At the Changsha Investment Environment Beijing Promotion Conference, Ningxiang Economic and Technological Development Zone (Ningxiang ETDZ) signed a cooperation agreement with Elion Energy Company Limited (Elion Energy). The two sides will cooperate to build a clean energy centralized heating project, which includes the production and sales of clean energy and clean building materials, with a total investment of one billion yuan (157.18 million U.S. dollars). The annual heat supply can reach 2.2 million tons and the annual output of clean building materials can reach two million cubic meters.

Changsha Tianning Thermal Power Co., Ltd. is led by Elion Energy, a listed company held by Elion Resources Group, and is a cooperative company jointly invested by state-owned and private enterprises. Covering an area of nearly 180 mu (12 hectares), the project mainly provides heating services for enterprises in Ningxiang ETDZ and Ningxiang High-tech Zone, and was completed and put into operation in June 2010. Centralized heating not only meets the increasing needs of enterprises, but also protects the ecological environment.

"The existing scale and capacity can no longer meet the needs of the enterprises in the park," said Wang Junjie, Chairman of Changsha Tianning Thermal Power. Therefore, by signing this new cooperation agreement, a new project will be built at another site with stronger capacity and technology.

When the company first started supplying heat 11 years ago, its main customers were Jiajia Foods and Tsingtao Beer with only 100,000 tons of heat a year.

With large companies moving into the park, the demand for heating has risen sharply. Now, the company serves more than 80 customers.

In particular, the large new material enterprises in the park have a great demand for heating. Among them, Brunp Recycling and CNGR Advanced Material, the two largest customers, need hundreds of thousands of tons of heat per year for each enterprise.

"Those companies were small when they first came in, but now many of them are made into industry leaders," said Wang Junjie.

Located in the Ningxiang High-tech Zone, Hunan Brunp Recycling Technology Co., Ltd. is a leading enterprise in waste battery recycling in China. It has undergone five phases of expansion, and its sales exceeded five billion yuan (785.55 million U.S. dollars) two years ago.

On May 25, the third phase of CNGR Advanced Material Co., Ltd. in Ningxiang ETDZ was officially signed, which will create a world-class new energy material production base integrating R&D, sales, and recycling of lithium battery cathode materials precursor. CNGR Advanced Material settled in Ningxiang ETDZ in 2017, covering an area of 1,008 mu (67.2 hectares) with a total investment of 5.8 billion yuan (910. 45 million U.S. dollars). It has built the largest pilot plant in Asia, the leading water recycling treatment system and intelligent manufacturing workshop.

"The rapid development of these enterprises makes us quite proud as well," said Wang Junjie.

As the first regional heating project in Hunan, Changsha Tianning Thermal Power can serve customers within a radius of 400 square kilometers.

Over the years, it has managed to meet the needs of its customers while enhancing its corporate development.

In 2017, the company was the first to become an ultra-low emission company in Hunan Province for combined heat and power.

The company has also won the honors of "Excellent Production Company", "Key Energy-saving Demonstration Company", "Safety Production Standardization Level 2 Company", "Intelligent Manufacturing Pilot Company", "Contract-abiding and Creditable Company", "Advanced Collective of the Labor Union of the Park", etc.

However, with the rapid increase of enterprises moving into the park, especially the rapid expansion of industry leaders such as Brunp Recycling and CNGR Advanced Material, the existing production scale of Changsha Tianning Thermal Power can no longer meet its customers' needs.

In the production of modern enterprises, baking, roasting, fermentation, and chemical reactions all need heat supply. New materials and food processing enterprises in Ningxiang ETDZ and Ningxiang High-tech Zone, such as Haoyiduo Dairy, Yarcher New Materials, Xiaoyangren Dairy and other well-known brands, are important customers of Changsha Tianning Thermal Power.

According to Wang Junjie, the annual heat supply of the company is 1.3 million tons at present, while the annual heat supply of the new project can reach 2.2 million tons, and there will be greater improvement in the production equipment and intelligence.