17th China Int’l Battery Fair opens in Shenzhen, showcasing cutting-edge innovation

The 17th China International Battery Fair, a leading global platform for cutting-edge battery innovations, kicked off Thursday in China's southern tech hub of Shenzhen.

Organized by the China Battery Industry Association, the three-day event spans nearly 300,000 square meters across 15 exhibition halls. It showcases the entire battery industry chain, from materials and equipment to cell manufacturing, processing, assembly, and even recycling and reuse.

As a key indicator of the global battery industry, the fair also gathered over 3,200 exhibitors in the battery industry, including many international participants.

In an exclusive interview with China Global Television Network (CGTN), Zipfel Arndt Friedrich, Siemens AG's Global Head of Battery Industry, outlined the company's strategic vision for advancing battery technology.

"We are focused on three main areas. First, we show how battery producers and machine builders can use our products and solutions to reduce costs and increase the quality of the battery cells. Second, with SiGREEN, we are introducing a product to the Chinese market that helps reduce the carbon footprint. Third, with the battery passport, we have a solution that helps Chinese machine builders to fulfill the upcoming regulations in the European battery market," he introduced.

Schneider Electric, a global leader in energy management and automation, also participated in the exhibition. In recent years, the company has driven advancements in the lithium battery sector through its innovative digital technologies and solutions, enabling enterprises to enhance intelligent manufacturing, optimize energy efficiency, and embrace sustainable development.

At the fair, Claude Laperiere, Director of Global EV Battery Industry at the firm, emphasized the importance of collaboration.

"I think that first could be to really think about collaboration, because whatever, if you are already super strong or if you are a newcomer, you cannot play alone," he said.

17th China Int’l Battery Fair opens in Shenzhen, showcasing cutting-edge innovation

China aims to achieve secure and reliable supply of key core artificial intelligence (AI) technologies by 2027, with its industrial scale and empowerment level remaining among the world's forefront, according to a recent government action plan.

The plan, jointly issued by eight departments including the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Cyberspace Administration of China, and the National Development and Reform Commission, outlines an ambitious push to deeply integrate AI with the manufacturing sector, foster new quality productive forces and comprehensively empower new industrialization. By 2027, the plan targets the deep application of three to five general-purpose large AI models in manufacturing, the development of specialized, full-coverage industry-specific large models, the creation of 100 high-quality industrial datasets, and the promotion of 500 typical application scenarios.

It also aims to cultivate two to three globally influential ecosystem-leading enterprises, a batch of specialized and sophisticated small and medium-sized enterprises, and a group of enabling service providers proficient in both AI technology and industry know-how.

Furthermore, China plans to build a world-leading open-source ecosystem, enhance security governance capabilities, and contribute Chinese solutions to global AI development.

The document outlines measures including promoting the coordinated development of AI chips' hardware and software, supporting innovations in model training and inference methods, fostering key industry-specific large models, and deeply embedding large model technology into core production processes.

The plan also emphasizes making breakthroughs in key technologies such as security protection for industrial model algorithms and training data protection.

China aims for secure, reliable supply of AI core tech by 2027