Envision looks to global cooperation for edge in green market

As the race to achieve net-zero carbon emissions is redefining the world's energy makeup, Shanghai-based green technology company Envision Group vows to get its piece of the pie through worldwide expansion.

The company signed a general protocol for collaboration with the Spanish government on Monday to build the first Net Zero Industrial Park in Europe. This is the second Net Zero Industrial Park for the company after Envision launched the world's first zero-carbon industrial park in the city of Ordos in North China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region in 2021.

This is only part of the grand global blueprint of Envision, which aims to develop its 100 Net Zero Industrial Parks in the next decade, cooperating with companies and governments around the world to help reduce global carbon emissions by 1 billion metric tons per year.

Zhang Lei, CEO of Envision, believes the cost of reducing carbon emissions will mount over the next few years and that it won't be competitive to remain in the same fossil fuel-powered industrial parks. This makes building net-zero industrial parks in areas that were previously underdeveloped due to exposure to wind and sun a wise choice.

"With our new net-zero industrial parks, clients can immediately enjoy the cheap energy costs now and, in the long run, avoid carbon risks," he said.

The industrial cluster in Spain will include the construction of a gigafactory for batteries for electric vehicles, a development and innovation center for the digitalization of renewable energy systems, a green hydrogen generation plant to manufacture electrolyzers and a wind power generation plant for the assembly of smart wind turbines.

The electric vehicle battery gigafactory in Navalmoral de la Mata of Spain will have a capacity of up to 50 gigawatt-hours in phase one and will create 3,000 green jobs with high added value when it is operational in 2025, said the company.

China, as the clean energy generation global leader today, has not only witnessed a massive increase in variable renewable energy capacity in the home market, but has also created substantial expertise in the sector that enables it to lead the world in its race toward carbon neutrality.

China has not just made efforts in turbine or solar panel manufacturing, but also is keen on exporting integrated solutions to the outside world, said Wei Hanyang, a power market analyst at research firm BloombergNEF.

For example, renewable plants overseas, such as those in Spain, can now be co-developed with hydrogen technology and battery storage, which would help with deep decarbonization in the longer term, he said.

After years of development, China has become the global leader in solar, wind, hydroelectric and geothermal power generation as well as the largest market for electric vehicles.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) expects renewables to generate 80 percent of the global electricity supply within the next decade, as the cost of renewable generation plummets below that of fossil fuels.

The business-government partnership is expected to step up Spain's net-zero transition and creation of the new industry, not only for Spain but also as an important part of Europe's "building back better "program, said Envision in a statement.

Zhang said the company is fully committed to supporting Spain's national agenda on its net-zero transition and the creation of new opportunities such as the Net Zero Industrial Park will unlock the vast potential of renewable energy in Spain and serve as a gateway to building a pan-European green tech industrial ecosystem.

Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said the government welcomes this important partnership to accelerate Spain's transition to net-zero carbons by mid-century with Envision, a strategic partner who can provide innovative solutions to boost the green economy in the country.

Envision Group started its global journey by designing, selling and operating smart wind turbines and smart storage systems. It is committed to becoming carbon-neutral in its operations by 2022 and achieving carbon neutrality in its entire value chain by 2028. China's corresponding goals are to peak carbon emissions by 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2060.

By the end of April, Envision had more than 40 gigawatts of projects installed across Asia, Europe, and the Americas.