Top Resource: Growing through conservation

When Chen Zuotao and his young partners gathered in Beijing several years ago with the dream of starting their own business, they saw good opportunities in the energy-saving and environmental protection.

Chen Zuotao, chairman of Top Resource Conservation Engineering Co Ltd

Today, their ideas are dedicated to generating power from waste heat.

In 2007, Chen’s team established the Top Resource Conservation Engineering Co Ltd, which was listed on the growth enterprise market of the Shenzhen Stock Exchange in 2012.

Now chairman of the company, Chen is still grateful they made the right decision to choose Haidian Science Park as the base of business.

Chen said the first national-level high-tech industrial park in China has mature high-tech industries, with talent advantages, advanced technologies and rich information resources for the energy-saving industry.

The park’s good foundation in energy-saving and environmental-friendly industries has attracted many companies including his own, said Chen.

He said Top Resource has benefited a great deal from favorable policies made by the nation and the park, including tax breaks and other incentives.

One of the earliest in China involved in utilizing waste heat, it has built more than 40 facilities that use waste heat recycled from the steel, cement, glass, natural gas and other industries.

Besides providing jobs for nearly 1,000 people, the company has achieved considerable environmental benefits with its projects.

Today 20 waste-heat power stations built by his company are operational with a total installed capacity of 274 megawatts. They can help save about 1 million tons of coal and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 1.1 million tons.

A nationally leading energy-saving service, Chen’s company was named Brand of the Year for Energy Conservation in China for three consecutive years since 2010 by the China Energy Conservation Association.

As the company grew, its management team gained even deeper understanding about the industry and expanded to new business fields. The company is currently engaged in several flue gas treatment projects.

The company has set up a research institute to explore the utilization of waste heat and other related low-carbon technologies. It owns many patent rights, proprietary technologies and software copyrights.

“Environmental protection is a very significant endeavor,” Chen explained. “I think it’s an ideal situation for a company to both make contributions to the society and create economic benefits.”

As it seeks further growth in the waste heat recycling business, Top Resource looks to become an important player in the clean energy industry, said Chen.