Project Overview

As a key energy project under China’s 14th Five-Year Plan, Zhejiang Songyang Pumped Storage Power Station has achieved full breakthrough of two ultra-deep shafts with a vertical depth of 637 meters, setting a new national record for the deepest shaft project in the pumped storage industry. Henan Weihua acted as the core equipment supplier for this tough underground project. We independently developed the world’s first integrated intelligent hoisting and handling special equipment for 700-meter-level ultra-deep shafts, with the customized Shaft Gantry Crane as its core unit. This turnkey solution delivered exceptional efficiency and safety, serving as the backbone of the whole construction.

Client Challenges & Construction Difficulties

The 637-meter vertical depth of the shafts equals the height of over 200 high-rise buildings. The site featured extremely complex geological conditions, including active fault zones, frequent water inrush, poor underground ventilation and arduous mucking work.

Traditional construction methods and standard lifting equipment failed to adapt to such extreme operating environments. They were hampered by low working efficiency, delayed data transmission and tremendous challenges in safety supervision. In addition, on-site tasks such as mucking for surge shafts, assembly and disassembly of tunneling machines, and precise hoisting of penstock pipes also imposed strict requirements on the performance, stability and multi-scenario adaptability of the shaft gantry crane and supporting systems.

Weihua Solution & Equipment Specifications

To address the extreme working conditions and full-process construction requirements of ultra-deep shafts, Weihua tailored the world’s first set of 700m-level integrated intelligent hoisting and handling equipment. Centered on the intelligent shaft gantry crane, the whole system is combined with advanced monitoring and remote control technologies to create an innovative intelligent construction mode.

Main Equipment Configuration Parameters

  1. Applicable Working Depth: Rated working depth up to 700m, fully covering the 637m shaft construction range
  2. Integrated Functionality: The shaft gantry crane adopts an all-in-one design, supporting shaft excavation, mucking, equipment assembly & disassembly, and penstock precise hoisting
  3. Intelligent Monitoring System: Equipped with over 100 high-precision sensors for real-time collection of underground working status, load data, geological and environmental parameters
  4. Communication System: 5G full-coverage communication network, realizing stable real-time data transmission between underground working area and ground command center
  5. Operation Mode: Ground remote centralized control, realizing the unmanned underground operation mode
  6. Working Efficiency: Achieved a monthly tunneling progress of 278.28 meters; overall construction efficiency increased by nearly 10 times compared with conventional construction methods
  7. Safety Configuration: Multi-level overload protection, posture monitoring, water inrush early warning and anti-collision protection systems for full-cycle safety control
intelligent shaft gantry crane-2
intelligent shaft gantry crane

On-site Performance & Delivered Values

During the entire construction period, Weihua’s intelligent shaft gantry crane and matched equipment showed outstanding reliability and strong adaptability in all working procedures. It realized seamless operation covering the whole workflow from shaft excavation, underground mucking, tunneling machine installation and removal to accurate lifting and positioning of penstock pipes.

The innovative unmanned intelligent construction mode effectively eliminated safety risks brought by complex geology and harsh underground environments, and greatly reduced labor costs. The record-breaking monthly tunneling progress also significantly accelerated the overall project timeline.

The successful breakthrough of the two 637m ultra-deep shafts not only refreshed the depth record of pumped storage shaft engineering in China, but also marked a major leap forward in domestic capability for developing ultra-deep underground spaces under complex geological conditions.

Conclusion

Adhering to the philosophy of Customer First, Value Creation, Weihua keeps driving technological innovation and product iteration. Moving forward, we will continue to leverage our robust technical strength to provide reliable, intelligent and high-efficiency lifting solutions including professional shaft gantry cranes for new energy and major infrastructure projects, and contribute steady power to the high-quality development of the national new energy industry.