The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and three other departments issued a document th

The Implementation Plan for High-Quality Development of Energy-Saving Equipment (2026-2028) defines energy-saving equipment as products and equipment designed and manufactured using advanced technologies in all aspects of energy production and use, which can improve energy utilization efficiency and reduce energy consumption and loss. Accelerating the high-quality development of energy-saving equipment is an important measure to promote the improvement of industrial energy utilization efficiency and achieve the goal of carbon peaking and carbon neutrality. It is also an important direction for cultivating new drivers of green development and forging new competitive advantages in industry, and a crucial foundation for supporting the growth of energy consumption across society and ensuring national energy security. To implement the "Notice of the General Office of the State Council on Issuing the Action Plan for Green and Low-Carbon Development of Manufacturing (2025-2027)", this plan is formulated to continuously improve the energy efficiency of energy-saving equipment with strong versatility, high energy consumption, and outstanding development prospects, and to strengthen the supply and application of energy-saving equipment.

This plan adheres to the guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, thoroughly implements the spirit of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China and its subsequent plenary sessions, fully implements Xi Jinping's thought on ecological civilization, and comprehensively and accurately implements the new development philosophy. It consistently adheres to the principle of prioritizing conservation, aims to promote energy conservation and carbon reduction in key industries, focuses on optimizing and upgrading energy-using systems, takes the research and development and application of advanced technologies and equipment as the main approach, and uses green design and manufacturing, equipment upgrading and transformation, and artificial intelligence empowerment as pathways to promote the deep integration of technological innovation and industrial innovation, build a green and low-carbon supply chain, accelerate the intelligent, green, and integrated development of energy-saving equipment, and provide key equipment support for achieving higher-level and higher-quality energy conservation and carbon reduction work, accelerating the advancement of new industrialization, and realizing the carbon peak and carbon neutrality goals. By 2028, breakthroughs will be achieved in key materials and components for energy-saving equipment. The matching and actual operating efficiency of energy systems in key industries will continue to improve, and the energy efficiency levels of energy-saving equipment such as motors and transformers will reach international leading levels. The market share of energy-saving equipment will further increase. A number of advanced and applicable energy-saving equipment upgrading and transformation system solutions will be promoted, a number of AI-enabled energy-saving equipment application scenarios will be created, and a number of internationally competitive backbone enterprises and industrial clusters in energy-saving equipment will be cultivated.

(I) Motors and Load Equipment such as Fans, Pumps, and Compressors. Promote the R&D and upgrading of basic materials and core components required for ultra-high efficiency and wide-range high-efficiency motors, and accelerate the promotion and application of high-efficiency energy-saving asynchronous motors, wide-range permanent magnet motors, direct-drive motors, magnetic levitation motors, and high-precision industrial servo motors. For specific working conditions such as ultra-low speed, ultra-high speed, frequent load changes, high response speed, low-speed high torque, and high-inertia load starting, develop energy-saving motors with strong applicability and high matching. Continue to strengthen the aerodynamic design and flow channel optimization of load equipment such as energy-saving fans, pumps, and compressors to improve the aerodynamic efficiency of load equipment and reduce internal flow losses. Promote magnetic levitation and air-levitation compressors and fans, as well as oil-free permanent magnet direct-drive pumps and magnetic levitation vacuum pumps. By 2028, the proportion of newly added energy-saving motors, fans, pumps, and compressors will all reach 35%, and the proportion of in-service energy-saving motors, fans, pumps, and compressors will all exceed 15%.

(II) Transformers. Promote the research and upgrading of key materials and core components required for Class 1 energy efficiency transformers, such as silicon steel sheets, amorphous alloy strips, high-conductivity materials, and high-performance insulating materials. Accelerate the promotion and application of high-efficiency silicon steel three-dimensional wound core transformers, large-capacity high-efficiency amorphous alloy three-dimensional wound core transformers, environmentally friendly insulating oil transformers, large-capacity solid-state transformers, and flexible DC transformers. Improve the energy efficiency and system adaptability of transformers in new energy fields such as wind power, photovoltaics, hydrogen energy, and new energy storage. Encourage power grid companies and new energy companies to conduct energy-saving and carbon-reduction diagnostics on in-service transformers. By 2028, the proportion of newly added energy-saving transformers will exceed 75%, and the proportion of in-service energy-saving transformers will reach 15%.

(III) Industrial Heat Pumps. Improve the supply level of high-power, high-efficiency, and high-temperature heat pumps in the industrial sector. Enhance the performance and energy efficiency of heat pump products through process innovation, component integration, and intelligent manufacturing. Accelerate the research and development of transcritical carbon dioxide (CO2) heat pumps, high-power high-temperature heat pumps, industrial steam heat pumps, and heat pumps with the same source of heat and cold. Promote breakthroughs in key technologies such as new low global warming potential (GWP) refrigerants, high-temperature compressors based on natural working fluids, high-temperature, high-temperature-rise, high-efficiency steam compressors, low-cost, high-efficiency expansion devices, and new high-efficiency heat exchangers. Encourage qualified industrial enterprises and industrial parks to use industrial heat pumps to recover and utilize waste heat resources such as industrial wastewater and waste gas to produce high-temperature hot air, hot water, or steam, based on heat demand, waste heat recovery feasibility, and process substitutability. By 2028, the energy efficiency level of heat pump products will be improved by more than 10% compared to 2025.

(IV) Industrial Refrigeration (Heating) and Heating Equipment. Improve the supply level of wide-area, high-efficiency industrial refrigeration (heating) equipment, and accelerate the promotion and application of oil-free chillers, high-power, high-efficiency variable frequency chillers, DC variable speed multi-split chillers, and condensing heat recovery units. Accelerate the promotion and application of high-power electric thermal energy storage equipment, vacuum heat treatment equipment, laser heat treatment equipment, superconducting induction heating devices, insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) induction furnaces, DC electric arc furnaces, DC plasma heating devices, heat pump drying, vacuum drying, and other heating equipment. By 2028, the proportion of newly added energy-saving industrial refrigeration (heating) and heating equipment will reach 45%, and the proportion of in-service energy-saving industrial refrigeration (heating) and heating equipment will reach 25%.

(V) Water Electrolysis Hydrogen Production Equipment. Encourage enterprises to develop high-efficiency, low-cost, and high-performance water electrolysis hydrogen production equipment. Promote the upgrading of basic materials such as electrodes and membranes, develop new electrode matrix materials and structures, improve electrochemical active area and mass transfer efficiency, break through the preparation process of long-life corrosion-resistant electrodes, and continuously tackle low-cost, high-conductivity, and high-stability membrane materials. Optimize the design of internal flow field, thermal field, electric field, and pressure field of electrolyzers to improve equipment uniformity and develop advanced and durable sealing structures and materials. Continuously improve the electrolysis efficiency of alkaline and proton exchange membrane electrolyzers, and develop and apply anion exchange membrane electrolyzers with high response, wide load, and non-precious metal catalysis. By 2028, achieve a DC power consumption of less than 4.2 kWh/Nm³ under rated operating conditions for mass-produced water electrolysis hydrogen production equipment.

(VI) Information and Communication Equipment. Promote the development of chip architecture towards heterogeneous multi-core collaboration and improve the energy efficiency of multi-task parallel processing. Encourage the research and deployment of high-density servers, liquid-cooled servers, and liquid-cooled switches to improve the efficiency of power supply and heat dissipation systems. Accelerate the promotion and application of technologies and products such as high-efficiency power amplifiers, high-voltage DC power supplies, high-efficiency uninterruptible power supply systems (UPS), and high-efficiency safe batteries, as well as cooling equipment such as high-efficiency variable frequency air conditioners, natural cold source air conditioners, dry-wet combined air conditioners, and multi-gradient cooling air conditioners. Encourage enterprises to select products based on energy efficiency testing and verification during the construction planning stage, prioritizing high-performance, low-power equipment. By 2028, over 80% of newly added servers in the information and communication field will be energy efficiency level 2 or higher.

(1)Motors and load equipment such as fans, pumps, and compressors. The project focuses on key materials such as low-cost permanent magnet materials (cerium and samarium-cobalt magnets), high-magnetic-induction, low-loss cold-rolled silicon steel sheets, oil-free screw compressor rotor coating materials, high-efficiency, long-life lubricating oils, and high-efficiency, low-desorption-temperature adsorbents; and core components such as high-efficiency synchronous reluctance motor frequency converters, integrated permanent magnet synchronous controllers, high-efficiency, wide-load ternary impellers, high-power, high-efficiency couplings, high-power, high-load magnetic/air suspension bearings, and high-performance, temperature- and pressure-resistant seals. It also promotes technologies such as permanent magnet variable frequency speed control, permanent magnet synchronous direct drive, high-efficiency stepless flow regulation for compressors, heat recovery for air compressors, and low-energy-consumption drying and purification.

(2)Transformers: The project focuses on key materials such as high-magnetic-induction, ultra-low-loss, low-noise oriented silicon steel sheets, wide-width, low-loss, low-noise amorphous alloy strips, high-permeability nanocrystalline alloys, and high-end insulation materials; and core components such as high-performance winding wires, on-load tap changers, large-capacity three-dimensional wound cores, and high-end bushings. Promote high-performance materials such as high-performance winding wires, high-performance insulation materials and their products, and ultra-thin heat-resistant etched silicon steel sheets.

(3)Industrial heat pumps. Focus on key materials such as natural refrigerants, hydrofluoroolefins (HFOs) and new low-GWP refrigerants, and high-temperature resistant lubricating oils; multi-stage compression cycle configurations, high-pressure ratio compressors, natural refrigerant high-temperature compressors, steam compressors, seals, and high-end bearings. Promote efficient and compact heat exchangers, low-cost and efficient expansion devices, high-temperature multi-stage absorption heat pumps, and waste heat cascade utilization and integration technologies.

(4)Industrial refrigeration (heating) and heating equipment. In industrial refrigeration (heating) equipment, focus on cutting-edge key technologies such as radiative cooling materials, two-stage jet enthalpy enhancement technology, and three-scroll two-stage compression technology. Promote technologies such as permanent magnet variable frequency adaptive variable pressure ratio two-stage compression, compact lightweight and efficient heat exchange, and cascade multi-stage compression cogeneration. In industrial heating equipment, focus on basic materials such as heat and cold storage materials, low-heat-loss insulation materials, and new cooling medium materials. Promote high-efficiency heat exchange equipment such as transverse magnetic field heating technology, dual-furnace waste heat preheating process, semi-continuous vacuum induction melting furnace, electric sintering kiln, ultra-high power and DC electric arc furnace, and silicon carbide ceramic heat exchangers, as well as heating technologies such as high-power plasma, electron beam, and laser.

(5)Water electrolysis hydrogen production equipment. Focus on developing novel electrode structures such as ordered, integrated, and three-dimensional porous electrodes; low-iridium, low-platinum loading, or noble metal-free highly active catalysts; membrane materials such as polyphenylene sulfide and perfluorosulfonic acid resin; advanced high-temperature resistant glass-ceramic sealing materials and connector materials; and technologies such as multi-physics field synergistic optimization of electrolyzers. Promote the application of core components such as low-iridium loading catalysts, novel composite membranes, and porous membrane electrodes, as well as new technologies and products such as anion exchange membrane (AEM) electrolyzers, differential pressure electrolyzers, and atmospheric pressure square electrolyzers.

(6)Information and communication equipment. Promote the research and application of high-performance thermally conductive materials such as liquid metal and phase change liquid cooling technology; optimize the performance and heat dissipation enhancement measures of core liquid cooling components such as cold plate and immersion liquid cooling systems. Drive breakthroughs in high-efficiency power amplifier technology, iteratively upgrade digital predistortion algorithms, promote the evolution and innovation of base station power amplifier architecture, and achieve flexible adjustment and application of power amplifiers under different loads. Promote modular design of communication equipment, reduce basic power consumption under no-service/low-service conditions, advance the development of software-defined equipment, and achieve dynamic adjustment of equipment modes and frequency bands.