accounting for 60.8% of the total installed power generation capacity. New energy sources have surpassed coal power to become the largest source in the system. In the field of photovoltaics, the efficiency of N-type TOPCon cells has exceeded 27% in mass production, with the cost per kilowatt-hour reduced to approximately 0.13 yuan, a reduction of about 50% compared to 2020. In wind power, the capacity of land-based turbines has reached 16.2 MW, while the world’s largest 26 MW offshore wind turbine has been launched. The first batch of units at the “Shagehuang” new energy delivery base has started generating power. In hydropower, the world’s largest single-unit capacity, the Baihetan 1 million-kilowatt hydropower unit, has been completed, and the installed capacity of pumped storage has surpassed 58 million kilowatts, ranking first in the world for nine consecutive years. In nuclear power, China has mastered independently developed third-generation nuclear technologies, including the “Hualong One” and “Guohe One,” and has pioneered the commercial use of fourth-generation nuclear power with high-temperature gas-cooled reactors.

Clean Utilization of Fossil Fuels: During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, fossil energy continues to serve as the “ballast” of the energy sector, with energy security and carbon reduction being promoted simultaneously. In coal power, the “three-in-one” energy-saving, heating, and flexibility upgrades to coal power units have exceeded 500 million kilowatts. The ultra-supercritical coal-fired power generation technology has reached internationally leading levels. In oil and gas, the focus has been on “two deep, one non-traditional, and one old” projects. China has completed the Deep-Teco 1 Well, Asia’s first over-10,000-meter deep exploration well, and “Deep Sea One,” the world’s first 100,000-ton deepwater semi-submersible production storage platform, as part of its landmark national engineering projects. In Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage (CCUS), the 500,000-ton Taizhou CCUS demonstration project has been completed, and China’s first offshore CCUS project has been put into operation at the Zhujiangkou Basin platform.

Integrated Development of Multiple Energy Sources: During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, the smart grid has continued to upgrade, and the “West-to-East Power Transmission” capacity has steadily increased from 260 million kilowatts to 360 million kilowatts. In hydrogen energy technology, the energy consumption of proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolyzers has been reduced to 4.2 kWh/Nm³, and the key equipment for 70 MPa hydrogen refueling stations has achieved domestic production. In new energy storage, the cost of lithium iron phosphate energy storage systems has dropped to approximately 0.4 yuan/Wh. The power capacity of compressed air energy storage units has reached 300 MW, with system efficiency improving to around 70%. The vanadium redox flow battery storage duration has reached 4 hours, with cycle life exceeding 20,000 times, and commercialization is gradually being realized.

Original Technological Innovation Capabilities Continuously Strengthened, Supporting the Construction of Next Generation Power System

The key to building next generation power system lies in its ability to accommodate the maximum possible amount of new energy. By 2060, it is expected that China’s wind and solar installed capacity will exceed 9 billion kilowatts, accounting for more than 70% of total power generation. The high proportion of volatile new energy sources presents unprecedented challenges to the real-time dynamic balance of power generation, transmission, and consumption. This is a global issue with no prior experience to draw from, and a solution tailored to China’s needs is urgently required.

Since the 14th Five-Year Plan period, under the guidance of the “Five Strengths” strategy for building a powerful science and technology nation, investment in basic research has continuously increased, significantly enhancing China’s original innovation capabilities in the energy and power sector. Multiple significant achievements have been made in key areas such as the transmission of energy from the Shagehuang new energy base, the construction of the next generation power system, and the development of high-end power equipment. For example, in the field of high-voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission equipment, which I have long been engaged in, there have been notable breakthroughs.

Independent Innovation Achieved in Ultra-High Voltage DC Converter Valve: The ultra-high voltage direct current (UHVDC) converter valve is the “heart” of long-distance, large-capacity DC transmission projects. Before the 14th Five-Year Plan, China had achieved the domestication of conventional UHVDC converter valves through the introduction, digestion, and re-innovation process, which supported the implementation of China’s “West-to-East Power Transmission” strategy. During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, with the vigorous development of the Shagehuang base in the western region, “West-to-East Power Transmission” shifted from transmitting stable coal power to delivering volatile new energy. However, conventional UHVDC converter valves had an inherent commutation failure issue, which increasingly posed a risk to the safe operation of large AC grids at the receiving end. There was an urgent need for a new type of UHVDC converter valve with the ability to prevent commutation failure. To address this, our team used new fully controlled devices and, based on the existing half-controlled electrical topology, created an active shutdown branch to form a controllable commutation converter topology. This design provides 100% protection against commutation failure. In June 2023, this innovation was demonstrated in the Gezhouba-Nanqiao ±500 kV DC transmission reconstruction project. The system has been tested under actual operating conditions and has withstood multiple AC system faults without experiencing commutation failure.

Flexible DC Converter Valve Expands beyond Borders: Flexible DC transmission technology offers high controllability and is the optimal solution for improving the acceptance capacity of renewable energy, as well as enhancing the stability and flexibility of the power grid. Before the 14th Five-Year Plan, China, relying on national key R&D programs and other projects, achieved the demonstration and application of point-to-point, back-to-back, and multi-terminal flexible DC transmission systems, paving the way for independent innovation. During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, our team focused on the new demands of constructing a new power system, continuously exploring innovations. We pioneered the flexible DC transmission technology of “half-bridge + DC circuit breaker,” overcoming technical challenges in flexible control of DC grids, wide-frequency oscillation suppression, and fast fault isolation. We built the world’s first Zhangbei ±500 kV flexible DC grid project, realizing the long-anticipated goal of direct current grid networking proposed by Edison over 100 years ago. Currently, this technology and equipment have been applied to several major projects in China and have been exported to countries and regions such as the Middle East. In 2022, we successfully won the bid for the North Sea offshore wind power project in Germany, marking the first entry of high-end power equipment into Western developed countries.

At present, the major smart grid projects are being implemented in an orderly manner. With the coordinated deployment of key tasks such as large-scale renewable energy grid integration and regulation, flexible interconnection of large power grids, and the development of foundational grid support technologies, the systematic upgrading of smart grid technologies and the process of domestic production are expected to accelerate, providing crucial technical support for the construction of the next generation power system.

National Strategic Technological Forces Continuously Strengthened, and the Advantages of the New Type of System for Major National Initiatives Are Gradually Being Realized

After years of effort, China’s energy technology innovation level has significantly improved. However, issues such as research fragmentation, homogenization, and disintegration remain unresolved. The internal driving force for technological innovation is still weak, and some critical core technologies remain constrained by external factors. There is an urgent need to fully leverage the role of national strategic technological forces in the energy sector, capitalize on the advantages of the new type of system for major national initiatives, innovate research systems and mechanisms, and enhance the overall effectiveness of the innovation system.

Since the launch of the 14th Five-Year Plan, in response to major national energy needs and key priorities, national laboratory in the energy sector have been established, national key laboratories in the field have been reorganized, and National Energy Laboratory System Innovation Alliance has been formed, all to continuously strengthen the nation’s strategic scientific and technological capabilities. By leveraging national laboratories as a key mechanism, we explore a mission-oriented approach to scientific research, align with national strategic priorities, pool top resources nationwide, and pioneer a new paradigm for large-scale, organized research endeavors.

Taking the research teams of Huairou Laboratory as an example, since their formation, the teams have concentrated on our nation’s major strategic needs in the energy sector. They have implemented the new type of system for major national initiatives, receiving comprehensive support from ministries, local governments, enterprises, and universities. Through substantial integration of industry, academia, and research, and deep collaboration between the innovation chain and the industrial chain, breakthroughs have been made in scientific research. Several stage achievements have been demonstrated, and the mission-oriented, collaborative approach to solving shared challenges has proven effective. This has continuously injected momentum into building national strategic technological forces in the energy sector.