Sino-German Energy Transition Exchange Workshop

On September 8^th, the six implementation partners of Sino-German Energy Transition project jointly organized the Sino-German Energy Transition Exchange workshop, which dedicated to the sharing of expertise and discussion between German and Chinese think tanks on key issues in the energy transition processing. The representatives of BMWK and NEA attended the workshop, as well as representatives of six implementation agencies, in addition to a small number of outside think tanks in the field of energy transition.

The representative of BMWK mentioned that the Sino-German Energy Partnership is the central platform for energy policy dialogue between Germany and China on a national level, which has been included in the new Dialogue and Cooperation Mechanism on Climate Change and Green Transition, it is a strong signal that Germany and China acknowledge their special responsibility to take climate action and the need for visible progress in mitigation measures. BMWK representative emphasized the importance of think tanks, their research collaboration on the low-carbon energy transition provides support to policymakers and is valuable to governments.

The representative of NEA mentioned that China has always attached importance to energy security and energy transition. As of June 2023, China's installed capacity of RE has exceeded 1300 GW. By the end of 2022, the utilization rate of wind power and photovoltaic power generation has reached 95% and 96% respectively, the installed scale of various types of energy storage has exceeded 54 GW, and the market trading power has reached 5250 TWh. She spoke highly of the cooperation between German and Chinese think tanks.

The workshop presented ongoing research findings and showcased illustrative examples from both China and Germany. The topics covered a wide spectrum of aspects related to the energy transition. These included an introductory overview of the current state and evolution of China's new power system, the potential for Sino-German cooperation in energy technology innovation amid a rapidly transforming power landscape, Germany's progress, future plans, and challenges in its energy transition journey, along with the resulting implications for Sino-German collaboration on energy and climate matters.

Furthermore, discussions encompassed how market mechanisms could facilitate the transition towards a green and low-carbon future, the opportunities and constraints associated with low-carbon industry development through carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS), the shift towards a negative carbon system in rural energy transitions, as well as the intersections of science, technology, policy, and approaches in promoting low-carbon development within heavy industries and the pivotal role of circular economy principles. The event fostered lively and interactive exchanges between the speakers and the engaged audience.

About the Sino-German Energy Transition Project

The Sino-German Energy Transition Project supports the exchange between Chinese government think tanks and German research institutions to strengthen the Sino-German scientific exchange on the energy transition and share German energy transition experiences with a Chinese audience. The project aims to promote a low-carbon-oriented energy policy and help to build a more effective, low-carbon energy system in China through international cooperation and mutual benefit policy research and modeling. The project is supported by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK) in the framework of the Sino-German Energy Partnership, the central platform for energy policy dialogue between Germany and China on national level. From the Chinese side, the National Energy Administration (NEA) supports the overall steering. The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH leads the project implementation in cooperation with the German Energy Agency (dena) and Agora Energiewende.