Hefei city – located in East China's Anhui province – is vigorously developing its photovoltaic and new energy industries, in order to boost its green development and contribute to the country's peak carbon and neutrality goals.

The metropolis has attracted over 100 photovoltaic and new energy enterprises to date, with over 25,000 employees that generated an output value of 110.7 billion yuan ($15.95 billion) last year.

From January to April, the output value of photovoltaic and new energy industries in Hefei topped 50 billion yuan, exceeding the annual output value of 2021. The total annual output value is projected to exceed 160 billion yuan, this year, up 56 percent.

In recent years, Hefei has spared no effort in promoting and commercializing its new technologies. By the end of 2022, its total grid-connected photovoltaic power generation exceeded 2.8 gigawatts, ranking it first in the provincial capital cities for five consecutive years.

What's more, Sungrow Power and JA Solar – two companies based in the Hefei National High-tech Industry Development Zone in the city – have been included in the third group of intelligent photovoltaic pilot demonstration cases.

The impressive offices of Sungrow Power Supply Co Ltd in the Hefei high-tech zone. [Photo/WeChat ID: hefeigaoxinfabu]

Moreover, in the Hefei Institutes of Physical Science – which operates under the aegis of the Chinese Academy of Sciences – the experimental advanced superconducting tokamak (EAST), or the Chinese "artificial sun," achieved a steady-state high confinement plasma operation for 403 seconds on April 12.

That marked a key step towards the development of a fusion reactor and it is expected to lead to an energy revolution.