As a pioneer of the “park city” philosophy, Chengdu is encouraging low-carbon transition by emphasizing green development in its socioeconomic advancement.
Huaizhou New City, located in Chengdu’s Jintang county, is home to such industrial giants as TW Solar, B&M Science and Technology, CATL and Dynanonic. Over the first half of this year, it welcomed a group of photovoltaic glass and new lithium battery manufacturers from the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei area and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.
Local officials said the growth initiative has helped connect the downstream of the photovoltaic industry while accelerating progress of Chengdu’s green and low-carbon industry.
In June, the Jintang base of TW Solar, which has a total investment of 3.2 billion yuan ($447.5 million) and is the first gigawatt-level photovoltaic component production base in Southwest China, went into operation. According to the company, the base is expected to achieve an annual output value of 40 billion yuan and provide 3,000 jobs.
In early June, TW Solar announced plans to invest in a photovoltaic project with a capacity of 20 GW in Chengdu’s Shuangliu district, which is expected to open in 2025. The city’s current photovoltaic industry generates nearly 20 billion yuan and includes more than 20 businesses in Jintang county and Shuangliu district.
Chengdu is also boosting hydrogen energy across manufacturing sectors from fuel cells to vehicles. The city has developed a complete hydrogen energy industrial chain that integrates the production, storage, transportation, refueling and application of hydrogen gases and has mapped out function areas in the Pidu and Longquanyi districts.
More than 60 hydrogen businesses and research and development institutions — including Dongfang Electric Corporation, HQHP and SinoHytec — are now operating in the city. The Western Industry Park for Hydrogen, which is being constructed by Chengdu Smart Car City Development, a joint venture between Chengdu Jiaozi Financial Holding Group and the Longquanyi district government, will serve as an industrial hub.
In May, the park completed construction of 21 buildings and opened its demonstration hall. The move helped attract businesses involved in sectors ranging from hydrogen energy and automobiles to electronics and environmental protection.
“The park is expected to start operating in the first half of 2024,” said Liu Tao, chairman of Chengdu Smart Car City Development. “It will be the largest hydrogen energy industrial complex in Chengdu.”
By the end of 2025, the park hopes to include 50 to 100 businesses involved in hydrogen energy and automobiles, which will form an industrial chain and reach an output value of more than 10 billion yuan.
Over the past few years, Chengdu has rolled out a series of policies for sectors such as photovoltaic, power batteries, new energy vehicles, hydrogen energy and energy storage to create a green and low-carbon industry with an output value worth 100 billion yuan. In June 2022, the city government issued a guideline on the development of green hydrogen energy, spurring establishment of a whole industrial chain.
With the development of hydrogen energy, the NEV sector sees great potential in Chengdu, and the city has encouraged the application of hydrogen energy vehicles with an industrial chain and the opening of several routes for hydrogen-powered buses.
NEV sales in Chengdu reached 74,100 units through the first five months of this year, up 20.5 percent from 2022, and the sales volume ranked fourth in all of China. And as of the end of May, Chengdu had built a total of 131,000 NEV charging piles.
Yuan Shenggao, China Daily, MDT/China Daily
