China launches the world's largest liquid air energy storage: 60 MW, 600 MWh

The largest grid-connected liquid air energy storage system has entered operation in Golmud, Qinghai: 60 MW of power and 600 MWh of capacity, with 10 hours of continuous discharge, according to pv magazine. The project, developed by the state consortium China Green Development Investment Group (CGDG) and the Institute of Physics and Chemistry of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, started up on October 30, 2026.

Construction began in July 2023 and the project is part of the National Energy Administration of China's national new-generation energy storage demonstration program. CGTN reported that it is the largest project of its kind in the world, absorbing 600,000 kWh of surplus renewable energy per day and delivering close to 180 million kWh per year. The difference with lithium batteries lies in duration: 10 hours versus the 2 to 4 hours that today's most mature projects cover, according to Wood Mackenzie's analysis reported by pv magazine. For markets such as Mexico, Chile and Brazil, where solar generation is concentrated in the central hours of the day and backup is needed at dusk, that window defines which technology competes for each segment of the grid.

The system uses ambient air as its working fluid, with no electrochemical batteries and no underground caverns. During charging, a three-stage centrifugal compressor brings purified air to about 7 MPa; the compression heat is stored as hot water at 195 °C and the air is liquefied at -194 °C in cryogenic tanks at near-atmospheric pressure. During discharge, the liquid is pressurized, revaporized and drives turbines coupled to generators. CGDG reports 100% of main equipment manufactured in China and the capacity to absorb about 600 MWh of surplus renewable energy per day in the Qaidam Basin. The counterpoint is cost: Wood Mackenzie puts sodium cells at 229 USD/kWh versus about 200 USD/kWh for LFP, with more than 70 GWh in supply agreements, and expects system-level parity no earlier than 2030.

The missing data point is round-trip efficiency and the levelized cost per kWh of the full cycle, which the developer did not include in the announcement. That number will determine whether liquid air moves from demonstration to long-duration tenders in Latin America.

This article was drafted with the assistance of artificial intelligence from verified sources and reviewed by a human editor before publication.