China issues guidelines for transformation of energy intensive industries for energy saving, carbon reduction 
On Feb. 3, the National Development and Reform Commission, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and other two government bodies of China issued the Guidelines on the Transformation and Upgrading of Energy Intensive Industries and Key Areas for Energy Conservation and Carbon Reduction (2022 edition).
The guidelines lay out measures to transform and upgrade companies, promote research and development of relevant technologies, promote concentrated development and terminate obsolete technologies. These general guidelines are accompanied by industry-specific guidelines for 17 different industries, such as ethylene and p-xylene manufacturing.
Here are the details of the general guidelines.
1. Guide the transformation and upgrading
- Promote advanced technologies and equipment proposed in these guidelines, the List of Promoted Green Technologies, the List of Recommended Industrial Energy Conservation Technologies and the List of Products With the “Energy Efficiency Star” to companies with energy efficiency below the benchmark level, especially below the standard level
- Optimize energy-related systems, utilize waste heat and waste pressure, reduce pollutant discharge, comprehensibly utilize solid waste, promote the transformation of public facilities, enhance the levels of green production, green technology and green equipment, improve the efficiency of resources and energy and develop a strong domestic market
2. Promote research and development of technology
- Make the most of innovative resources of universities, colleges, research institutions and industry groups to promote research and development of environmentally conscious technologies, advanced technologies and relevant facilities and equipment that have synergistic effects on energy conservation and pollutant and carbon reduction
- Make plans and carry out construction work for demonstration projects using cutting-edge technologies and equipment through key companies with energy efficiency above or close to the benchmark level to drive high-quality development of industries
3. Promote concentrated development
- Guide key companies to take advantage of their capital, talent, technology; plan and build large integrated production centers in a concentrated way; and improve the construction quality, equipment and energy efficiency
- Guide key companies to establish standardized orderly development frameworks with reasonable structures and effective competition and not to expand their production capacity blindly or repeat poor construction work under the cover of mergers and restructuring
4. Expedite the termination of obsolete technologies
- Rigorously implement laws and regulations on energy conservation, environmental protection, product quality and safety technology as well as measures such as the Industrial Structure Adjustment List in order to terminate, according to the law, obsolete processes, technologies and production equipment that don’t meet the requirements for green and low carbon transformation and development
- Expedite the removal, by means of marketization or legislation, of production equipment that has energy efficiency below the standard and is difficult to improve to meet the standard within a specified period through modification or upgrading
The industry-specific guidelines attached to the general guidelines describe the overall situation, implementation direction and targets of each industry. These guidelines are provided for the industries listed below:
- Oil refining
- Ethylene
- p-Xylene
- Modern coal chemical
- Ammonia synthesis
- Calcium carbide
- Caustic soda
- Soda ash
- Ammonium phosphate
- White phosphorus
- Cement
- Sheet glass
- Building and sanitary ceramics
- Steel
- Coking
- Ferroalloy
- Non-ferrous metal smelting
The full text of the guidelines (in simplified Chinese) is available at
https://www.ndrc.gov.cn/xxgk/zcfb/tz/202202/t20220211_1315446.html?code=&state=123
