In May 2009 the AIC led a small delegation of Australian businesses with wind energy generation expertise invited to participate in a clean energy conference hosted in the town of
Changzhou
in
China
’s
Jiangsu
Province
.
The AIC signed an MOU with Jiangsu Centre for International Technology Transfer (JCITT) in 2008, with the intention of strengthening ties between the two countries and to share potential opportunities for Australian businesses with
Jiangsu
based government organisations and businesses. The MOU enables the parties to:
-
Exchange information on technology needs and demands
-
Promote technology transfer transactions
-
Offer opportunities for exchange of representatives
-
Offer training opportunities in innovation support and technology transfer.
As the first practical implementation of the MOU, JCITT recognised that opportunities exist for Australian companies to utilise the strong wind energy manufacturing base throughout Jiangsu and that are looking to find development partners to access markets in China.
Jiangsu
Province
, located in the coastal area of eastern
China
near
Shanghai
, is one of the most developed and dynamic provinces in
China
. The Chinese Government has identified manufacturing for wind energy generation as a key development initiative for the region. Rich in wind resources, its installed capacity will reach 1.5 GW by 2010, 10 GW by 2020, and eventually 21 GW.
Jiangsu
has experienced an economic boom over the past five years with a growth rate of 15% GDP per year.
To better match the needs of the local wind power industry with international innovative solutions, the Department of International Cooperation, Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology and the Jiangsu Provincial Government Department of Science and Technology hosted an International forum on Wind Power and Industrial Development. Delegates represented countries as diverse as
Denmark
,
Turkey
,
Philippines
,
India
,
UK
,
Russia
,
USA
,
Check
Republic
and
Australia
.
Presentations at the conference were made by AIC Victorian Collaboration Manager
Bryce Steele
, Worley Parsons’ Greg Denton and Aerogenesis’ David Wood. The AIC presentation was aimed at highlighting
Australia
’s capabilities in research, advisory and project development services, and new and innovative turbine equipment and design. Australian capabilities that were highlighted included stronger blade construction using nano-composite materials, high quality precision gear repair, non-mechanical electric slip rings, novel vertical and horizontal axis turbine designs, and leading edge battery technologies.
One Australian company already making successful connections in
China
is Altaus. Altaus has developed domestic versions of 1kW vertical axis wind turbines suitable for single house installations, and units up to 5kW for multiple dwellings. The design is very efficient, quiet and will be manufactured using light weight composite materials.
To find our more about how AIC’s relationship with
China
and other Asian countries can benefit Australian companies, contact
Bryce Steele
at bryce.steele@ausicom.com.
