A view of China (Taiyuan) International Energy Industry Expo 2024 Photo: Courtesy of Shanxi Provincial Investment Promotion Bureau

The China (Taiyuan) International Energy Industry Expo 2024 opened on September 10 at the Shanxi Xiaohe International Conference (Convention & Exhibition) Center in Taiyuan, North China's Shanxi Province. The purpose of the expo was to promote the innovation-driven development of the energy industry and accelerate the cultivation of new quality productive forces in the energy field.

The expo brought together officials, executives, guests and entrepreneurs from government departments, international institutions and social organizations, as well as Fortune 500 companies, energy industry-leading companies, centrally administered enterprises, key provincially administered enterprises and famous private companies. Together, they explored the path toward the low-carbon, high-efficiency and green development of energy.

In his speech, Tang Dengjie, secretary of the Communist Party of China Shanxi Provincial Committee, noted that Shanxi must resolutely implement the new-energy security strategy, deepen the development of the comprehensive energy reform pilot program, accelerate the building of a new-energy system, and promote greener economic and social development in all aspects, thereby contributing to safeguarding national energy security and promoting the global energy transformation.

The expo displayed new technologies, achievements and products of energy reform from multiple dimensions in a combination of formats, including pictures, display panels, videos, real objects and models, in an exhibition space of 48,000 square meters.

The comprehensive exhibition area was a concentrated display of major policies and achievements in the world's and China's energy reforms, as well as the remarkable achievements that Shanxi has made in developing the comprehensive energy reform pilot program.

The municipal exhibition area showcased Shanxi cities' specialized and advantaged industries and their relevant achievements, and promoted their investment attraction policies and favorable investment environments. In addition, the expo had 14 thematic exhibition areas covering such fields as hydrogen energy, wind and photovoltaic power, and new-energy storage, which fully presented the methodologies and actions of Shanxi for promoting energy reform, and its remarkable achievements and advanced experience in those fields.

The expo not only served as a platform for exhibitions but also provided an important opportunity for cooperation and exchanges.

Taking advantage of the expo, Shanxi hosted the China (Shanxi) Green Industry Investment and Exchange Conference, attracting a delegation from the government of Matabeleland North Province, Zimbabwe, and guests from the US, Germany and other countries. The conference discussed topics including the clean utilization of coal, green transportation, companies' carbon footprint management, and new-energy transportation. It facilitated the signing of agreements for 23 key cooperation projects on the spot, involving a number of green and low-carbon industry areas, such as new-energy and high-end equipment manufacturing, amounting to 19.471 billion yuan ($2.76 billion).

In recent years, Shanxi has delivered significant achievements in energy reform. As of this June, Shanxi had developed 128 intelligent coal mines, with the proportion of advanced coal production capacity increasing from 68 percent in 2019 to more than 80 percent in 2023.

In the first three years of the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-25), 2.45 million kilowatts (kW) of obsolete coal-fired power units were eliminated; 63.03 million kilowatt-hours of existing power units were upgraded with advanced technologies; and units with a power of 600,000 kW or more dominated the coal-fired power units.

In 2023, Shanxi's capacity for producing high-purity hydrogen from coke oven gas, chemical tail gas and electrolysis reached 31,000 tons per year, and 22 hydrogen refueling stations were built and put into operation, accounting for 5 percent of China's total.

Shanxi is committed to developing the "five bases," including the base for the green development and utilization of coal and the base for unconventional natural gas, and driving the transformation and upgrading of the energy industry through key projects, innovation and pilot programs.