Huzhou Xisai: 2 MW air heat-pump storage reported at full load, steam near 540°C
Lüchu Technology (9 Apr 2026): a 2 MW-class very-high-temperature heat-pump storage demo at Xisai Science Valley, Huzhou, Zhejiang, China, reached full load. It uses air as the heat-pump fluid and molten salt as storage, and is reported to release superheated steam near 540°C at a COP of 1.41 from about 45°C waste heat. Not a process-steam heat pump, and not independently metered here.
Engineering data
- Case type
- Public-source case
- Data status
- public_source
- Industry
- Manufacturing
- Source temperature
- 45°C
- Sink temperature
- 540°C
- Temperature lift
- ≈ 495 K
- Heating or cooling duty
- 2000 kW
- Architecture
- Reverse Brayton-style air heat pump charging molten salt, then releasing high-temperature steam — heat-pump storage, not closed-cycle steam generation plus MVR
- Result status
- The builders reported full-load operation on 9 Apr 2026. Electric input is about 1.5 MW and heating output about 2 MW. COP 1.41 is source-reported for the 45°C source. A separate 8 MW / 400°C phase was announced earlier and is not treated here as this operating unit.
- Key risk
- COP 1.41 is far below process heat pumps that see a hotter source or a smaller lift. Long-duration reliability was described as still to be run. Do not mix this COP with steam heat pumps at 120–180°C.
- Existing system
- Demonstration of power-to-heat storage that can release industrial steam or support power generation; not described as a retrofit of one named process line
- Refrigerant
- Air (R729) as the heat-pump fluid; molten salt as storage
- COP
- 1.41
- Annual savings
- Not stated as a metered annual total in the note used here
- Estimated payback
- Not disclosed
Project background
Huzhou Industrial Control Technology Research Institute and Zhejiang Lüchu Technology reported full load on a very-high-temperature heat-pump storage demo at Xisai Science Valley. The library keeps it under thermal storage. It can make steam, but the machine is an air heat pump charging molten salt.
Narrative inputs
Source about 45°C. Heating about 2 MW from about 1.5 MW electric. Reported steam about 540°C, salt about 565°C, compressor outlet 600°C-class, compressor inlet about 355°C.
Heat pump solution
Air is the heat-pump working fluid. Heat is stored in molten salt and can be released as high-temperature steam. The note also mentions uses in renewable curtailment and power-plant flexibility. Those uses are storage services, not a single process-steam retrofit.
COP & savings
Full load was reported on 9 Apr 2026 with COP 1.41 at a 45°C source. The same note says COP can exceed 2 if the waste-heat temperature is higher. No independent test record is reproduced here.
Investment / ROI notes
Capital cost and payback are not in the note used here.