News on China's scientific and technological development.

escobar said:

Have a nice trip and don't forget taking pics of HSR to share with us.

Click to expand...

Oh we havn't decided when to go yet, it's just on a list of things to do when we got some time and money to spare. Probably not going to happen for a year cause I want to concentrate on study first.

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The output value of China's environmental equipment industry rose 31.64 percent year-on-year to reach 130.46 billion yuan (20.71 billion U.S. dollars) in 2011, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said Wednesday.

The sector's sales climbed 31.09 percent from one year earlier to reach 126.89 billion yuan last year, while profit margins increased 0.3 percent to hit 7.53 percent, the ministry said in a statement on its website.

Exports rose 25.66 percent to 5.08 billion yuan, while fixed asset investment jumped 36.68 percent to 23.9 billion yuan.

Despite an improvement in profitability, the industry still struggled with rising raw material and labor costs, as well as capital shortages, according to the statement.

The ministry said it expects the output value of the environmental equipment sector to increase by over 20 percent this year with increased capital support from the government.

Sales of wastewater, refuse and mud treatment facilities are expected to rise sharply in 2012.

Meanwhile, the air monitoring equipment sub-sector will likely grow rapidly this year with the implementation of stricter air quality standards, according to the statement.

However, the ministry warned of a slowdown in export growth due to rising trade protectionism and sluggish global economic recovery caused by the ongoing debt crisis in Europe.

China targets to raise the output value of its environmental equipment industry to 500 billion yuan by 2015, according to the 12th Five-Year Plan for the Environmental Equipment Industry released by the ministry in early March.

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Chinese companies will be ready to take a type of nuclear reactor known as AP1000 to market by the end of 2012, industry experts said.
Equipment manufacturers such as Shanghai Electric Group Co Ltd, Dongfang Electric Corp and Harbin Electric Corp are now capable of making five AP1000 reactor units a year, said Wang Baozhong, vice-president of China First Heavy Industries Co, which makes equipment used in the mining and energy industries.

"Our production capacity has already surpassed developments in the industry," Wang said. "But we are still falling behind in cost and in process controls."

Yu Zusheng, a nuclear industry expert, had similar thoughts.

"Chinese manufacturers are capable of producing showcase products but are not ready for mass production yet," Yu said.

Putting quality and safety first can cause delays in a project, according to Tim Collier, Westinghouse Electric vice-president and managing director for China.

Twenty years ago, Westinghouse placed its highest priority on manufacturing equipment on schedule, he said. Now, though, the emphasis is on ensuring quality.

Westinghouse Electric Co is the original developer of the AP1000 technology.

China now has four AP1000 reactors under construction, two in Zhejiang province and two in Shandong province. The technology was introduced by the State Nuclear Power Technology Corp Ltd in 2006.

The transfer of AP1000 technology is by far the most significant high-tech energy program between China and the US, worth an estimated 3.3 billion yuan ($520.9 million), according to the State Nuclear Power Technology Corp Ltd.

Since being introduced, the AP1000 has undergone several design changes, causing China's first projects involving that technology to be halted several times.

"Chinese culture concentrates on flexibility but, in the nuclear industry, flexibility really isn't an asset," Wang said. "You have to follow the guidelines strictly."

China is strengthening its nuclear technology and manufacturing capabilities and is expected to be able to generate 80 gigawatts of nuclear energy by 2020, up from 11.3 gigawatts now.

The country is also expected to start using AP1000 nuclear technology on a large scale to help ensure the safety of its future nuclear power plants. That change has been prompted in part by the safety concerns that arose following the crippling of Japan's Fukushima Daiichi power plant a year ago.

Statistics from the State Nuclear Power Technology show that 50 percent of the components needed for China's AP1000 demonstration projects can be produced domestically. After that, China is expected to be capable of producing 80 percent of the main components and materials used in the technology, according to the corporation.

The corporation, meanwhile, is also developing CAP1400, which is meant to be safer and cheaper to build than AP1000. The first demonstration project of CAP1400 is scheduled to take place in March 2013 in Rongcheng, Shandong province.

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China's three state-run telecommunications operators are investing around 300 billion yuan (US$47.4 billion) in data centers in Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province, to create a hub of cloud computing and other internet-related services near the city.

China Telecom, China Unicom and China Mobile have decided to invest in data centers in Chengdu, which has been taking steps to establish itself as a national base for the electronics and IT industries.

Li Changhong, deputy director of the Chengdu Economic and Information Technology Committee, said that the city will become a national hub for cloud services, as well as basic hardware and software manufacturing and cloud computing end products, reported state-run Xinhua news agency. The total scale of Chengdu's cloud computing industry will reach approximately 300 billion yuan (US$47.4 billion) and occupy around 10% of the national market.

On March 1, China Unicom officially approved an investment of 4 billion yuan (US$630 million) for the construction of an internet data center in Chengdu. Shortly prior to the decision, China Telecom invested 10 billion yuan (US$1.58 billion) in a two centers in western China, while China Mobile spent 6 billion yuan (US$946 million) on its own Chengdu facility.

A report from Beijing-based CCID Consulting predicts that the country's three telcos — which make up an effective state-run oligopoly — will drive the future of China's cloud computing strategy because of their vast user channels.

Since the 2008 introduction of a framework to build a communications hub in Chengdu, the city has established China Western Information Center, GDSI Chengdu Data Center and Zhongli Data Center. Chengdu tops western China with more than 10 large-scale facilities. According to the planning framework, Chengdu will use Tianfu new area and the West Park area to establish an international free trade zone and build a base for cloud computing services.

Li Changhong said the three telecom giants will provide data resources that will activate emerging internet industries. This will attract a slew of data processing businesses and operational platforms to Chengdu, creating a distinct brand and resource advantage, he said.

Cloud computing is a hosted service whereby shared resources, software and information are provided to computers and other devices through the internet.

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Pluto cell technology and in-house developed multicrystalline wafer-based modules
on display at Suntech's booth.


Suntech modules with Pluto Technology used in Sydney project.

the world's largest producer of solar panels, today announced that its industry-leading Pluto cell technology set a world record 20.3% efficiency for a production cell using standard commercial-grade p-type silicon wafers.

Developed by Suntech's research and technology development (R&D) team, in collaboration with the University of New South Wales, the incremental innovation in Pluto cell technology underscores Suntech's investment in R&D that delivers the best solar technology to its customers at an affordable price.

"This technology breakthrough marks another critical milestone in our effort to improve solar cell efficiency, which will ultimately make solar competitive with fossil fuels," said Dr. Stuart Wenham, Suntech's Chief Technology Officer, and Director of the School of Photovoltaic and Renewable Energy Engineering (SPREE) at the University of New South Wales. "Technology innovation is imbued in Suntech's DNA, and as a global solar technology leader, our more than 400 R&D professionals around the world, including Australia, are committed to continually improve how we harness solar energy."

The Solar Energy Research Institute of Singapore has independently confirmed the 20.3% efficiency of the improved Pluto cell technology, a significant improvement over the 19.6% best cell efficiency of the first generation Pluto cell technology. With further optimization, the efficiency of the improved Pluto cell technology is projected to reach 21.0% in the next 6 - 12 months.

One of the key improvements for the Pluto cell technology is the incorporation of similar high-efficiency characteristics of the record-holding PERL cell technology in the conventional Pluto cell manufacturing process. These act to improve the rear surface design of a conventional Pluto cell, primarily by reducing the metal/silicon interface area while keeping the remaining non-contacted area well-passivated. In addition, Suntech has introduced process changes that minimize the use of high temperatures which make it possible to apply the high efficiency processes to the most commonly used commercial wafers.

Following the laboratory success of the improved Pluto cell technology, Suntech is now focusing on commercializing the technology. Suntech will advise when this technology is available in future releases of Suntech solar panels.

This new record for crystalline silicon solar cells follows the recent announcement by a team of researchers from Swinburne University of Technology and Suntech on the development of the world's most efficient broadband nanoplasmonic solar cells.

Advanced cell and module technology developments are a hallmark of Suntech's success in leading solar technology innovation. This latest breakthrough reflects the results of an effective collaboration between Suntech and research institutes worldwide to commercialize innovative technology. Suntech will maintain and extend this collaboration through Suntech R&D Australia Pty Ltd, established in 2011, where project activities target the manufacturing implementation of advanced cell technologies.

Suntech has recently been commended by several reputed institutions for its innovation - MIT Technology Review recognized Suntech as one of world's 50 most innovative companies; Fast Company recently named Suntech one of the top 10 most innovative companies in China; and EuPD awarded Suntech the 'Top Brand PV' seal, a well-respected award worldwide. In December 2011, PV Tech awarded Suntech's crystalline silicon solar panel as the most innovative solar product of 2011.

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China is prominent at this year's Globe environmental trade fair that opened here Wednesday, as the country is hosting a national pavilion for the first time to showcase homegrown green technologies.

The China Pavilion features 12 companies exhibiting innovative products including water purification equipment, solar energy devices and air filters, among other applications.

John Wiebe, whose company Globe Group runs the biennial event, said it was important for the show to have a major China presence as for years "it had sent delegations looking for technologies to buy, and now it is promoting its own technologies that are often more affordable than those by western companies.

"I think China's much more progressive in the environmental solutions business today than many other countries," he said.
"You don't see it as much because it is such a huge country perhaps. But in terms of their technologies and their applications of those technologies, they're ahead of many other countries," said Wiebe.

As one of the world's largest environmental trade show, the Globe 2012 attracted some 400 companies from about 50 countries and territories.

At the Jinan Eco-Energy Technology Co. exhibit, a machine that could turn old tyres and plastics into fuel oil and carbon black through a pyrolysis process draws many curious onlookers.

Sales director of the company Maggie Zhou said the machine cost around 3.5 million U.S. dollars and could recoup its cost after 15 months of operation.

To date, the machine has been sold to companies in Germany, Malaysia, Estonia and Thailand, among others, while the first two American sales are currently being installed in Kansas City and Alabama, said Zhou.

It had taken time for the Shandong company to break into the lucrative U.S. market as the pyrolysis technology is new to many and governments "need more time to prove the technology is safe and won't generate secondary pollution."

"We really focus on the American market because it is a huge market for environmental things," she said, adding the disposal of tyres and plastics was a universal problem.

At the Electrochem Automation (Shanghai) Co. display, a man named David Shen demonstrated a portable solar-power starter kit. With all the apparatus fitting in a standard-size suitcase, the kit, selling for up to 1,000 U.S. dollars, is designed to provide electric power for residents in remote areas where there is no electricity grid.

The U.S.-educated Taiwanese has been building his eco-friendly power packs since 1994 and feels the next big development in the environmental sector will be how to harness solar and wind power and store it.

Shen boldly suggested that in the future, whoever can handle the environmental issue will be the "winner of the world."

"China is pursuing this goal and that's the right method to grow the country. In developing environmental-related industries, actually you will promote other technologies, which will be of benefit to the other industries also."

As China has highlighted environmental protection as a key task in its 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-2015), organizer Wiebe said North America, Canada in particular, needed to become "more aggressive" in cooperation with Chinese companies and "learn more about what's going on."

"Part of what we would like to see is a marriage between some of the research being done in Canada and other places and the manufacturing platform in China," he said. "I think there is a very good marriage."

Workers lay the 500-meter-long track of the Hangning High-speed Railway in Changxing, east China's Zhejiang Province, March 13, 2012.The 350-km Hangning High-speed Railway, which links Nanjing, capital of Jiangsu Province and Hangzhou, capital of Zhejiang Province, was expected to open in December 2012

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The results of a joint Sino-American physics experiment announced on March 8 have received a positive response from international scientists in the field of high-energy physics.

A pivotal breakthrough by scientists working on the Daya Bay Reactor Neutrino Experiment, which was conducted near the Daya Bay Nuclear Power Station in south China's Guangdong province, may explain the predominance of matter over antimatter in the universe.

Nobel Prize winner Lee Tsung-dao said in an email to the Institute of High Energy Physics (IHEP) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences that the results of the experiment represented a "major achievement of fundamental importance in physics," according to the IHEP.

Nobel Prize winner Carlo Rubbia also sent a congratulatory letter to the scientists working on the project for their "remarkable success."

"Now, we can plan future neutrino programs around the world with more accuracy," said Harry Weerts, director of the high-energy physics division of the Argonne National Laboratory in the U.S.

Several well-known scientific periodicals have also reported and commented on the findings, including the Science and Nature academic journals.

China and the United States launched the Daya Bay experiment in 2006. It involves 250 researchers from 39 global institutes, including the IHEP, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Brookhaven National Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Tsinghua University and Charles University in Prague.

According to the IHEP, more related experiments will be conducted to further improve measurement accuracy and make new discoveries.

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By the end of 2011, overseas Chinese students had totaled about 2.25 million and the returned overseas students had reached 818,400, according to a meeting held by the service work department for returned students studying abroad on March 14, 2012.

Yin Weimin, minister of the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security said that, in 2011, with the joint efforts of various sectors in different areas, the service work for returned Chinese students studying abroad has made new achievements.

Taking the "1,000-Talent Plan" as the lead, the work of recruiting senior professionals is being carried out fully and in order. In 2011, the total number of returned Chinese students studying abroad was 186,200, up more than 38 percent compared to that of 2010. The "1,000-Talent Plan" attracted about 1,000 senior professionals in 2011 and 2,200 professionals in total, said Yin.

Currently, China has constructed more than 160 high-tech business incubators for returned Chinese students studying abroad, and more than 8,000 enterprises have moved into the incubators. And more than 20,000 returned students are working in these incubators.