As cutting-edge energy storage technologies advance at an unprecedented pace globally, China's steel industry is embracing a multi-energy integration model, exploring applications such as rooftop solar power, combined steel-chemical energy production, and waste heat recovery for heating.
Source: China Metallurgical News
As cutting-edge energy storage technologies advance at an unprecedented pace globally, China's steel industry is embracing a multi-energy integration model, exploring applications such as rooftop solar power, combined steel-chemical energy production, and waste heat recovery for heating.
Liu Huaiping, a deputy to the National People's Congress and chairman of Jiangsu Kunlun Internet New Energy Group Co., Ltd., highlighted three major barriers to the deep integration of energy storage with the steel industry: fragmented markets limiting economies of scale, energy storage technologies struggling to adapt to diverse industrial scenarios, and a narrow revenue model restricting commercial viability. To address these challenges, Liu proposed a three-pronged approach:
1. Strengthening Market Coordination to Scale Up Energy Storage
Liu called for the creation of a national cross-provincial energy storage dispatching platform to break down administrative barriers and optimize electricity market trading rules. By fostering a shared energy storage network, policymakers can establish a capacity compensation mechanism tailored to the steel industry. Additionally, Liu suggested providing targeted financial incentives for energy storage facilities participating in cross-regional peak shaving, enabling wider deployment and more efficient resource allocation.
2. Advancing Technology Development to Support Industrial Needs
To ensure that energy storage solutions can withstand the steel industry’s demanding operating conditions, Liu advocated for diversifying energy storage technologies, including compressed air storage, gravity-based storage, flywheel storage, supercapacitors, solid-state batteries, flow batteries, and sodium-ion batteries. He also emphasized the importance of industry-academia collaboration, encouraging universities, research institutes, and enterprises to join forces in driving large-scale adoption of advanced energy storage solutions.
3. Expanding Revenue Streams Through Market Innovation
Liu proposed integrating energy storage into steel enterprises' energy management systems, enabling synergies with solar and wind power, waste heat recovery, and hydrogen production. To further incentivize adoption, he recommended refining electricity market rules to convert energy storage’s role in peak shaving into tradable carbon reduction credits. Additionally, exploring green certificate issuance and energy-use rights trading could open new revenue channels. Liu also suggested launching integrated demonstration projects in coastal regions with high electricity costs, allowing companies to develop scalable business models and contribute to refining market mechanisms.
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