(Riyadh, May 2024) The "Desert Phoenix" solar thermal energy storage project invested by the Saudi sovereign fund PIF was officially connected to the grid. Its 6.8GWh molten salt storage capacity set a new industry record and can meet the 24-hour electricity needs of 2 million households.

Details of technical breakthroughs:

1、Innovation of the concentrating system: The modular heliostat developed by Abengoa in Spain is used, with a single mirror field area of 28 square kilometers. The sun tracking error is controlled within ±0.05 degrees through the AI calibration algorithm, and the photothermal conversion efficiency reaches 63.7%.

2、Molten salt formula upgrade: Using ternary nitrate (NaNO3-KNO3-LiNO3), the melting point is reduced to 120℃, the upper limit of the operating temperature is increased to 620℃, and the heat loss of a single cycle is only 1.8%.

3、Smart dispatching system: connected to the real-time electricity price feedback mechanism of the Saudi national power grid, the dynamic optimization algorithm of the storage and discharge strategy increases the per-kilowatt-hour electricity revenue by 21%.

Environmental and economic impact: The helium cooling tower built in conjunction with the project can recover waste heat for seawater desalination, producing 150,000 cubic meters of fresh water per day. According to the Saudi Ministry of Energy, the project will reduce crude oil consumption by 120 million barrels over its entire life cycle and directly create 4,300 high-tech jobs.