Hanergy Holding Group Limited, a multinational clean-energy power generation company and the world's largest thin-film solar company, today hosted a forum at the Group's Beijing headquarters onThe Third Industrial Revolution and China in cooperation with the Climate Group, an independent, not-for-profit organization dedicated to inspiring and catalyzing leadership for a clean revolution.
Dr. Jeremy Rifkin, renowned economist, economic trend expert and the principle visionary behind the concept of and the book The Third Industrial Revolution, participated in the forum as the guest of honour in his first stop on his first trip to China.
The forum brought together over 20 leading thought leaders, policymakers, renowned Chinese entrepreneurs, and representatives of non-profit organizations in China. The participants took a deep dive into the infrastructure of the Third Industrial Revolution and how governments and the private and public sectors can work together to promote and achieve a sustainable future that is built on clean energy solutions.
Commenting on China's role in the Third Industrial Revolution, Dr. Rifkin stated, Internet communication technology is converging with renewable forms of energy, giving rise to a Third Industrial Revolution in the 21st Century. China is now at an interesting crossroads on the one hand it's the world's largest coal producer with the highest carbon emissions, at the same time the country has unraveled abundant renewable resources such as solar and wind. It clearly has the political will and the thriving business environment to pioneer new energy application breakthroughs. China is very likely to play a leading role in the Third Industrial Revolution, and take Asia and the rest of the world into the next great economic era.
Mr. Li Hejun, vice chairman of the All-China Federation of Industry & Commerce and chairman of Hanergy, concurred, As the world joins hands to advance the Third Industrial Revolution, China is uniquely positioned to be a leader in this transformation. One of the key driving forces of the Third Industrial Revolution is new energy and the PV industry is already at the forefront of it. Hanergy is fully committed to solar energy development, and I believe thin-film and flexible substrate technology are the ultimate solutions for the solar PV industry in the future. We are convinced it is a question of when, not if, renewable forms of energy, led by solar, will completely replace traditional fuels.
Mr. Li continued, The thin-film PV technology that Hanergy has adopted has uniquely advantageous characteristics including high flexibility, light weight, complete absence of a carbon footprint and cost-effective power generation. It has broad applications, for example, in large scale projects like BIPV. The market potential for thin-film PV technology in China alone is over RMB1 trillion and the indirect market potential surpasses RMB3 trillion. Hanergy has enjoyed business success in recent years and our strategy of global technology integration has positioned us to create comprehensive, large-scale systems that can power meaningful and impactful changes for society.
I totally echo the key messages communicated in this room on China and the Third Industrial Revolution, said Wu Changhua, Greater China Director of The Climate Group. China today is at a critical juncture when its economy, instructrialisation and urbanization is transforming towards a resource-efficient, environmentally-friendly, and clean energy-powered structure. It requires a grand new clean energy infrastructure that would support such a transformation. This is challenging today, but more importantly, an opportunity that shall not be missed when China is well-positioned to be a leader in the Third Industrialization.
At the forum, experts from the Development Research Centre of the State Council, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the State Grid Energy Research Institute and the Beijing Low Carbon Clean Energy Research Institute, along with other participants, engaged in vibrant discussion and debate. Notions that China's continuous commitment to the restructuring of its economy is vital to harness the development of new energy, not only for the future growth of the country's economy, but also for its competiveness in the global platform, were raised. The experts argued that the growth of the solar industry and the expansion of its applications cannot be achieved without a business- and market-driven approach to policymaking, and a coalition across non-profit orgnisations, governments and business leaders will help promote innovation and the implementation of what is necessary to realize the Third Industrial Revolution in China.
