First Supercapacitor Pulsed Power Supply System of the HL-3 Upgrade Project Successfully Handed Over

On September 10, the 300MVA/3000MJ supercapacitor pulsed power supply system of the HL-3 upgrade project was successfully handed over. This is the first system of the project to complete handover, marking that the project construction is gradually transitioning from the equipment installation and subsystem static commissioning stage to the system joint commissioning stage, providing support for advancing fusion engineering.

Zhang Libo, President and Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee of the Southwestern Institute of Physics, and Chen Qingchuan, Vice President, attended the handover ceremony. Zhang Libo stated at the ceremony that the completion of the handover of the first system is the result of collaborative efforts by all participating units, accumulating experience and creating conditions for subsequent system joint commissioning. All parties will continue to consolidate responsibilities and advance key milestones on schedule.

During the project construction period, the Southwestern Institute of Physics coordinated with China Nuclear Power Engineering Co., Ltd. No. 7 Research and Design Institute, China Nuclear Huaxing Construction Co., Ltd., China Nuclear Consulting Co., Ltd., China Electrical Equipment Group Co., Ltd., XJ Electric Co., Ltd. and other units, connecting system R&D, design, manufacturing, installation and commissioning and other links. After more than 10 months of continuous construction, the 300MVA/3000MJ supercapacitor pulsed power supply system completed civil engineering renovation, equipment installation and subsystem static commissioning.

According to reports, the system is built as a supercapacitor energy storage system with a rated capacity of 300MVA and a rated energy release of 3000MJ, with supporting guarantee conditions improved, including 36 supercapacitor compartments, 12 reactors, 6 sets of liquid cooling devices and related supporting facilities. The system features fast charge and discharge rates, high power density and a short construction period, and can meet the power supply requirements of the toroidal field coils of the HL-3 device, supporting high-parameter experimental operation of HL-3. It is called the "super heart" of the "artificial sun."

This system is currently the largest supercapacitor pulsed energy storage system under construction in the global fusion field, achieving the large-scale application of domestically produced supercapacitors in the cutting-edge nuclear fusion field.

During the construction process, the engineering construction team, faced with complex working conditions and multidisciplinary intersections, adopted sandbox simulation linked with BIM 3D models to carry out construction rehearsals, identifying and addressing spatial conflicts, process contradictions, pipeline collisions, resource mismatches and other issues in advance, and strengthening source control of technical risks and safety risks. At the same time, relying on a digital management system, the project integrated risk pre-control and closed-loop improvement throughout the entire engineering construction process.

This system handover opened up the key link of system joint commissioning for the HL-3 upgrade project, laying the hardware foundation for subsequent pulsed operation tests of the fusion device. Next, all parties involved in the project will advance system joint commissioning and other work in an orderly manner to ensure the project goals are achieved as planned.