Four departments: Achieve breakthroughs in key materials and components for energy-saving equipment by 2028

Securities Times reporter Han Zhongnan

Recently, four departments, including the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the National Development and Reform Commission, the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council, and the National Energy Administration, jointly issued the Energy-Saving Equipment High-Quality Development Implementation Plan (2026—2028) (hereinafter referred to as the “Implementation Plan”). It proposes that by 2028, breakthroughs will be achieved in key materials and components for energy-saving equipment, the matching of energy-use systems in key industry sectors and fields will continue to improve in terms of actual operating efficiency, the energy efficiency levels of energy-saving equipment such as motors and transformers will reach internationally leading levels, and the market share of energy-saving equipment will further increase. On March 20, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology held a press conference to interpret the details of the “Implementation Plan.”

Energy-saving equipment refers to products and equipment that adopt advanced technologies in the design and manufacturing processes across all stages of producing and using energy, thereby improving energy utilization efficiency and reducing energy consumption and losses. Wang Peng, Director of the Department of Energy Conservation and Comprehensive Utilization under the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, said, “The Fifteenth Five-Year Plan period is a crucial window for a comprehensive green transformation of economic and social development, and also a decisive phase for achieving the carbon peak target. The introduction of the ‘Implementation Plan’ aims to continue improving energy efficiency levels of energy-saving equipment with strong general applicability, high energy consumption use, and promising development prospects, and to strengthen the supply of and application for energy-saving equipment.”

The “Implementation Plan” focuses on six categories of energy-saving equipment: energy-saving motors, transformers, industrial heat pumps, industrial refrigeration (heating) and heating equipment, water electrolysis hydrogen production equipment, and information and communications equipment, and proposes a development path aimed at promoting energy conservation and carbon reduction in key industry sectors and fields.

Wang Peng said that in terms of specific deployment, the “Implementation Plan” embodies three emphases. First is highlighting technological innovation. On the basis of promoting improvements in overall equipment energy efficiency, it “goes inward” to dig deeper into independent research and development breakthroughs in basic materials and core components; “goes forward” to extend to upgrades of green manufacturing processes for products; and “goes backward” to areas such as optimization of equipment operation. Second is highlighting system-wide coordination. Addressing pain points such as “big wheels pulling small carts” and low system operating efficiency, it sets “strengthening system coupling and matching” as a key task. Third is highlighting empowering with digital intelligence. Focusing on the application of new-generation information technologies such as artificial intelligence in the field of energy-saving equipment, it proposes tasks such as building large models for energy-saving and carbon reduction for equipment and innovatively developing efficient energy-saving intelligent equipment.

Regarding the implementation of the “Implementation Plan,” Li Tai, Deputy Director of the Department of Resource Conservation and Environmental Protection under the National Development and Reform Commission, said that the National Development and Reform Commission will deeply advance the updating and upgrading of energy-consuming equipment by improving the policy and standards system, carrying out special action in a solid manner, and leveraging the role of government investment in mobilizing resources. Next, it will focus on promoting energy-conserving and carbon-reducing renovation and upgrading in key industry sectors, concentrating on industries with high energy consumption and carbon emissions such as steel, electrolytic aluminum, cement, and flat glass, and advancing energy-conserving and carbon-reducing updates and renovations on a sector-by-sector basis with compressed timelines. At the same time, it will strengthen standard guidance, coordinate funding channels to increase support for projects involving energy-conserving and carbon-reducing updates and renovations, and ensure good oversight and services across the full process.

As the “leading force” of central enterprises in industrial development, central enterprises have played an important role in promoting the updating and upgrading of energy-saving equipment. Zhang Xiaosong, Deputy Director of the Social Responsibility Bureau of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council, disclosed that at present, the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council has already included equipment updating work in the performance assessment system for the business performance of responsible persons of central enterprises and in the evaluation system for green development of central enterprises. In 2025, it will promote related investment by central enterprises to reach 1 trillion yuan, with notable results. Next, the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council will focus on strengthening benchmarking and improvement to accelerate stock optimization and iteration; strengthening green procurement to stimulate market vitality; strengthening evaluation and assessment to compact the main responsibility, and guiding central enterprises to take the lead and deliver tangible results.

(Editor: Wang Zhiqiang HF013)

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