The recently successful ignition of China’s domestically developed 300-megawatt F-class heavy-duty gas turbine in Shanghai marks a significant milestone in the country’s advancement in power generation technology. This turbine is primarily designed for thermal power generation.

Often regarded as one of the most complex machines to produce, heavy-duty gas turbines have earned the nickname “the crown jewel of manufacturing.” For context, the world’s largest gas turbine weighs about as much as a fully fueled Airbus A380 and generates power equivalent to 1,300 Porsche 911 turbocharged engines. Remarkably, the precision of its core components is maintained within just a few dozen micrometers.

At its core, a gas turbine is an internal combustion engine that generates thrust by burning fuel—mainly natural gas—in combination with air to produce hot gases that drive its blades. Gas turbines are categorized based on their operating temperatures, such as E-class with approximately 1,200°C, F-class at around 1,400°C, G/H-class at about 1,500°C, and J-class reaching approximately 1,600°C. Currently, the F-class is the prevalent model both domestically and internationally.

The global heavy-duty gas turbine market is currently dominated by a three-way split among American giant General Electric (GE), Germany’s Siemens, and Japan’s Mitsubishi.

Designing a heavy-duty gas turbine that meets international standards has been a dream pursued by China’s gas turbine industry for over 60 years. As a latecomer in this field, China’s gas turbine research and development faced significant challenges due to the high precision and complexity of turbine design, compounded by foreign technology restrictions. The path to achieving autonomy in this sector has been fraught with difficulties and setbacks.

According to a report from Xinhua News Agency, the 300-megawatt F-class heavy-duty gas turbine is the highest power and technology level turbine developed independently by China to date, with performance indicators that are largely on par with international F-class heavy-duty gas turbines.

The employment of new technologies, materials, and processes is expected to significantly boost the foundational sciences and technological advancement within China’s gas turbine sector, which is crucial for ensuring energy security and promoting green development.

The ignition test of the gas turbine represents a pivotal milestone in the overall verification phase of the equipment, where the main objectives are to validate the design and manufacturing effectiveness and to ensure the functionality of the testing systems. This achievement follows the completion of the first prototype earlier this year and signifies that the project has fully entered the comprehensive testing and verification stage.