China – the new leading cleantech nation?
The 3rd annual China Cleantech Forum in Beijing in the beginning of December 2009 showed the world that China has risen as a global player, innovator and possible front runner of clean energy technology.
Today, U.S.A. is perceived as one of the leading nations within the field of clean technology, however, the 3rd annual China Cleantech Forum proved that Chinese companies are innovative and competitive in the cleantech industry. The four companies presented in Beijing were Broad Air, Chery Auto, Himin Solar and NVC Lighting. All four companies established before the green wave in the new millennium and have all become companies in the global cleantech industry to look out for.
China is currently the largest emitter of Carbon in the world, however, China also makes more investments in wind, solar and nuclear energy than the rest of the world combined. The Chinese government has made a $200 billion stimulus commitment aimed at cleantech, and during the past years, the amount of Chinese patent filings have risen noticeably, as private R&D in China has doubled. According to a recent U.S. report. ”Rising Tigers, Sleeping Giants”, China, South Korea and Japan combined have already outgrown U.S.A. in the production of a majority of clean energy technologies.
Even though China has begun to emerge as a global player in both politics, economics and science, the general notion is still that Chinese entrepreneurship and in particular Chinese environmental entrepreneurship is lacking behind that of the European and North American. However, this year’s Cleantech Forum in Beijing indicated that reality is very different and the future of Chinese cleantech holds promising business opportunities. The Danish windmill industry has already ventured into the Chinese market for cleantech. Not only Vestas has experienced great success in China, but also several small and middle sized companies that manufacture components, hardware and software systems have
been successful. It is expected that many sub-sectors will also soon experience a growth in investments and production.
China is one of the major growth markets for cleantech investments and currently have key focus on renewable energy. In 2005, the government announced that the country plans to more than double its reliance on renewable energy by 2020 and several governmental initiated projects have been launched.
Even though the world leaders failed to come to an ambitious agreement during COP15 in Copenhagen (and China played without a doubt its part in this little drama), China is still becoming increasingly aware about the massive implications global warming has towards the ecology and health of the Chinese population. This is why cleantech is thriving in China, the government is no longer the only institution initiating projects but the private sector has also begun to make noise. China Cleantech Forum not only showed the massive commercial potential that lies within cleantech in China, but also showed that Chinese clean energy technologies are capable of competing with that of Europe and the U.S.
