【Ten Years of Rapid Development in Chemical Engineering Equipment】From 1360 to 2023: China’s first comprehensive energy station integrating oil, gas, hydrogen, electricity, light, and other energy sources was established in Suzhou

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【Ten Years of Rapid Development in Chemical Equipment】From 1360 to 2023: China’s first comprehensive energy station covering oil, gas, hydrogen, electricity, light, and other forms of energy was established in Suzhou. On December 22nd, China National Petroleum Corporation’s comprehensive energy station that covers all types of energy sources and applications – the Huaqiao Station in Kunshan, Suzhou, Jiangsu – was officially put into operation. As the first comprehensive energy station in the entire industry to integrate multiple functions such as fueling, hydrogen refueling, gas filling, charging, battery swapping, photovoltaic power generation, energy storage, dining, shopping, health services, and a driver’s lounge, it marks a significant step forward for China’s petroleum product sales companies as they enter the fast track of new energy transformation, offering services across all aspects of energy supply and throughout the entire service cycle. “\"Explosion-proof design, a strong sense of technology, and high safety and efficiency\" – the Huaqiao Comprehensive Energy Station enables online human-machine interaction, AI-powered guidance, automatic vehicle recognition, and precise positioning. It can operate 24/7, integrating various functions such as apps, mobile payments, fuel card payments, and electronic invoices, thereby greatly improving service efficiency. A responsible official from the Huaqiao Comprehensive Energy Station said that the use of intelligent fueling robotic arms helps to alleviate the issues of a shortage of frontline staff and high workloads to some extent. It enables two-way fueling, which prevents customers from having to reverse their vehicles repeatedly, and it addresses problems such as abnormal fueling alerts; at the same time, it reduces the risk associated with employees traveling to and from the site by vehicle. The charging station can charge a single vehicle in as fast as 10 minutes, and the time required for battery swapping is no more than 3 minutes, thus effectively meeting various energy replenishment needs. The station is equipped with a comprehensive service building that not only offers customers everyday leisure options such as convenience store shopping and Chinese and Western fast food, but also provides more than 10 specialty cross-sector services including a drivers’ lounge, health treatments, car rental, and insurance. According to a responsible official from China National Petroleum Corporation’s Jiangsu sales branch, the company is committed to the value goals of \"green development, providing energy services, driving customer growth, and contributing to people’s well-being.\" It has further defined the development strategies for its four new energy business areas: charging, battery swapping, hydrogen refueling, and photovoltaic power generation. Specifically, the company aims to accelerate the development of charging services, promote effective development of battery swapping, ensure steady progress in hydrogen refueling, and expand photovoltaic installations on a large scale. To date, 84 photovoltaic power plants, 26 charging stations, and 1 comprehensive energy station have been built and put into operation across Jiangsu Province.