China's EV brand operates "lighthouse factory" in Thailand

Chinese automaker GAC Aion, a subsidiary of GAC Group, has built a "lighthouse factory" in Thailand, marking a milestone in the company's overseas expansion and its contribution to upgrading Thailand's automotive industry with advanced technologies.

Selected by the World Economic Forum, "lighthouse factories" are considered to represent the highest level of global intelligent manufacturing.

Located in Amata City Rayong Industrial Park in Thailand's Eastern Economic Corridor, the smart factory began operation in July this year with a planned investment of 2.3 billion baht (64 million U.S. dollars) and an annual capacity of 50,000 electric vehicles (EVs).

The factory is a highly intelligent plant which applies new technologies such as big data, artificial intelligence, and the Internet of Things to achieve more efficient production of multiple models.

It has the first and only fully autonomous mobile robotic auto production platform in Thailand, according to Ma Haiyang, general manager of GAC Aion Southeast Asia.

"As we know, traditional production lines are linear, sequential and unable to conduct flexible production. While our production line uses intelligent network technologies and an intelligent mobile platform that can automatically identify positions to enable intelligent and sequential production," Ma said.

Thailand has long been a major automobile production base in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) region. With the help of the Thai government's investment promotion, EVs are expected to account for 30 percent of the country's total vehicle production by 2030.

GAC Aion officially launched its Thailand strategy in June last year and its first product was launched in September.

Chinese companies in Thailand and Southeast Asia at large are also working with local colleges to cultivate talents for the EV industry.

In recent years, GAC Group has vigorously expanded overseas markets. It now operates with automobile sales and after-sales services in 68 countries and regions.

China's EV brand operates "lighthouse factory" in Thailand

China's largest integrated photovoltaic(PV)-hydrogen-storage project located in Jiangsu Province was connected to the grid and begun power generation from Tuesday, said state-owned energy firm CHN Energy Friday.

Located on the coastal tidal flats of the Yudong Reclamation Area in Rudong County, it is China's first integrated offshore facility combining PV power generation, hydrogen production and refueling, and energy storage, all within a framework of comprehensive energy utilization and coastal ecological restoration.

The 400-megawatt project, spanning 4,300 mu (around 286.67 hectares), incorporates a newly constructed 220 kV onshore booster station, a 60 MW/120 MWh energy storage facility, and a hydrogen production and refueling station with a capacity of 1,500 cubic meters per hour and 500 kilograms per day, respectively.

Part of China's third batch of Desert, Gobi and Rocky Areas Mega Wind and Solar Base Projects, the Rudong facility is expected to generate around 468 million kilowatt-hours of electricity annually.

The project is expected to deliver significant environmental benefits, including an annual reduction of approximately 309,400 tons of carbon dioxide emissions, 562.6 tons of sulfur dioxide emissions, and 1,125.3 tons of nitrogen dioxide emissions.

China's largest integrated PV-hydrogen-storage project begins power generation