CRRC's prowess has once again been demonstrated in China's high-end equipment sector. Recently, CRRC Times Electric, a subsidiary of CRRC Zhuzhou Institute, successfully won a bid for an ultra-high-power frequency converter for the main drive system of a metallurgical rolling mill from a Chinese company. This marks the first time that a domestically produced high-power frequency converter has been used in the main drive system of my country's rolling mill equipment, breaking the long-term monopoly of international giants on this core technology application in China's metallurgical industry.
Metallurgical rolling mills are important strategic equipment in my country. Metal billets cannot be transformed into metal sheets and strips without the action of rolling mills. Modern industry has increasingly higher requirements for the width, surface precision, and material hardness of metal sheets and strips. For example, the flight decks of large ships and large-diameter oil and gas pipelines require rolling mills to have extremely high power and control precision. These two key indicators are determined by the technology of the main drive system of the rolling mill.
Currently, most equipment in my country's metallurgical industry, from process automation control to motors and electrical components, has been domestically produced. However, the core control systems of its main drive systems—AC-AC and AC-DC-AC frequency converters—are still largely monopolized by a few international giants. The high-power AC-DC-AC frequency converters used in the main drive systems of cold rolling mills in the metallurgical industry have long been considered the "crown jewel" of the high-power frequency converter field. Technically, ultra-high-power frequency converters have extremely high technological barriers; economically, a single metallurgical rolling line can generate tens of millions or even hundreds of millions of yuan in economic value daily. Even a minor, self-recovering fault that lasts only a few minutes can lead to the scrapping of billets on the production line, resulting in direct losses of hundreds of thousands of yuan. Therefore, most companies are unwilling and find it difficult to overcome this technological hurdle.
Leveraging its long-standing technological expertise in high-speed railway AC motor traction drive systems, CRRC Times Electric assembled a formidable R&D team including seven PhDs. In October 2013, they successfully developed a 20MVA AC-DC-AC medium-voltage drive frequency converter and achieved practical engineering application. This breakthrough broke the monopoly of foreign companies on rolling mill main drive systems and filled a gap in domestic technology and products in this field. Over three years of on-site engineering applications have demonstrated that the system's key performance indicators, such as static and dynamic response, reliability, and stability, have reached the level of advanced foreign products of the same type. This successful bid for a domestic company marks CRRC Times Electric's first commercial order for rolling mill main drive systems, initiating the path of independent domestic production of ultra-high-power IGCT frequency converter systems for rolling mill equipment in my country's metallurgical industry.
The ultra-high power IGCT frequency converter system developed by CRRC Zhuzhou Institute is one of the most technologically advanced products in the frequency converter industry, and it has great strategic, economic and social significance for the country.
Metallurgical rolling mill production lines produce a wide range of products, including high-speed wire rod, H-beams, steel pipes, aluminum sheets and strips, and cold-rolled sheets and strips required for common products such as automotive steel and stainless steel kitchen and bathroom products. Data shows that China's metallurgical industry accounts for more than 50% of the world's production capacity, with over 4,000 high-power rolling mill main drive systems in operation. Equipment upgrades and production line improvements will generate huge market demand, with an estimated market size of tens of billions of yuan. Compared to imported equipment, the domestic application of the main drive system can reduce customers' investment costs by more than 20% in one go, not including the savings from the expensive maintenance costs of imported equipment. Furthermore, this system can also be extended to fields such as ship electric propulsion, mining, and wind power, showing broad market prospects in the future.
