China's First International Standard for Steam Turbine Main Equipment Released, Marking Global Influence of Domestic Power Equipment Technology

On September 22, 2026, the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) officially released Thermal Acceptance Tests – Part 4: Routine Performance Tests (IEC 60953-4:2026), marking the first international standard successfully published by China in the field of steam turbine main equipment. This signifies that Chinese steam turbine technology has advanced from equipment manufacturing to participation in international rule-making, achieving a landmark breakthrough for the industry.

As the core power equipment for energy systems such as thermal power, waste heat power generation, and biomass power generation, steam turbines rely on performance testing as a key technical procedure for assessing equipment operating status, exploring energy-saving potential, and ensuring long-term stable operation of the unit. Before the release of this new standard, the existing IEC standards for steam turbine thermal performance tests were mostly oriented toward acceptance testing of new or retrofitted units, lacking a unified specification for routine performance testing of units already in operation. The global industry had long been without a common guideline to govern performance monitoring, data correction, degradation diagnosis, and result evaluation for in-service steam turbines. Different countries and engineering projects adopted varying test methods, resulting in poor data comparability and creating significant obstacles for equipment operation, maintenance, and technical benchmarking in cross-border projects.

The newly released IEC 60953-4:2026 international standard closely addresses the industry demand for generator units participating in grid flexible peak shaving under the current energy transition context, covering the full-chain performance testing process across the entire lifecycle of steam turbines. The standard systematically defines general technical principles for routine performance tests of steam turbines, including preliminary preparation, test condition setup, on-site measurement implementation, test data correction, test result evaluation, and repeatability determination, while also clarifying technical pathways for identifying long-term performance degradation and conducting equipment deterioration diagnosis. This unified technical specification is applicable to various types of in-service steam turbines worldwide, providing a globally recognized technical basis for routine performance monitoring, equipment condition diagnosis, and maintenance solution optimization.

The successful release of this international standard not only fills the gap in the IEC thermal test standard system for steam turbines but also lays a solid foundation for the international development of China's steam turbine equipment industry. The standard unifies the global technical consensus on steam turbine performance testing, lowering the threshold for technical coordination between domestic and international projects. For domestic power equipment enterprises, this international standard serves as an important technical reference. In overseas project solution design, equipment performance acceptance, and after-sales maintenance services, enterprises can carry out their work based on this internationally recognized testing guideline, reducing technical divergences in cross-border projects and enhancing the recognition and competitiveness of domestically manufactured steam turbine equipment in the international market.

As the global energy structure continues to adjust, the overseas market demand for distributed energy projects such as waste heat utilization and biomass power generation keeps growing, and customers place increasing emphasis on the stable operation and performance evaluation of steam turbine equipment. The release of this international standard represents international recognition of China's steam turbine testing technology and confirms that the domestic power equipment R&D and testing technology levels have entered the world's first tier.

Standards lead technology; rules empower industry. The release of this international standard is an important achievement of China's steam turbine industry in deeply participating in the global standardization drive for energy equipment. In the future, the industry will continue to build on standardization achievements, continuously refine steam turbine product performance, enhance equipment reliability, actively expand overseas markets, and leverage standardization to drive technology export and product globalization, contributing China's power equipment strength to the global green energy development wave.