CATL Opens Zero-Carbon Demonstration Base in Fujian

On November 13, the Xiadang Zero Carbon Demonstration Base was inaugurated in Xiadang Township, Shouning County, Ningde City, Fujian Province. The project is composed of "Ning's Tea," a zero-carbon teahouse, and an intelligent station integrating solar, storage, charging and discharging. It is the first time for CATL to leverage its zero-carbon technology to advance rural revitalization and build a complete zero-carbon ecosystem demonstration project, solidifying its move towards the vision of "building a zero-carbon society and lifestyle with green technology."

The main building of the demonstration project is "Ning's Tea," a two-story pure white zero-carbon teahouse, taking an area of about 300 square meters. The design of the building's roof draws inspiration from the Mobius strip, incorporating sustainability concepts across every facet of the property. The entire building has been equipped with BIPV (Building Integrated Photovoltaic), which is able to provide substantial renewable power generation. In addition, ultra-white glass and UHPC (ultra-high-performance concrete) are widely used on the exterior of the building to ensure adequate lighting which significantly reduces energy consumption. 

The Xiadang Zero-Carbon Demonstration Base also sees the first application of the "smart microgrid management system" independently developed by CATL based upon AI scheduling algorithms, real-time simulation, and digital twins, with powerful autonomous decision making and self-learning capabilities. It supports coordination, mutual adjustment, autonomy and independence among different systems, truly realizing "observable, measurable, adjustable and controllable" digital operations and management. Furthermore, with industry-leading adaptability and replicability, the system allows a rapid deployment of "zero-carbon solutions" in a full range of scenarios. The smart microgrid system installed in the teahouse integrates household energy storage, mobile energy storage (CharGo charging robot) and V2B (Vehicle-to-Building) technology, and as such reducing the complexity of coordinating multiple types of energy storage in the process of microgrid energy scheduling. To prevent excessive electrical load, virtual load capacity increase can be achieved to ensure safety and a stable power supply. It also supports coordinated and optimized operation with the photovoltaic system built on the roof of the teahouse to reach 100% green electricity consumption, ensuring all-weather, all-green electricity supply to the Xiadang Zero Carbon Demonstration Base. Apart from energy storage, CharGo, a mobile storage, charging and testing robot, can also offer a range of services from electric car charging to battery testing and battery use advice. 

Shouning County, bestowed with rich historical culture, is a national key ecological functional area, where the forest coverage rate reaches 72.05% and the good air quality rate can be 99.7% throughout the year. It is known as the "Green Valley of Selenium and Zinc" in China and reputed as a global longevity hotspot. The county is famous for its high mountain tea industry, which has become a pillar for local rural revitalization. With the zero-carbon teahouse being put into use, a new opportunity has been created to promote the integrated development of both the tea industry and the cultural tourism industry, while fostering the revitalization of rural industry through "zero-carbon infrastructure."

In the future, the Xiadang Zero Carbon Demonstration Base will expand its operations to incorporate a "zero carbon tea garden," "zero carbon tea factory," and "zero carbon agriculture" in order to form an integration in four aspects including production, ecosystem development, living and commercialization, and create a local cultural and tourism brand defined by tea-oriented culture and unique natural scenery, thus supporting rural revitalization across multiple facets. Visitors can immerse themselves in the fresh air while tasting zero-carbon tea co-produced by Ning's Tea and local company "Taste of Country Life."

The Xiadang Zero Carbon Demonstration Base is more than a teahouse, but an exhibition center of zero-carbon technology and a bellwether of new attitudes about zero-carbon living. The diverse, perceptible and sustainable life it advocates will accelerate the arrival of the zero-carbon era.