Low carbon fuels high-quality development

Hydrogen, PV serve as new drivers of economic growth for Chengdu

Chengdu, capital of Sichuan province, is driving advancements in high-quality economic development by cultivating new economic dynamics from low-carbon industries regarding hydrogen and photovoltaics.

In November, a hydrogen-powered fixed-wing drone, manufactured by an enterprise in Chengdu, received the CES 2022 Innovation Award, one of the most influential programs honoring outstanding consumer technology products from around the world.

The hydrogen-powered vertical takeoff and landing vehicle is an illustration of Chengdu's efforts in exploring its low-carbon development path.

Embracing the opportunities brought by China's nationwide campaign to peak carbon emissions by 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2060, Chengdu is moving to tap into the greater potential of clean energy and green industries.

In July, Chengdu's Pidu district broke ground for the first China-EU hydrogen industrial park in China; in October, Inner Mongolia autonomous region put into trial operation the country's first hydrogen fuel cell hybrid locomotive, whose core power-supply system was manufactured by a company based in Chengdu's Xindu district.

Booming industry

Chengdu has also launched a "green city" project to make full use of hydrogen.

It has extended the hydrogen business from manufacturing fuel cells and vehicles to all the links in the whole hydrogen-energy industrial chain, namely production, storage, transportation, refueling and usage.

More than 60 upstream and downstream enterprises and research institutes such as Dongfang Electric, Houpu Clean Energy, Shenleng Liquefaction Plant and SinoHytec have jumped on the bandwagon.

So far, a total of 370 hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles have been put into use across the city and hydrogen-energy businesses in Chengdu have racked up a turnover of more than 10 billion yuan ($1.58 billion).

Thanks to a strong regional GDP, first-mover advantages and government subsidy policies, Chengdu came fourth in the Top 30 Hydrogen Cities Competitiveness Ranking in China, a list released by TrendBank, an emerging industry research and consulting company, indicating that the city has become a highland for the development of the hydrogen industry in China.

Meanwhile, the national strategy of the Chengdu-Chongqing economic circle is expected to bring about greater opportunities for the hydrogen industry in Chengdu.

On Nov 30, Chengdu and Chongqing joined hands with Neijiang, a city in Sichuan, to launch a "Chengdu-Chongqing hydrogen corridor".

Hydrogen-energy enterprises like Dongfang Electric, Yapp Automotive Systems and Isuzu Motors answered the call and started aligning their company strategies with the key project in Southwest China.

The corridor is taking shape as Chengdu and Chongqing have put into place 440 HFCEVs and 15 hydrogenation stations, facilitating not only regional industrial transformation and upgrading but also high-quality coordinated development.

Next, Chengdu, Chongqing and other cities in Sichuan will work together to put 400 hydrogen fuel logistics vehicles into use along the corridor within two years. The number will total around 1,000 before 2025, when the area will be home to a variety of hydrogen-energy and fuel cell industries.

In another development, entities in the photovoltaic industry are also vying to gain a foothold in Chengdu.

Tongwei Group, a major PV enterprise headquartered in Chengdu, located its subsidiary Tongwei Solar in Shuangliu district in 2015.

With a total investment of 8.7 billion yuan, Tongwei Solar (Shuangliu) has become the largest production base of crystalline silicon solar cells in the world.

Other new PV players in Chengdu include Trina Solar, Foen Group and Qiaoyuan Gas.

As resources, companies and talents all group together in Chengdu, Huaizhou New City has become the center of a regional PV industry cluster.

The Huaizhou New City is bringing into full play its competitive edges of strong leading enterprises, large-scale solar cell production and convenient logistics in order to build a better and larger cluster.

On Dec 20, Chengdu released a green and low-carbon development report reviewing its efforts and achievements over the last year in promoting a high-quality, modern and open industrial system.

In 2020, the revenue of Chengdu's new technology industry exceeded 1 trillion yuan and the output value of the ecological environment industry exceeded 100 billion yuan, according to the report.

The city will further align its development strategy with the country's goal of peaking carbon emissions by 2030 and achieving carbon neutrality by 2060.

During the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25) period, Chengdu's green and low-carbon efforts will be extended to manufacturing, infrastructure and supply chains to enhance the integrated development of various industries and ecology, said Yang Binping, chief engineer of Chengdu's bureau of ecology and environment.

Yang said, Chengdu will make every effort to foster emerging strategic industrial clusters and further expand its advantages in green and low-carbon industries.