Energy electronics is not a new concept
On July 21, at a seminar reviewing the development of the photovoltaic industry in the first half of 2022 and looking ahead to the situation in the second half, Yang Xudong, Deputy Director of the Electronic Information Department of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), stated that the MIIT's Electronic Information Department will accelerate the release of the *Guiding Opinions on Promoting the Development of the Energy Electronics Industry*, which is currently in the process of being issued. This is not the first time that a national ministry has mentioned energy electronics.
As early as July 10, 2021, at the special seminar on energy storage safety during the China Energy High-Level Forum, Xu Wenli, Deputy Director of the Electronic Information Department of the MIIT, revealed that efforts would be made to sort out the energy electronics industry chains such as solar photovoltaics, new energy storage batteries, and major terminal applications, and study and formulate relevant policies to support the development of the energy electronics industry.
Energy electronics is an interdisciplinary research field, focusing on electronic technology related to energy production, storage, transmission, conservation, and utilization. Its main research areas include power conversion, power management, power battery management, and micro-energy harvesting. Currently, it is widely applied in new energy vehicles, robotics, aerospace, and other fields.
Lin Boqiang, Dean of the China Institute for Energy Policy at Xiamen University, noted that energy electronics was proposed a long time ago. For example, batteries, electrochemistry, and electronic communications are all related to energy electronics, but traditional energy sources such as oil, coal, and natural gas have little connection with the electronics industry. "Now, with the development of new energy, new energy is closely linked to the electronics industry in areas such as electric vehicles, smart grids, and energy storage. Energy electronics will play a greater role in the future."
"Adapting" to carbon neutrality
Experts believe that it is necessary to issue guiding opinions on the development of the energy electronics industry. Lin Boqiang said that now is the right time to introduce industrial policies to promote the development of the energy electronics industry, and more policies will be formulated around carbon neutrality in the future. "This guiding opinion may focus on the development of the new energy industry, formulate industry rules, define industry boundaries, and mainly aim to promote industrial development."
Promoting the integration of the energy industry and electronics also helps solve problems in new energy power generation. For a long time, new energy power generation has been unstable. For instance, wind power generation depends on wind intensity, resulting in unstable output, and photovoltaic power generation is affected by sunlight and weather conditions. To a large extent, wind and photovoltaic power generation "depend on the weather".
Lin Boqiang believes that unlike traditional energy sources, new energy sources such as wind and photovoltaics are unstable. It is crucial to strengthen the stability of wind and photovoltaic power through electronic technology, and promote the integration of the new energy industry with the electronic technology industry.
Integrated development can also benefit the electronics industry significantly. China Galaxy Securities pointed out that the transformation of energy systems is one of the main development paths for carbon neutrality, and the global energy development has entered a new stage of transition to clean energy. Along with the development of new energy, global science and technology have entered a period of transformation from informatization to intelligence. The transformation of energy and technology will drive the electrification and intelligent upgrading of industries, automobiles, consumer terminals, and other fields, opening up new growth space for the electronic information industry.
Can it solve the difficulty of photovoltaic consumption?
Photovoltaics is an important direction in the new energy industry. According to data from the MIIT on July 20, in the first half of 2022, under the guidance of the carbon peak and carbon neutrality goals and the background of the accelerated application of clean energy worldwide, China's photovoltaic industry achieved overall rapid growth. Based on the information from enterprises listed in the industry specification announcements and estimates from industry associations, the main links of the national photovoltaic industry chain maintained a strong development momentum, with year-on-year growth rates of over 45%.
Wang Bohua, Honorary Chairman of the China Photovoltaic Industry Association, stated that the intensified policy support has created a policy environment for the high-quality development of photovoltaics, and photovoltaic power generation has broad market development space. "China's photovoltaic industry continued to forge ahead in 2021. The output value of polysilicon, wafers, cells, and modules exceeded 750 billion yuan, exports reached a historical high, and new installed capacity, although lower than the industry's initial expectations at the beginning of the year, still hit a new record, with distributed installed capacity accounting for over 50%."
Lin Boqiang believes that the current challenges faced by the photovoltaic industry include how to sell electricity at better prices and reduce costs, which are issues related to consumption. The new guiding opinions may bring new opportunities to the photovoltaic industry. Currently, the proportion of wind and photovoltaic power generation is still not high, leaving significant room for development.
(Source: Beijing Business Daily)
Link: Changes in Photovoltaics Under the Integration of Energy Electronics Industry_News Recommendation_Beijing Business Daily_Financial Media Group (bbtnews.com.cn)
