A set of supercritical carbon dioxide (CO2) power generation units began commercial operation on Saturday in southwest China's Guizhou Province, indicating that the country has pioneered the world in commercializing this innovative technology.
Named "Chaotan-1" (Super Carbon-1), the system uses supercritical CO2 instead of steam as the working fluid to transfer heat and generate power. Supercritical CO2 refers to carbon dioxide maintained at extremely high temperature and pressure, where it exhibits both liquid- and gas-like properties, making it a highly efficient medium for energy conversion.
By leveraging these properties, the new power generation units, which captures waste heat from industrial processes, achieve higher efficiency than conventional steam-based systems.
"The exhaust gas from a steel plant's sintering machine can be over 400 degrees Celsius hot. We use the gas to heat carbon dioxide, compress it to about 200 atmospheres with this machine, and then send it into a heat exchanger, where it absorbs residual heat from the waste gas to drive turbines to generate electricity." said Huang Yanping, chief scientist at China National Nuclear Corporation and chief designer of the Chaotan-1 project.
Thanks to the psychical properties of supercritical CO2, Chaotan-1 improves waste heat utilization efficiency by more than 85 percent compared with existing steam-based sintering waste heat power generators, while boosting net power output by over 50 percent, yielding significant economic returns.
"By converting industrial waste heat into electricity to the greatest extent possible, the project can generate around 50 million yuan (about 7.10 million U.S. dollars) in additional net cash flow annually at local electricity prices. The investment cost can be recovered in roughly three years," Huang said.
Industry experts say the project carries major strategic value. Zhang Xiaodong, deputy director of the Industrial Development Department at Dongfang Electric Corporation, described the project as a milestone.
"Any new technology goes through a process from quantitative accumulation to qualitative change. This project marks a key milestone, which may well serve as an example of strategic importance. Its success will pave the way for the rollout of similar projects in the future," he said.
China pioneers commercial use of supercritical CO2 power generation
Foreign diplomats and scholars are looking closely at this year's "two sessions", saying China's 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030) will not only chart the nation's economic and technological priorities but also reshape global value chains.
The fourth session of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), the nation's top political advisory body, opened on Wednesday, followed by the annual session of the National People's Congress (NPC) on Thursday. Together known as the "two sessions," these meetings offer a comprehensive view into China's development priorities.
Global observers emphasized that the 15th Five-Year Plan, a blueprint guiding the nation's economic, social, and technological priorities over the next five years, marks a decisive shift toward high‑quality growth anchored in advanced technologies, with ripple effects across the world.
"The two sessions will discuss China's five-year plan, which is heavily oriented toward China's major technological development. I believe this is important because it represents the new blueprint for China's economy, which is now oriented toward the renowned high-quality development, and this will undoubtedly impact the entire world. I think it is worth studying. This is very important for Latin America. It will help us integrate more intelligently into global value chains and into all aspects of the major development that China is promoting in iconic industrial sectors, such as artificial intelligence, quantum computing, and space development, where Latin America also has much to contribute beyond just commercial growth," said Gustavo Sabino Vaca Narvaja, former Argentine Ambassador to China.
"The two sessions are a major political milestone in China, and this year's gathering carries even greater significance as this year marks the start of the 15th Five-Year Plan. This plan represents not only a blueprint for China, but also a guide for other countries. Instruments like the five-year plan effectively provide greater certainty and predictability for the rest of the world," said Chilean scholar of international relations Ignacio Araya Heredia.
"This is a particularly important date, especially due to the fact that the next Five-Year Plan shall be positioned and we're going to see what its main elements shall be. Serbia, which has a very high degree of steel friendship with the People's Republic of China, can expect further assistance in identifying the most prominent areas of Serbian economy and being helped by its great partner, such as it has been done in the previous period, from one part with establishing the main infrastructure projects, but also reshaping the industrial sector of Serbia, not just Serbia, but the region as a whole," said Veljko Mijuskovic, assistant professor of the Faculty of Economics of the University of Belgrade.
Beyond the policy framework, experts also pointed to China's achievements in green energy and technological innovation as models worth emulating.
Tomasz Bielinski, adjunct professor at the University of Gdansk's Faculty of Economics, said the robotics displays at the 2026 China Media Group (CMG) Spring Festival Gala reflected China's broader push in technological innovation.
"I was really impressed about the robotics. I'm very impressed with Chinese development in the technological field, we can still make great deals with Chinese businessmen and we can cooperate together to use this technology for both the good of China and the European Union. I'm aware of the innovation especially in autonomous drive on the on the Chinese side," he said.
"We hope for more of China's economic cooperation, especially in trade and also in investment. Also, and the other focus, if I talk about the focus of the development, don't forget about the green energy. We know that China is great in the electric vehicle field. So because China's electric vehicles in Indonesia nowadays, since couple of years ago, are very, very popular," said Al Busyra Basnur, president of the Indonesia-China Friendship Association.
Observers see China's new five-year plan driving high-quality development, global tech shifts
