Siemens LDA has received an order from a Chinese customer to deliver a special machine with a dual shaft extension. It can be used in motor operation with a power of 105 MW and as a generator with up to 129 MVA in power generation mode. The motor will have an efficiency of beyond 98 percent and will be a world-leading 2-pole electric motor.
Besides the motor, the contract includes the delivery of a 40 MW Sinamics GL150 starting frequency converter. This LCI-converter (load commutated inverter) is designed for single-motor applications with variable and constant torque characteristics. As a result of the low switching losses and the low loss thyristor technology, the efficiency of the LCI converter is extremely high and lies at 99 percent.
The drive system will be part of an energy storage project. Energy storage technologies have been viewed as a supporting key technology for the energy revolution and a national strategic emerging technology in China. This kind of technology holds decisive advantages such as high capacity, low costs, high efficiency, and environmental friendliness. The plants operate by using motors to drive compressors, whose energy will be stored in suitable storage vessels. The stored energy can be released to drive an expander, which in turn drives a generator to produce electricity.
Compared with other energy storage technologies, the plants have a very large power rating and storage capacity, low self-discharge, and a long lifetime. These attributes generally make it the most promising and cost-effective method for bulk energy storage grid services. The motor will be manufactured at the Siemens Dynamowerk Berlin, Germany, which is the oldest manufacturing plant of Siemens and has existed for 115 years.
“Once completed, this project will be the largest and most efficient energy storage station in the world. We are happy to support our customer in the energy transition and this project with a drive system that sets a benchmark – a world-leading 2-pole electric motor with an efficiency of above 98 percent”, says Hermann Kleinod, CEO of Siemens Large Drives Applications (LDA).
