Zero-carbon industrial parks are about to boom! A construction boom is imminent. Families, 2025 marks the end of the 14th Five-Year Plan. Recently, the construction of zero-carbon industrial parks received excellent news! The News Office held a series of press conferences on "High-Quality Development of the Chinese Economy." Zhao Chenxin, Vice Minister of the National Development and Reform Commission, said at the meeting that we should make overall plans for the 15th Five-Year Plan's carbon peak action, study comprehensive evaluation and assessment methods, promote the construction of national carbon peak pilot projects, and accelerate the establishment of a number of zero-carbon industrial parks. This means that zero-carbon industrial parks are truly about to experience significant development!

Zero-carbon industrial parks, strong development momentum
The national level has mentioned zero-carbon industrial parks many times, which is an important development signal. On December 12, 2024, the Central Economic Work Conference first proposed the concept of "zero-carbon industrial parks," stating the need to establish a number of such parks. The next day, Jin Zhuanglong, Secretary of the Party Group and Minister of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, presided over an enlarged meeting of the Party group, pointing out the need to deepen the promotion of green and low-carbon development in industry and build a number of zero-carbon factories and zero-carbon industrial parks. At the end of the month, the National Conference on Industrial and Information Technology also emphasized the need to increase efforts in industrial energy conservation and carbon reduction, and to explore the promotion of the construction of zero-carbon factories and zero-carbon industrial parks. 

With so much policy support, the construction of zero-carbon industrial parks in 2025 is sure to accelerate. Wu Wei, associate professor at the China Energy Policy Research Institute of Xiamen University, said in an interview that with the advancement of the national carbon peak and carbon neutrality goals, green and low-carbon development is an important part of the national development strategy. After the implementation of policies, the number of zero-carbon industrial parks will increase significantly. Technological advancements will also reduce the cost of constructing zero-carbon industrial parks. As developments occur in areas such as intelligent energy management, big data applications, and energy storage technology, the speed of zero-carbon transformation in industrial parks will be faster. By 2025, the scale of zero-carbon industrial parks will expand, and industrial chain integration will become more in-depth. Bai Wenxi, vice chairman of the China Enterprise Capital Alliance, has a similar view, believing that zero-carbon industrial parks are expected to experience explosive growth in 2025, distributed photovoltaic and other technologies will be widely applied, and zero-carbon industrial parks will become a gathering place for green and low-carbon industries, driving industrial chain upgrades.

Zero-carbon industrial parks, far-reaching significance

Accelerating the construction of zero-carbon industrial parks has profound strategic significance. In Wu Wei's view, zero-carbon industrial parks can promote low-carbon industrial development, enhance enterprise innovation capabilities, energy efficiency, and informatization levels, and are an important driving force for high-quality economic development in China. The construction of a zero-carbon industrial park energy service system can not only implement low-carbon and sustainable development and promote the synergistic integration of the green economy and the digital economy, but is also a necessary path to achieve the "dual carbon" goals and implement the high-quality development strategy. China has more than 87,000 industrial parks, with carbon emissions accounting for more than 30% of the country's total carbon emissions. Zero-carbon industrial parks, with their green and low-carbon manufacturing system and green output centered on green energy and zero-carbon supply chains, can effectively promote the low-carbon transformation of existing industrial parks. Moreover, zero-carbon industrial park energy services provide application scenarios for the practical breakthroughs and mature development of new energy technologies. Currently, distributed renewable energy generation, energy storage, electric vehicles, and smart grids are becoming increasingly mature, and the technological conditions for the development of green industrial parks are constantly improving. They can now provide enterprises with systematic solutions integrating distributed energy + energy storage + vehicle-grid interaction + smart energy.

Exploration and active practice in multiple regions

Although China's construction of zero-carbon industrial parks is still in its infancy, Yu Fonghui, a specially invited researcher at the China Financial Think Tank, said that due to limitations in funding, technology, and talent, the current development speed and effectiveness still have room for improvement. Currently, the overall construction of zero-carbon industrial parks is relatively scattered, and comprehensive promotion and large-scale development require more policy support and technological breakthroughs. Although some enterprises have carried out pilot projects for zero-carbon factories, there are no truly zero-carbon industrial parks yet. However, many places, including Beijing, Shanghai, Jiangsu, Shandong, and Sichuan, have proposed construction standards or pilot construction plans for zero-carbon industrial parks. The core of zero-carbon industrial parks is to achieve "zero carbon emissions" by efficiently utilizing clean energy, green buildings, intelligent management, and a circular economy model, ensuring that all the park's energy needs are met by renewable energy. This not only requires greening energy supply, but also requires systematic decarbonization in terms of energy consumption, building design, and transportation systems within the park. In recent years, many places have begun to put this into practice.

In 2022, Shanghai explored new paths for the creation of zero-carbon industrial parks, releasing the "Minhang Development Zone Zero-Carbon Demonstration Park Creation Action Plan," determining a "three-step" strategy. Park enterprises are also actively transforming. For example, Shanghai Siemens High-Voltage Switchgear Co., Ltd. launched fluorine-free, zero-carbon, environmentally friendly high-voltage switchgear equipment, and several companies have received national-level green certifications and titles. In January 2023, the Beijing Daxing District Two Sessions proposed building the first hydrogen-electricity coupled zero-carbon industrial park in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region. In November 2024, Beijing's first "zero-carbon industrial park" standard pilot project landed in the western area of Daxing New Town. The Jiangning Zhilifang Zero-Carbon Industrial Park project, the first batch of projects in Jiangsu Province and the first in Nanjing, was also successfully completed. The zero-carbon technology museum in the park uses light storage direct flexible technology, with the rooftop photovoltaic power generation reaching 13,000 kWh per year. Moreover, with the help of relevant policies, Guangxi, Yunnan, Fujian, and other places have included the construction of zero-carbon industrial parks in their 2025 government work reports. Wang Peng, associate researcher at the Beijing Academy of Social Sciences, said that local governments and enterprises have realized the importance of zero-carbon industrial parks, and are formulating plans and policies, increasing investment, and some pilot projects have achieved significant results, such as the Ordos Zero-Carbon Industrial Park. In the future, zero-carbon industrial parks will significantly improve in terms of quantity, scale, and quality, becoming an important force in promoting high-quality economic development in China.

Challenges in development, solutions available

Next, the construction boom of zero-carbon industrial parks is coming. However, from planning and construction to daily operation, this is a highly professional process, and there is currently a shortage of composite talents. Bai Wenxi said that zero-carbon industrial parks not only need talents in renewable energy, energy storage, and carbon capture, but also personnel with backgrounds in big data, the Internet of Things, and artificial intelligence, as well as professionals familiar with the planning, operation, and management of zero-carbon industrial parks. Wu Wei also explained that the construction of zero-carbon industrial parks involves multiple disciplines, including energy, construction, transportation, information technology, environmental protection, and policies and regulations. Single-discipline talents cannot meet the complex needs of park construction, especially since zero-carbon industrial parks require the integration of multiple green technologies and intelligent management, requiring composite talents with interdisciplinary knowledge. However, the current training of talents in related fields is insufficient. Wu Wei also mentioned that the construction of zero-carbon industrial parks lacks holistic solutions. Enterprises' current park energy services mainly focus on energy supply itself, with green electricity trading, green electricity certification, carbon trading, and carbon asset management becoming the focus of enterprises' attention. However, zero-carbon industrial parks lack unified planning for energy supply and consumption, and the capital investment and commercialization models are unclear. The initial construction requires huge investment, the investment return cycle is long, and there are uncertainties. So how to break these development constraints? Wang Peng gives three suggestions: First, governments and enterprises should increase investment in R&D of zero-carbon technologies, promoting technological innovation and the transformation of achievements; second, the government should introduce more supportive policies, such as tax incentives, financial subsidies, and financial support; third, universities and vocational schools should offer relevant courses to cultivate professional talents, and enterprises should actively introduce advanced international technologies and management experience to improve construction and management levels.

The intelligent architecture of zero-carbon industrial parks

Wu Wei added that the construction of zero-carbon industrial parks should focus on collaborative management models, referencing foreign cases, and emphasizing the effective synergy of energy supply, storage, and consumption. An integrated comprehensive energy plan should be implemented to improve the overall operational energy efficiency of the industrial park. Emphasis should also be placed on the construction and planning of the park's power grid, leveraging the advantages of power grid companies to provide holistic, systematic solutions. Furthermore, the green financial mechanism and financing channels should be optimized, such as establishing special green funds, providing tax incentives, and issuing green bonds, to reduce financial pressure. Exploration of establishing a carbon finance market should also be undertaken to attract social capital investment. The development of zero-carbon industrial parks is crucial to our future. Let's look forward to the green transformation brought about by the booming construction of zero-carbon industrial parks! We welcome your thoughts on zero-carbon industrial parks in the comments section!