Alstom Grid has opened its China Technology Center in Shanghai, during an inauguration ceremony officiated by Patrick Kron, Alstom Chairman and CEO, Henri Poupart-Lafarge, Alstom Grid President and public officials.
The facility, located in Shanghai’s Caoheijing Pujiang High-Tech Park, is an advanced centre for research, development and testing of Ultra High Voltage Alternating Current (UHVAC) and Ultra High Voltage Direct Current (UHVDC) transmission equipment and energy management solutions.
Representing a €47million investment, the centre will help conceive and develop the new solutions required for the future of electrical grids. It has been designed to accommodate very large electrical equipment, with a UHV testing hall and R&D platforms such as scientific simulation tools, climate chamber, temperature rise testing lab, material testing labs and more.
A strategic region for Alstom, China is the clear choice for the location of the latest of its international technological centres, which joins facilities in Villeurbanne and Massy in France, Stafford in the UK and Redmond, USA. The investment will further enlarge Alstom Grid’s presence in the region and build its already strong cooperation with leading Chinese universities like Tsinghua University in Beijing, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Huazhong University of Science and Technology and many others.
“The opening of this centre is a key strategic move for Alstom Grid. We already have a strong localised manufacturing base in China, but we are taking the next step by further developing our local R&D skills and comprehensive testing facilities. Not only will we better serve our customers, but we are also committed helping China in its ambitious plans to develop its “strong and smart grid” by 2020 and to move to the highest voltages, 1,200kV in alternating current and 1,100kV in direct current,” commented Henri Poupart-Lafarge Alstom Grid President. “Our recent success in partnership with CEPRI for the Ningdong Shandong HVDC connection, which incorporated the latest high-tech valve technology is a clear example of customer-valued innovation to respond to market needs.”
Spanning 54,000 sqm, the facility already employs around 120 engineers, many of whom have spent valuable research time in Alstom Grid’s units in Europe and the US, focusing on power transmission technologies and solutions for Grid Network Management.
About Alstom
Alstom is a global leader in the world of power generation, power transmission and rail infrastructure and sets the benchmark for innovative and environmentally friendly technologies. Alstom builds the fastest train and the highest capacity automated metro in the world. It provides turnkey integrated power plant solutions and associated services for a wide variety of energy sources, including hydro, nuclear, gas, coal and wind, and it offers a wide range of solutions for power transmission, with a focus on smart grids. The Group employs 96,500 people in more than 70 countries, and had sales of over € 23 billion* in 2009/10. (*Pro forma figures)
Alstom Grid, the newest sector of Alstom, formed following the recent acquisition of AREVA’s Transmission activities on 7 June 2010, has over 100 years of expertise in electrical grids. Whether for utilities or electro-intensive industries or facilitating the trading of energy, Alstom Grid brings power to their customers’ projects. Alstom Grid ranks among the top 3 in electrical transmission sector with a sales turnover of approximately € 3.5 billion in 2009. It has 20,000 employees and over 90 manufacturing and engineering sites worldwide. Its four main business areas are Products, Systems, Automation and Service. At the heart of the development of Smart Grid, Alstom Grid offers products, services and integrated energy management solutions across the full energy value chain—from power generation, through transmission and distribution grids and to the large end user.