## This Week’s Caixin Energy Bundle## This Week’s Caixin Energy Bundle Key Climate, Energy, and Industrial Developments in China This week’s Caixin energy bundle provides an in-depth look at key climate, energy, and industrial developments in China. We highlight policy shifts, industry trends, and innovative projects aimed at transforming renewable energy in the country and global energy dynamics. Beijing Slows Down Solar Energy Market Expansion The National Energy Administration (NEA) aims to control the rapid expansion of low-end solar energy production capacity. The government will guide the construction of projects in the upstream segments of the solar industry to avoid repetitive developments. Commerce Minister Criticizes EU EV Probe Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao criticized the European Union’s investigation into Chinese electric vehicles (EVs), claiming it violates World Trade Organization (WTO) rules. The EU has imposed provisional tariffs on Chinese battery electric vehicles that could increase overall duties by up to 48%. China as Leading ‘Electrostat’ The Rocky Mountain Institute highlights China’s rapid adoption of electrification, making it the world’s first major ‘electrostat.’ China is leading the way in acquiring clean technology patents, expanding battery production capacity, and deploying wind and solar power plants. Green Hydrogen Production at Sea Chinese scientists have tested a technology that produces hydrogen from seawater using wind energy. The experiment demonstrated successful production of high-purity hydrogen through direct electrolysis for more than 240 hours. CATL’s Energy Storage Expansion in Europe Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd. (CATL) has partnered with Rolls Royce to introduce a new energy storage system in the United Kingdom and the European Union. The system aims to serve the large-scale energy storage market.
This week’s Caixin energy bundle takes an in-depth look at key climate, energy and industrial developments in China, highlighting policy shifts, industry trends and innovative projects aimed at transforming renewable energy in the country and global energy dynamics. (para. 1)
**Beijing slows down solar energy market expansion:** China’s National Energy Administration (NEA) aims to control the rapid expansion of low-end solar energy production capacity. According to Li Chuangjun, director of the department of new energy and renewable energy sources at the NEA, the government will guide the construction of projects in the upstream segments of the solar industry to avoid repetitive developments. This move is essential as China’s solar energy sector faces problems of overcapacity due to excessive investment and local government projects that have exceeded domestic demand, resulting in price declines and lower profits for manufacturers. (para. 4)(para. 5)(para. 6)
**Commerce Minister Criticizes EU EV Probe:** Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao has criticized the European Union’s investigation into Chinese electric vehicles (EVs), claiming it violates World Trade Organization (WTO) rules. The move, dubbed a “typical protectionist measure,” is seen as a response to the EU’s decision to impose provisional tariffs that could increase overall duties on Chinese battery electric vehicles by as much as 48%, potentially impacting Europe’s green transition goals. Both the EU and China have agreed to hold talks on the matter. (para. 8)(para. 9)(para. 10)
**China as Leading ‘Electrostat’:** The Rocky Mountain Institute, a US-based non-profit organization, highlights China’s rapid adoption of electrification, making it the world’s first major ‘electrostat’. Over the past decade, China’s electrification efforts – including the transition from fossil fuels to electric-powered technologies – have advanced nine times faster than the global average. The country is leading the way in acquiring patents in clean technology, expanding battery production capacity and deploying wind and solar power plants. In doing so, it supports its strategic objective to increase the electrification level of end-use energy consumption to “approximately 30%” by 2025, supporting decarbonization and reducing CO2 emissions. (para. 12)(para. 13)(para. 14)
**Green hydrogen production at sea:** Chinese scientists, led by Xie Heping of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, have tested a technology that produces hydrogen from seawater using wind energy. The experiment, conducted on a floating platform in Xinhua Bay in Fujian province, demonstrated successful production of high-purity hydrogen through direct electrolysis for more than 240 hours, without desalinating seawater. This breakthrough is crucial for the industrialization of green hydrogen, especially for heavy industry and vehicles where emission reductions are a challenge. (para. 16)(para. 17)(para. 18)
**CATL’s Energy Storage Expansion in Europe:** Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd. (CATL) has partnered with Rolls Royce to introduce a new energy storage system called TENER in the United Kingdom and the European Union. The system, which can store up to 6.25 megawatt hours of electricity in a 20-foot container, is aimed at the large-scale energy storage market. CATL’s move aligns with a strategic interest in the European market, which is attractive to Chinese manufacturers due to its large potential, lack of a significant domestic supply chain and favorable trade policies. (para. 20)(para. 21)(para. 22)
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