First Power Station Approved for China's Domestic F-Class Gas Turbine

On 23 August 2026, the Guangdong Provincial Development and Reform Commission approved the first-of-its-kind demonstration power station for the 300MW-class F-class heavy-duty gas turbine developed by China Heavy Gas Turbine, a subsidiary of State Power Investment Corporation (SPIC). China's domestic F-class gas turbine now has a commercial power plant for the first time, and procurement of its component packages may follow.[1][2]

The project builds one 453MW-class (9F-class) gas-steam combined-cycle unit and supporting facilities, with the gas turbine supplied by the domestic heavy-duty machine. It sits in the Dongcheng Science and Technology Industrial Park in Dongguan, and the project owner is SPIC (Dongguan) Thermal Power.[3] The machine's previous public milestone was its first successful firing in October 2024; official statements describe it as China's independently developed gas turbine with the highest output and technical grade.[4][1]

Background: what a heavy-duty gas turbine plant is made of

A heavy-duty gas turbine can be thought of as a jet engine bolted to the ground: it burns natural gas to spin blades and generate power, and the hot exhaust then passes into a heat-recovery steam generator (HRSG) that raises steam for a second round of generation in a steam turbine. That pairing is called a gas-steam combined cycle, and "9F-class" describes the machine's output and technical grade.

Value inside the machine is not evenly spread. On a brokerage breakdown, blades are about 35% of turbine value, the control system 18% and the combustor 10%.[5]

Localisation is the crux. The most recent published audit of China's F-class fleet still lists turbine blades, combustor ceramic tiles and combustion gas valves as imported items for all three Chinese licensees, Harbin, Dongfang and Shanghai Electric.[5] An independently developed machine cannot buy an OEM parts package, so its hot section has to be filled domestically.

Hot-section parts are also consumables. On GE's 9FA frame, a combustion inspection comes at about 8,000 running hours, a hot-gas-path inspection replacing part of the blading at 24,000 hours, and a major inspection replacing all blading at 48,000 hours; hot-section parts run 45-70% of a gas plant's operating and maintenance spend.[5]

From one approval to blades, forgings and the HRSG

First, the approval sets the equipment procurement clock. Chinese thermal projects typically tender equipment one to two quarters after approval.

Second, the largest single block is the blades. That link belongs to Anhui Yingliu Electromechanical (603308.SH), which lists China Heavy Gas Turbine first among its gas-turbine customers and is the sole Chinese supplier of Siemens Energy F/H-class turbine blades. The company disclosed more than RMB 2.0bn of new aero-engine and gas-turbine orders in 2025 and another RMB 800m in Q1 2026.[5][6]

Third, a commercial unit differs from a prototype in aftermarket. A grid-connected machine is inspected on running hours, so beyond the first fill there are repeat blade orders at roughly six and twelve years.[5]

Fourth, the combined-cycle island is a separate purchase. The HRSG is tendered on its own - one 9F-class HRSG package was awarded at around RMB 216m - and whoever supplies the first domestic unit writes the reference design the follow-on domestic fleet repeats.[7]

Fifth, the rotor, casing and combustor ring forgings are a third independent package supplied by forging houses.

Sixth, price. Imported 9F units landed in China at RMB 3,090-4,096 per kW. A domestic machine priced below that range lowers combined-cycle plant capex, which may raise the number of approvals; HRSG and forging volumes would rise before blade volumes, because blades follow the machine while the steam side follows the plant.[5]

Companies that may be affected

Guizhou Aerospace Hangyu Technology (688239.SH) is a maker of ring forgings for aero engines and gas turbines, sitting at the rotor, casing and combustor ring link. Its 2024 annual report states that its gas-turbine forgings go into domestic advanced marine gas turbines, domestic heavy-duty gas turbines and internationally advanced industrial gas turbines; that product line generated RMB 200.6m of revenue in 2024, up 20.70%, or 11.89% of main-business revenue.[8] The forgings for a single 9F machine are worth roughly RMB 15-30m, which at the FY2025 gross margin of 27.5% is RMB 4-8m of gross profit, or 2-4% of FY2025 net income of RMB 186m - so one machine means little, and the possible value is in the line becoming repeat business.[9] Note that its overseas gas-turbine forging customers include GE Vernova, Baker Hughes and Siemens Energy across E, F and G/H frames, so growth in this line does not necessarily come from the domestic programme.[8]

How to verify this

The first thing to watch is the HRSG award for the Dongguan project, which on a one-to-two-quarter tender lag falls roughly between Q4 2026 and Q2 2027. Anhui Yingliu's order disclosures are the second check: a step-up attributable to China Heavy Gas Turbine rather than to Siemens Energy or GE would first appear in the FY2026 annual report in April 2027.[6] For Guizhou Hangyu, the test is whether the gas-turbine forging segment steps up again alongside domestic-programme language or a disclosed China Heavy Gas Turbine contract; without that, the line only reflects the global gas-turbine cycle.[8]

Four things would break this chain. First, the Dongguan HRSG goes to a boiler house inside a turbine-maker group, showing the package is captive rather than openly tendered. Second, the first unit is fitted with an imported hot section anyway - the localisation audit above still lists turbine blades and combustor ceramic tiles as imported.[5] Third, no second domestic 9F is approved within roughly four quarters, leaving the reference-design argument with a single machine's orders. Fourth, Guizhou Hangyu discloses that its domestic heavy-duty gas turbine forging revenue is marine and industrial only, which would mean that leg is not this programme.[8]

Timescale matters too. On a normal Chinese combined-cycle construction schedule, first fire on site is 2028-2029, and the hot-section aftermarket does not begin until the first combustion inspection at about 8,000 running hours.

This is only a way to surface transmission chains you may have overlooked - it is not a stock recommendation.

Sources

[1] Fastdata · 2026-08-23 · https://www.ifastdata.com/2026/08/23/300mw%E7%BA%A7f%E7%BA%A7%E9%A6%96%E5%8F%B0%E5%A5%97%E7%A4%BA%E8%8C%83%E7%94%B5%E7%AB%99%E9%A1%B9%E7%9B%AE%E8%90%BD%E5%9C%B0%E5%B9%BF%E4%B8%9C/ [2] Drillr signal_events · 2026-08-23 · data (event_id 242367) [3] Zhongneng Heating Network · 2026-08-23 · https://news.58heating.com/show-13628.html [4] Shanghai Municipal SASAC · 2024-10-10 · https://www.gzw.sh.gov.cn/shgzw_zxzx_gqdt/20241010/b505a99ba53d4f4087aa51d612840b68.html [5] Sinolink Securities gas turbine industry report · 2025-02-07 · https://pdf.dfcfw.com/pdf/H3_AP202502071642854718_1.pdf [6] Tencent News · 2026-05-18 · https://news.qq.com/rain/a/20260518A07SHP00 [7] Jiemian News · 2024-03-13 · https://www.jiemian.com/article/10911354.html [8] Guizhou Aerospace Hangyu Technology 2024 annual report · 2025-04-08 · https://static.cninfo.com.cn/finalpage/2025-04-08/1223020969.PDF [9] Drillr financial_statements / company_snapshot · FY2025 · data