Europe and the US are rushing to buy gas turbines, and China is laughing again!

Article | Huashang Strategy Yang Bide

A unprecedented “Power Grab Battle” is unfolding worldwide.

On one hand, AI data centers are springing up like mushrooms after rain, operating 24/7 at full capacity, with a single park’s electricity consumption comparable to that of a small to medium-sized city; on the other hand, the proportion of new energy continues to rise, causing greater fluctuations in the power grid. Coupled with the rigid demand for continuous and stable power supply in daily life and production, electrical safety and grid construction are being pushed to an unprecedented level.

A highly efficient, stable, and quickly start-stop core power supply equipment has suddenly come to the forefront—gas turbines.

【01 Power Shortage】

This round of power tension is mainly driven by a structural gap ignited by AI computing power.

With the rapid iteration of large models like GPT, Claude, Gemini, a global construction frenzy of AI data centers has erupted. Computing clusters are densely deployed, single-unit scales keep breaking records, and power consumption curves are nearly vertical.

These data centers are true “power-consuming beasts.” For example, Google’s data center in Oregon, USA, consumes about 3.5 billion kWh annually at full load, nearly equivalent to the annual electricity consumption of a city with about 500,000 residents.

Moreover, AI computing power demands strict requirements for electricity—stable, continuous, and interruption-free. Millisecond fluctuations can cause huge losses, and the increasing share of renewable energy in the grid presents enormous challenges in this regard.

Known as the “crown jewel” of equipment manufacturing, gas turbines have thus become a necessity, moving from behind the scenes to the spotlight.

A gas turbine is an advanced thermal engine that uses natural gas, diesel, hydrogen, or other gaseous or liquid fuels as heat sources, based on the Brayton cycle, efficiently converting chemical energy of fuels into mechanical work. It can drive generators to further convert mechanical energy into electricity, serving as the core power equipment in power generation, aviation, ships, and distributed energy systems.

Its advantages include fast startup, enabling grid connection within minutes; stable output, quick response, and good peak-shaving capability; and a lower carbon emission intensity compared to coal-fired power.

In power systems, it can handle peak loads and quickly fill in when wind and solar power fluctuate, providing stable support. Therefore, in scenarios requiring high continuity and stability of power supply, such as data centers, gas turbines are the most practical and controllable “power foundation” today.

Under the surge of AI, the global market for gas turbines is thus “hard to find a machine.”

According to Caitong Securities, by 2025, the global intention orders for heavy-duty gas turbines will exceed 80 GW, but actual deliverable capacity is only about 50 GW, with a supply-demand gap of over 30 GW. Despite some models’ prices soaring over 20%, global customers are still fiercely competing for orders and capacity.

Order schedules for international giants like Siemens Energy, GE Finova, and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries have been pushed to after 2028, with delivery cycles extended from 2 years to 5-7 years. China’s gas turbine industry, which once was a blank slate but has now achieved key independent breakthroughs, is entering a period of explosive growth.

【02 Long-term Struggle】

When talking about China’s gas turbine industry, one cannot ignore Dongfang Electric, rooted in Deyang, Sichuan.

“From zero” to “breaking monopolies,” from “desperate rebirth” to “global order-winning.” Over the past 60 years, this state-owned enterprise’s legendary struggle is a “rebirth journey” of China’s heavy equipment industry.

In 1967, China had no core technology or manufacturing experience in gas turbines, and even basic materials were difficult to produce independently—almost a complete blank slate. Dongfang Electric began its自主研发之路 that year.

As a “long-established” central enterprise in China’s energy equipment sector, Dongfang Electric had already established a foothold in hydro and thermal power, but faced unprecedented difficulties in large-scale heavy-duty gas turbines, especially those supporting large power stations and AI data centers. The core challenges focused on three major areas:

First, insufficient domestic core materials and precision manufacturing. For example, the single-crystal high-temperature alloy for turbine blades was monopolized by foreign countries; domestic machine tools and processing techniques could not meet nanometer-level precision requirements.

Second, barriers in core design and system integration. Foreign giants had mature design systems and data accumulation, while China lacked relevant experience and core algorithms, making自主设计 impossible.

Third, weak supporting产业链. Foreign countries had established complete supporting systems, while China’s related产业几乎空白, further restricting自主研发进程.

This was the fundamental reason for the “foreign can produce, China cannot” situation— the gap was not just in a single technology but in a complete industrial system. China’s late start and weak foundation, coupled with技术封锁与零部件垄断, meant自主研制 was akin to rebuilding a high-end装备制造体系 from scratch.

In the initial stage, Dongfang Electric’s researchers had to rely on limited资料摸索前行, without advanced testing equipment, they built simple test rigs自主; lacking成熟工艺, they repeatedly磨合、试错. The task was daunting, but they remained目标坚定、百折不挠.

Everyone knew this was critical for China’s power industry to break free from dependency, directly impacting national能源安全.

Over the next thirty years, China’s gas turbine研发经历了漫长而艰难的探索期.

Through continuous试验、改进与积累, domestic基础制造能力逐步建立,产业配套初步成型, but in core design and关键部件, the gap with international领先水平仍然明显.真正的突破一直未出现。

In 2002, domestic launched a “bundled bidding” for gas turbines, bringing a glimmer of hope for Dongfang Electric. By introducing foreign制造技术, Dongfang Electric, which had never used “pork,” saw the “pig” running, breaking the previous “闭门造车” dilemma.

But reality remained harsh: foreign technology only transferred basic manufacturing技术, core design and high-temperature component manufacturing remained strictly封锁, even limiting关键参数, essentially only giving “皮毛,” while tightly holding the “核心.”

This激发了Dongfang Electric更强的斗志. The研发团队一边吸收引进的技术, 一边暗中深耕自主研发, from微小零部件改进 to反复优化工艺,逐步积累经验、突破瓶颈.

This艰难突围的岁月 made Dongfang Electric深刻认识到, 核心技术买不来、求不来, only自主创新 can truly摆脱“卡脖子”的困境.

During the most艰难的攻坚阶段, 2008年汶川地震重创德阳. Dongfang Electric’s厂房受损、设备损毁、生产停滞. External concerns arose that this already difficult技术路线 might be forced to halt.

But Dongfang Electric quickly恢复生产 on the ruins,继续将燃气轮机列为必须拿下的战略高地.

Over the next decade,研发仍在缓慢推进.

In key areas like材料、叶片制造、整机设计, Dongfang Electric持续攻关,逐步补齐短板. From实验验证 to样机研制, then to系统集成测试,技术能力逐渐逼近国际先进水平.

The turning point finally arrived.

In 2022, Dongfang Electric’s F级50兆瓦重型燃气轮机正式发运, this product, embodying the efforts of generations of科研人员, achieved 100%自主制造 of核心部件,破除国外巨头在重型燃气轮机领域的长期垄断.

In 2023, the commercial demonstration unit was successfully put into operation,运行稳定、效率达标, marking China’s彻底摆脱对进口设备依赖,实现真正意义上的自主可控, also a key step forward in high-end装备制造.

From 1967 to 2023, a total of 56 years of努力, Dongfang Electric finally achieved the leap from “追赶” to “并跑,” realizing the Chinese heavy-duty gas turbine自主可控 dream.

While Dongfang Electric continues to突破, Shanghai Electric and Harbin Electric are also making impressive progress in heavy-duty turbines, jointly推动中国在这一领域的攀升.

By 2025, Dongfang Electric reached another milestone: promoting G50 heavy-duty turbines for export to Kazakhstan,签订3台G50燃机、合计约15亿元的订单,计划于2026年投产.

This breakthrough marked China’s first complete export of国产重型燃机, signifying China’s gas turbines officially entering the global market and gaining international recognition.

Even more fortunate, as global power demand因AI而突然放大, Dongfang Electric has been well prepared, thus站在产业爆发的风口之上. As of February 2026, its订单总额约为1400–1800亿元, mostly related to燃气轮机, production lines scheduled through 2027.

Today, Dongfang Electric is the undisputed leader in China’s heavy-duty gas turbines, with 2026 data showing its自主机型在国内市场占有率已超过35%，部分甚至达70%.

The capital markets have also responded directly. Over the past year, the company’s A-shares increased by about 200%, Hong Kong stocks by over 300%, with market value突破千亿元, becoming one of the most vibrant high-end装备板块的代表.

More importantly, when the world is worried about “power shortages” and “capacity,” China not only has “grain in hand, heart calm,” but also has stepped into the core of global supply, forging another industry王牌.

【03 Industry Explosion】

Dongfang Electric’s突破从来不是孤军奋战的单点突破，而是产业链协同崛起的系统战役。

其成功，依赖于多家产业企业的助力协同，也带动了相关企业的发展，尤其是牵引上下游同步升级，逐步构建起分工清晰、优势互补、协同共进的产业生态，推动中国燃气轮机产业从“局部突破”迈向“体系能力提升”.

目前，在整机端，中国已形成了“三大动力”格局——东方电气、上海电气、哈尔滨电气协同布局、技术互补，共同构成中国发电装备制造的核心力量。

其中，东方电气率先实现重型燃气轮机自主可控，打破国外长期垄断，围绕G50、F级50兆瓦等核心产品展开研发、制造与出口布局，成为产业技术迭代与海外拓展的重要引领者。

上海电气专注重型燃机制造与系统集成，参与我国首台自主研制的300兆瓦F级重型燃机总装，在大型电站成套配套领域优势明显。

哈尔滨电气在主机及辅机系统领域积累深厚，产品出口至50多个国家和地区，在海外布局与辅机国产化方面形成独特竞争力。

三者既避免同质化内耗，又形成协同分工，共同夯实中国燃气轮机产业的整机根基，提升整体国际竞争力.

如果说整机突破是“龙头抬升”，那么核心零部件的自主可控，则是产业真正完成升级的关键支撑。

在整机企业的牵引与赋能下，国内一批关键零部件企业也加速突破技术封锁，逐步补齐产业链短板，如今也迎来了崭新的发展机遇。

贵州航宇科技为整机厂商提供核心锻件，订单持续饱满；山东豪迈机械聚焦燃气轮机零部件加工，产能高位运转；烟台杰瑞石油服务集团突破技术瓶颈，成功挺进北美数据中心燃气轮机配套市场，实现国产零部件海外高端市场的突破……

一批特色企业正在补齐生态拼图，形成“大型央企引领、细分企业深耕”的多层级结构。如，中船集团广瀚燃机在小型燃机领域实现自主可控；航发动力依托航空发动机技术向燃气轮机延伸；慕帆动力、清启动力等民营企业深耕细分场景，丰富应用层级。

当整机、材料、关键部件与细分应用形成完整闭环，中国燃气轮机产业，也才真正具备了参与全球高端装备竞争的底气.

当前，全球燃气轮机市场需求爆发。西门子能源、通用电气弗诺瓦、三菱重工等全球三大燃机主机厂，整机订单持续处于高位，供不应求，中国企业的历史机遇因此显现。

如今，中国燃气轮机不但加速出口到一些发展中国家，也正加速打入欧美发达市场。

今年2月，烟台杰瑞石油服务集团宣布，旗下全资子公司GPS与美国客户签署1.815亿美元燃气轮机发电机组合同——这是公司自2025年11月以来在美签署的第四份同类订单，客户已拓展至第三家。

近日，花旗银行发布研报称，东方电气已获得加拿大数据中心/电力客户的20台G50燃机发电机组订单，合约金额约40亿元，并对公司拓展海外燃气轮机市场高度看好。

全球能源格局的重塑，正深刻影响着全球技术和产业创新格局的重塑.

作为全球最大电力王国的中国，已经并还将为中国核心技术与产业的突破提供机遇和支撑，而这也是中国燃气轮机崛起故事的一部分。

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