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Abstract:Shanxi has invested over 500 million yuan in special funds to promote the application of the Industrial Internet of Things, establishing 182 smart factories. Nearly a thousand IoT sensors have been deployed in coal mines to achieve predictive maintenance of equipment, while steel companies use sensors to control production precision. By 2024, the integration index of the two industries is expected to reach 59.3, with a digital R&D tool penetration rate of 78.3%.
From the renewal of traditional industries to the rise of emerging industries, from digital empowerment to green transformation—
Shanxi’s industrial economy is gradually achieving high-quality development.
The “hand-torn steel” products ready for dispatch in the workshop of Baowu Tai Steel Group. Photo by Wang Xuhong
New landscapes emerge in the mountains and rivers.
Since 2021, time has passed through another five years, and the years have engraved the footprints of struggle: “Do not listen to the sound of leaves rustling through the forest, why not hum and stroll slowly.” In 2021, our province introduced the 14th Five-Year Plan for 14 strategic emerging industries, proposing to implement a special action plan to cultivate and strengthen new momentum, accelerating the construction of 14 strategic emerging industry clusters, laying a solid foundation for building a modern industrial system that supports high-quality transformation.
Over the past five years, a wave of industrial upgrades led by technological innovation has accelerated, with our province’s industrial high-quality development making significant strides, and the green transformation becoming more pronounced… As the charge for the decisive phase of the 14th Five-Year Plan is sounded, a series of exciting achievements indicate that the industrial economy of Shanxi is gradually entering a stage of high-quality development.
Renewal of traditional industries: From black gold to “high-end boutique”
Industry is the main body of the real economy.
As a key energy base in the country, our province understands that transformation does not mean abandoning traditional industries, but rather allowing “old industries” to burst forth with “new vitality.” Over the past five years, the entire province has achieved a transformation from “rough processing” to “high-precision” in traditional industries such as coal and steel through technological innovation.
Recently, when reporters entered the central control room of the Lu’an 1.8 million tons/year high-sulfur coal clean utilization oil-chemical-electricity integrated demonstration project, they saw a huge electronic screen displaying real-time production data. Coal is transformed into transparent CTL synthetic base oil through multiple precise processes. “In 2024, we will convert about 4.52 million tons of coal, and the annual output of high-end chemical products will exceed one million tons for the first time. Coal that used to be sold by the ton can now be priced by the gram for some products,” the project manager proudly pointed to the product list on the screen.
It is reported that our province has built a total of 300 intelligent coal mines, with the proportion of advanced coal production capacity increasing from 68% in 2020 to 83% today. The scene of “unmanned mining with human inspection” underground has become the norm, completely changing the traditional coal mining landscape.
Industries such as steel and coking are also rejuvenating in the wave of upgrades. The precision foil developed by Baowu Tai Steel Group, with a thickness of only 0.015 mm, is vividly called “hand-torn steel.” It can be easily torn into strips but can withstand extreme environments in the superconducting field, filling a domestic gap. Meanwhile, in the hydrogen-based direct reduction workshop of Shanxi Jincheng Steel Holding Group, the first hydrogen-based direct reduction experimental facility in the country, using coalbed methane as raw material, is converting iron ore into high-purity molten iron, achieving a leap from “construction steel” to “equipment steel.”
Traditional industries are steadily advancing on the road of high-quality development with the posture of “industrial boutique.”
Emerging industries rising: Cluster development builds new growth poles
The solid foundation of traditional industries provides fertile soil for the emergence of new industries. During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, our province has broken the path dependence of “coal dominance” and positioned emerging industries such as new materials, new energy, and high-end equipment manufacturing as new engines for transformation. Through cluster development, a new industrial pattern of multi-point support and diversified development is gradually taking shape.
On May 16 of this year, at the factory of Taishan Glass Fiber (Taiyuan) Co., Ltd., with the command of “ignition,” the kiln of the second production line of the 300,000 tons/year high-performance glass fiber intelligent manufacturing project ignited a blazing flame. The silver-white glass liquid is drawn into fibers as fine as hair on the drawing machine, and after winding and cutting, it becomes rolls of high-performance glass fiber products. The project’s technical director stated that this production line adopts globally leading drawing intelligent manufacturing technology, with an automation rate of over 95%, providing a crucial link for our province to build a “trillion-level new materials industry cluster.”
The development of the new energy industry is also gaining momentum. The new energy base in the subsidence area of coal mining in northern Shanxi, which will start construction in 2024, is now a blue sea of photovoltaic panels. In the production workshop of Shanxi Teva Energy Technology Co., Ltd. in Changzhi High-tech Zone, an automated assembly line is processing lithium iron phosphate raw materials into cathode materials.
As of the end of September this year, the installed capacity of new energy and clean energy in the province reached 54.55%. In 2024, our province will export 7.538 billion kilowatt-hours of green electricity, ranking first in the country. The number of enterprises participating in green electricity trading has increased from 1 in 2021 to 143, and green energy is becoming a “new business card” for our province. In the first half of this year, our province achieved inter-provincial green electricity trading of 9.78 billion kilowatt-hours, a 31.12% increase compared to 2024, injecting strong “Shanxi energy” into national low-carbon development.
Accelerating digital transformation: “Smart transformation and digital transition” activate development momentum
If emerging industries are the “future stars” of Shanxi’s industry, then digital transformation is the “key to lighting up the future.” During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, our province has made intelligent transformation the core approach to improving quality and efficiency in industries, guided by policy support and supported by technological innovation, promoting the shift of industrial production from “human-driven” to “data-driven.”
On October 27, a series of data released at the third Shanxi Province Intelligent Manufacturing Promotion Conference was eye-opening: since the beginning of the 14th Five-Year Plan, the provincial finance has allocated over 500 million yuan in special funds, leveraging social investment to exceed 10 billion yuan, constructing a matrix of intelligent factories covering “basic—advanced—excellent,” cultivating 5 excellent-level intelligent factories, 76 advanced-level intelligent factories, and 182 basic-level intelligent factories. Behind these numbers are the stunning transformations of traditional workshops into intelligent factories.
At the Jinneng Holding Coal Industry Group’s Tashan Coal Mine, one of the first national intelligent demonstration coal mines, a smart decision-making big data platform has been established. Through an intelligent “brain,” the quality of coal released is controlled, and the conversion efficiency from raw coal to clean coal has improved by 15%, while labor costs have decreased by 30%.
Today, 5G signals have covered every corner of the production workshop of Shanxi Huaxiang Group Co., Ltd., with data from over 3,000 devices transmitted through a 5G private network in milliseconds. A company representative told reporters that in the past, equipment failures required manual troubleshooting, but now the system can provide early warnings, reducing production failure rates by 50% and increasing per capita output by 30%.
The significant leap in core digitalization indicators confirms the remarkable effectiveness of our province’s “smart transformation and digital transition.” By 2024, the integration development level index of the two industries will reach 59.3, an increase of 3.7 from 2023, with a digital R&D design tool penetration rate of 78.3%, and the CNC rate of key processes reaching 65.6%. The number of enterprises that have passed the upgraded standard assessment has reached 1,714, ranking sixth in the country. “Smart transformation and digital transition” have become the core engine of our province’s high-quality industrial development.
Deepening green transformation: Low-carbon development paints an ecological background
While promoting industrial upgrades, the entire province has always remembered the development concept that “lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets,” making green and low-carbon a distinct background for industrial development, ensuring energy supply while finding a new path of coordinated progress between ecological protection and industrial development.
Over the past five years, the province has established 55 green mining pilot demonstration coal mines, and 120 coal mines have adopted advanced technologies such as coal pillarless mining to reduce ecological impact from the source. At the same time, 98 national-level green factories and 5 green parks have been established, with energy consumption per unit of GDP continuously declining. Green has become the “new face” of Shanxi’s industry.
The accelerated layout of the hydrogen energy industry has injected new momentum into our province’s green transformation. Currently, the first alkaline water electrolysis cell “Jinhua Cell” in the province has been launched, with 23 hydrogen refueling stations established, and over 1,100 hydrogen vehicles achieving medium and long-distance commercial operations, with an annual production capacity of 40,000 tons of high-purity hydrogen, constructing a complete green hydrogen energy chain system.
The dual drive of policy and innovation provides solid support for our province’s green transformation. The “Shanxi Province Key Industrial Chain Level Leap 2025 Action Plan” proposed to co-establish a clean energy research institute with Tsinghua University, build a national key laboratory for the co-extraction of coal and coalbed gas, and tackle key technologies such as intelligent production of all-vanadium flow batteries, ensuring that green transformation has both policy protection and technical support.
Only those who dare to venture can ride the wind, and only pioneers can surf the tide. As the 14th Five-Year Plan comes to a close, Shanxi’s industrial economy has achieved a profound transformation from “quantitative accumulation” to “qualitative leap.” The province’s industrial added value has exceeded 1.1 trillion yuan, accounting for 38.78% of GDP, forming a complete industrial system with 40 major categories, 172 subcategories, and 403 minor categories. From the renewal of traditional industries to the rise of emerging industries, from digital empowerment to green transformation, our province is steadily advancing on the path of transformation and development in resource-based areas with a firm determination for transformation and pragmatic reform measures, laying a solid foundation for cultivating new productive forces and achieving higher quality development during the 15th Five-Year Plan period.
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