Tai'an accelerates industrial growth through innovation scenarios

Tai'an is reshaping itself with cutting-edge technologies. Using real-world innovation settings, the city has developed an ecosystem that spans technical breakthroughs to industrial incubation, with 76 innovation scenarios already driving new quality productive forces.

In agriculture, Tai'an has rolled out an "Internet of Things (IoT) + Finance" model to help farmers secure loans. Often limited by insufficient collateral, growers can now use satellite monitoring and IoT sensors to track crop growth in real time, enabling banks to accurately assess harvest potential. This approach has already enabled 14.58 million yuan ($2.12 million) in loans, offering faster approvals and lower interest rates.

The city is also converting abandoned salt caverns into underground energy vaults. At the Tai'an new energy storage demonstration base, a 350-megawatt compressed air energy storage project injects compressed air into caverns almost 1,000 meters deep. Once operational, it is expected to produce 464 million kilowatt-hours annually. With various energy storage projects underway, Tai'an aims to host the country's largest salt cavern energy storage hub, targeting a capacity of 3,480 MW.

To foster innovation, the city has developed a set of 76 application scenarios and five specialized laboratories linking research and production. New technologies in fields like AI computing and low-altitude tourism can test their commercial potential directly within these environments.

Xu Zhaobing, director of the Tai'an Municipal Development and Reform Commission, said that these innovation scenarios are vital links between research and industry, speeding up the realization of laboratory results and injecting strong momentum into the city's development.

A digital screen displays real-time satellite and drone data to monitor crop growth in Tai'an. [Photo/WeChat account: Taian Daily]