Highlights in 2017
New clean energy innovation policies and/or strategies
From 2016 to 2017, China’s Ministry of Science and Technology successively launched a number of state research and development programs in areas of clean and high efficiency utilization of coal and new types of energy saving technology, new energy vehicle and smart grid, and provided active support to such R&D and demonstration projects in the field of clean energy. In the area of clean and high efficiency utilization of coal, the objective is to fully carry out the energy saving strategy, comprehensively improve clean and high efficiency utilization of coal and independent R&D capability in areas of processing, system, equipment, materials and platforms, and realize industrial-scale demonstrations. In the area of new energy vehicle, the program aimed at continued in-depth implementation of the strategy of technological transformation towards “pure electric drive” new energy vehicle, and to upgrade the technological platform of new energy vehicle power system, taking full advantage of the opportunity of the new round of technological change brought about by technologies in areas of new energy, new materials and informatization, deploying R&D for the next generation of technology to support large scale industrialization by 2020. And in the area of smart grid, the objective is to realize full range deployment from basic research to major generic key technological research to typical application demonstration, and to realize China’s overall leading position in smart grid technology internationally.
In April 2017, a number of government agencies including the state Ministry of Science and Technology, National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Education jointly published the “Plan for State Technological Innovation Project during the ‘Thirteenth Five-year Plan’ Period”. The Plan defined that the key areas of clean energy deployed by the State Technological Innovation Centre will include nuclear energy, smart grid and clean and high efficiency utilization of coal. The Plan put forward the general objective of the perfection of an enterprise-centered, market-oriented technological innovation system with combined resources from industry, academy and R&D, improvement of enterprises’ independent innovation capability and core industrial competitiveness, and strengthening of the transformation of technological achievements and the perfection of an innovation and start-up business service system. One of the key tasks of the Plan is to “strengthen the support to technological innovation, and encouragement of innovation resources to concentrate in enterprises”. The Plan also stressed importance to guide the establishment of diversified financing channels, on one hand the state will strengthen guidance and support to technological innovation through state science and technology programs, while on the other hand takes advantage of the state medium and small enterprise development fund, state emerging industry start-up and investment guidance fund and state technological achievement transformation guidance fund, to encourage development of angel investment, venture capital investment, industrial investment, and strengthen direct financing support to enterprises in seed and initial stages.
Top activities delivered in support of the Innovation Challenges in 2017
1st MI Smart Grids Innovation Workshop: On June 6th 2017, the 1stMI Smart Grids Innovation Workshop, which was an important side event of CEM8 and MI-2, was held at the Beijing National Convention centre. More than 150 representatives of international organizations, universities, research institutions and enterprises from 20 countries attended the workshop. Li Meng, Deputy Minister of Ministry of Science and Technology gave the welcome speech. Harsh Vardhan, Union Minister for Science Technology and Earth Sciences, and Zhang Jie, Deputy Minister of Chinese Academy of Sciences, gave greeting speeches. Patrick Child, Deputy Director General of European Commission, Research & Innovation and Chair of MI Steering Committee was invited to give a keynote speech about Innovation activities of Smart Grids in EU and Ivan Scalfarotto, Deputy Minister of Italian Ministry of Economic Development (MiSE) made the closing remarks.