SMART 2020 China

Date

20 October 2008

By Molly Webb, Head of Smart Technologies, The Climate Group.

On October 10, we held an event exploring the impllications of SMART 2020 solutions in China. A quick rundown of the speakers:

Keynote

Mr. Tiesheng YANG, Deputy Director, Department of Energy Conservation, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of China

Industry Response to SMART 2020

Speakers:

• Mr. Kemal Ayyildiz, President Asia, Deutsche Telekom
• Mats Olsson, President of Ericsson China, Ericsson
• Mr. Zhengmao LI, Vice President, China Mobile
• Howard Xia, General Manager, Vodafone China

Industry Discussion

How to facilitate the smart transformation, in terms of policy frameworks, standards, financial mechanisms and technology innovations, and what other barriers need to be overcome? What are the best practices in the four areas: smart motors, smart grids, smart logistics and smart buildings?

Speakers:

• Overview: Mr. Longhai SHEN (Chair), Chairman, China Energy Conservation Association (EMCA)
• Smart motors: Mr. Hongying WANG, President, Hubei Sanhuan Development Corporation Ltd.
• Smart grids: Molly Webb, ICT Programme Director, The Climate Group
• Smart logistics: Mr. Dingyi DAI, Vice President, China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing (CFLP)
• Smart Buildings: Mr. Mahesh Tharoor, Director of Service and Energy Solutions, Johnson Controls

Closing Keynote: Mr. Andrew Hemm, Special Assistant to Chief Risk Officer, China Construction Bank

Mr. Yang, from the newly formed MIIT, highlighted that China is committed to 'informatisation and modernisation' and would like ideas for how to achieve this in practice. Mr. Hemm spoke impressively in Chinese, and challenged the group to look at climate change as an opportunity. What sticks in my mind is Mats Olsson, Ericsson China's President, saying that what we need are partnerships across industry and outside to achieve the scale of solutions we discuss in the report. This is a social/political challenge as much as it is a technological one.