Original Title: Notice from the Department of Science and Technology of Shandong Province, the Development and Reform Commission of Shandong Province, the Department of Education of Shandong Province, the Department of Industry and Information Technology of Shandong Province, the Department of Finance of Shandong Province, the Department of Ecology and Environment of Shandong Province, the Department of Housing and Urban-Rural Development of Shandong Province, and the Energy Bureau of Shandong Province on Issuing the “Implementation Opinions on Science and Technology Leading the Green, Low-Carbon, and High-Quality Development of Industry” (Lu Ke Zi [2021] No. 73)

Relevant Provincial Departments and Units:

We hereby issue the "Implementation Opinions on Science and Technology Leading Green, Low-Carbon, and High-Quality Industrial Development" to you. Please ensure its implementation in accordance with local conditions.

Shandong Provincial Department of Science and Technology
Shandong Provincial Development and Reform Commission
Shandong Provincial Department of Education
Shandong Provincial Department of Industry and Information Technology
Shandong Provincial Department of Finance
Shandong Provincial Department of Ecology and Environment
Shandong Provincial Department of Housing and Urban-Rural Development
Shandong Provincial Energy Bureau
August 16, 2021

(This document is publicly released)

Implementation Opinions on Promoting Green, Low-Carbon, and High-Quality Industrial Development Through Science and Technology

To thoroughly implement the spirit of General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important speeches and instructions regarding carbon peaking and carbon neutrality, fully leverage the supporting and leading role of scientific and technological innovation, and accelerate the green, low-carbon, and high-quality development of our province’s industries, the following implementation opinions are hereby formulated.

I. General Requirements

(1) Guiding Principles

Guided by Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, we will fully study and implement the spirit of the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China and the second, third, fourth, and fifth plenary sessions of the 19th Central Committee.firmly establish the new development philosophy, actively integrate into the strategy for ecological protection and high-quality development of the Yellow River Basin, aim to lead the green, low-carbon, ecological, and intelligent development of industries, take the implementation of the innovation-driven development strategy and the promotion of high-quality economic and social development as the main thread, focus on strengthening the supply of key green and low-carbon technologies, improve the innovation platform system, attract high-level talent, expand the group of technology-based enterprises and distinctive innovative industrial clusters, and provide strong scientific and technological support for achieving the goals of carbon peaking and carbon neutrality.

(2) Basic Principles

— Innovation-driven, leading development. Emphasizing demand-oriented, problem-oriented, and goal-oriented approaches, we will focus on enhancing scientific and technological innovation capabilities to lead the province’s green and low-carbon industrial development.

— Systemic Thinking, Coordinated Planning. Strengthen top-level design and optimize the allocation of various innovation resources—including projects, platforms, talent, industrial parks, enterprises, and finance—to promote the development of green industries and the green transformation and upgrading of existing industries in a phased and step-by-step manner.

— Reform and Innovation to Stimulate Vitality. Strengthen institutional innovation, focus on creating an open, fair, and transparent development environment, and fully unleash the vitality of various innovation entities.

— Policy Guidance, Distinctive Development. Encourage localities to explore distinctive models of green, low-carbon, and high-quality development based on their resource endowments and development levels.

(3) Work Objectives

By 2023, the province’s capacity for green technology innovation will continue to strengthen; a system for the generation, transformation, and industrialization of green technology achievements will be basically established; a number of “bottleneck” technological challenges hindering industrial and regional development will be overcome; a range of domestically leading green technology products with independent control will be created; a group of innovative leading enterprises with international competitiveness will be cultivated; a number of green and low-carbon science and technology parks with national influence will be established; and a number of green innovative industrial clusters with a scale of 10 billion yuan will be formed.

II. Strengthening the Supply of Green and Low-Carbon Science and Technology

1. Issue the Shandong Province Action Plan for Science and Technology Innovation in Carbon Peaking and Carbon Neutrality (2021–2030). Following an integrated approach that advances projects, platforms, and talent development in tandem, we will strengthen the coordinated planning of scientific and technological tasks, clarify technology roadmaps, build the province’s green and low-carbon technology innovation system, and secure a leading position in carbon peaking and carbon neutrality technologies.

2. Strengthen the deployment of basic research capabilities in fields such as energy, carbon sequestration, and carbon sinks. Encourage and attract leading enterprises in the industry to jointly establish funds to address and achieve breakthroughs in a range of scientific challenges and core technologies related to industrial green transformation, focusing on areas such as smart manufacturing, energy conservation and environmental protection, clean energy, and carbon peaking and carbon neutrality.

3. Leverage the province’s resource and geographical advantages to pursue green, original technological innovations in carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS). Conduct R&D and demonstration of carbon sequestration and sink enhancement technologies for ecosystems such as the ocean, soil, wetlands, and forests. Establish a valuation system for carbon sinks, carbon sequestration, and ecosystem services, and create a national-level marine carbon sink demonstration zone based on distinctive carbon sink resources.

4. Focusing on the large-scale, efficient development and utilization of renewable energy sources such as wind, solar, geothermal, and air energy, as well as advanced nuclear energy, advanced energy storage, and modern smart grids, we will achieve breakthroughs in key technologies for multi-energy complementarity and large-scale application of renewable energy.

5. Focusing on high-energy-consumption industries such as steel, chemicals, electrolytic aluminum, building materials, papermaking, construction, and transportation, research and develop key technologies including the Industrial Internet, artificial intelligence, deep energy conservation and carbon reduction, clean production, a series of high-efficiency energy-saving equipment and processes, the deep utilization of industrial waste heat, and smart construction, and carry out large-scale engineering technology demonstrations.

6. Support enterprises, universities, and research institutes in exploring new models and business formats to provide specialized and comprehensive scientific and technological services—including design, R&D, processes, algorithms, and operations—for industrial chain upgrading and regional low-carbon development and transformation. Strengthen research on common key technologies across cultural creation, production, dissemination, and consumption. Select eligible regions to conduct pilot projects on the deep integration of culture and technology, and actively strive to establish national demonstration bases for the integration of culture and technology.

III. Promoting the Commercialization of Key Green and Low-Carbon Technologies

7. Organize and implement major science and technology demonstration projects such as carbon peaking and carbon neutrality, “Hydrogen for Every Home,” and hydrogen-based steelmaking. Support innovative leading enterprises in establishing innovation consortia by leveraging resources from upstream and downstream sectors of the industrial chain and the industry-academia-research innovation chain through measures such as equity incentives and jointly established R&D funds, thereby accelerating the transformation and industrialization of green and low-carbon scientific and technological achievements.

8. Relying on leading enterprises, universities, research institutes, technology-based small and medium-sized enterprises, and technology transfer agencies, build a technology achievement database that covers all fields, spans the entire industrial chain, and encompasses multiple types of achievements. Publish the *Shandong Province Green and Low-Carbon Technology Achievement Guidance Catalog* and promote and commercialize these achievements to the public through market-oriented and specialized models and mechanisms.

9. Support enterprises, universities, and research institutes in establishing green and low-carbon technology transfer service agencies and cultivate a group of specialized green and low-carbon technology brokers. Relying on science and technology special envoys and agricultural science stations, actively promote advanced, green, and applicable agricultural production technologies and products. Guide and support social forces in our province to establish social science and technology awards for green technology, and commend and reward frontline scientific and technical personnel who have made outstanding contributions to the transfer, transformation, promotion, and application of green technologies.

10. Establish and improve an evaluation indicator system and operational procedures for green and low-carbon scientific and technological achievements, standardizing evaluation agencies, personnel, criteria, and processes to advance evaluation standardization. Actively develop market-oriented evaluations, regulate third-party evaluations, and accelerate the construction of a diversified evaluation system involving the government, social organizations, enterprises, and investment and financing institutions.

11. Increase the proportion of awards and project allocations in industrial technology sectors such as next-generation information technology, biomedicine, high-end equipment, new energy, new materials, and energy conservation and environmental protection. Implement a “one-vote veto” policy for high-energy-consumption and high-pollution technological achievements.

IV. Establishing Green and Low-Carbon Technology Innovation Platforms

12. Promote the high-quality development of the Shandong Energy Research Institute and the National Fuel Cell Technology Innovation Center. Accelerate the establishment of provincial laboratories, provincial key laboratories, and provincial technology innovation centers in the green and low-carbon sectors, and actively work toward establishing national key laboratories and national technology innovation centers. Support leading enterprises in building pilot production bases for green technology achievements to provide public services such as testing and inspection and technology maturation to the industry; those with outstanding performance will be incorporated into the provincial pilot production base network.

13. Establish innovation and entrepreneurship communities in the green and low-carbon sectors to drive the development of a new generation of R&D institutions. Encourage cities to provide subsidies to these communities based on local conditions. Support these communities in establishing venture capital funds and industrial development funds, which will be integrated through market mechanisms to form a master fund for the communities’ industrial development. Guide social capital toward early-stage entrepreneurial projects and seed-stage or startup enterprises within these communities to promote green and low-carbon industrial development.

V. Expanding the Pool of Green and Low-Carbon Technology Enterprises

14. Implement the Innovation Capacity Enhancement Project for Science and Technology-Based SMEs, supporting 1,000 such enterprises annually to lead the implementation of a batch of technological innovation projects, thereby accelerating the commercialization and implementation of green and low-carbon scientific and technological achievements. Further expand the scope of innovation vouchers and encourage universities, research institutes, and regional industry innovation platforms to open their research infrastructure to SMEs in the green and low-carbon sector on a non-profit basis, thereby reducing corporate innovation costs.Support key laboratories, technology innovation centers, and innovation and entrepreneurship communities in providing customized technical services to SMEs in the green and low-carbon sectors. Within the Provincial Innovation Competition Action Plan for Small, Medium, and Micro Enterprises, establish a dedicated green technology competition track to facilitate the connection of technology enterprises in the green and low-carbon sectors with various innovation resources.

15. Select a group of technology-based SMEs in the green and low-carbon sectors to be included in the high-tech enterprise cultivation pool, and implement targeted measures to accelerate their growth into high-tech enterprises. Provide a subsidy of 150,000 yuan to small, medium, and micro enterprises in the integrated circuit and hydrogen energy sectors that have been certified as high-tech enterprises for the first time.Based on the annual performance of technology enterprise incubators, a subsidy of 100,000 yuan will be provided for each high-tech enterprise in the green and low-carbon sector successfully nurtured, with a maximum annual subsidy of 2 million yuan per incubator. A group of high-tech enterprises in the green and low-carbon sector will be selected for inclusion in the STAR Market listing cultivation pool to facilitate the listing of eligible enterprises on the STAR Market.

16. Select approximately 200 high-tech enterprises in the green and low-carbon sectors that possess core technologies, and support them in becoming innovative leading enterprises through a “tailored approach for each enterprise.” Deepen the reform of the “bounty system” for science and technology awards to encourage leading enterprises in the green and low-carbon sectors to spearhead industrial development, raising the award standard for projects making outstanding contributions to the industry from 300,000 yuan to 1 million yuan.

VI. Cultivating Green and Low-Carbon Industrial Clusters

17. Prioritize support for the development and expansion of national-level innovative industrial clusters such as Jinan’s smart power transmission and distribution, Qingdao’s robotics, and Weifang’s semiconductor lighting, to form several innovative industrial clusters that hold leading positions both domestically and internationally.In fields such as hydrogen energy, Beidou and satellite communications, artificial intelligence, and green building materials, we will leverage various science and technology parks to organize and implement targeted research and development of key technologies and major demonstration projects. We will build three major ecological and environmental protection industrial clusters in Jinan, Qingdao, and Zibo, and establish a number of ecological and environmental protection industrial bases and parks in other cities.

18. Deepen the implementation of the “100 Cities, 100 Parks” initiative. Relying on high-tech zones and agricultural science and technology parks, and in accordance with the “one zone, one industrial cluster” requirement, support the development of innovative industrial clusters that are distinct in character, complementary in development, and green and low-carbon. Incorporate the cultivation of innovative industrial clusters into the provincial-municipal consultation framework. Through provincial-municipal coordination, promote the accelerated implementation and utilization of innovation resources—including projects, platforms, talent, and technological achievements—centered on green and low-carbon industries.

19. Implement the High-Tech Zone High-Tech Enterprise Attraction and Cultivation Plan, aiming to add approximately 1,000 new high-tech enterprises annually across the province’s high-tech zones in the green and low-carbon sector. Promote the establishment of innovation and entrepreneurship platforms—such as incubators, accelerators, and maker spaces—for technology enterprises in the green and low-carbon sector within high-tech zones.Support high-tech zones in establishing open university science and technology parks that emphasize green and low-carbon industries, accelerating the commercialization of university research outcomes and the establishment of technology-based enterprises. Provide annual subsidies of up to 2 million yuan per park based on annual performance evaluations. Relying on high-tech zones, build low-carbon and zero-carbon demonstration factories and industrial parks, create eco-industrial parks, and encourage leading enterprises to collaborate with universities and research institutes to establish green technology industry colleges, forming a “industrial base + industry college + research platform” model.

20. Encourage agricultural science and technology parks to develop green and low-carbon industries and build green and low-carbon industrial clusters. Relying on agricultural science and technology parks, promote and demonstrate a batch of key core technologies for low-carbon, zero-carbon, and negative-carbon solutions, and provide ex-post subsidies and rewards to agricultural science and technology parks that achieve significant results in promotion and demonstration.

21. Focusing on innovation to drive sustainable rural development, we will integrate resources from national and provincial sustainable development pilot zones, high-tech zones, and agricultural science and technology parks. Through a collaborative model between central and provincial governments, and relying on scientific and technological progress, institutional innovation, and system development, we will accelerate the construction of a five-tier system comprising “provincial pilot zones, provincial demonstration zones, national pilot zones, national demonstration zones, and national sustainable development agenda innovation demonstration zones,” thereby comprehensively enhancing regional sustainable development capabilities.

VII. Strengthening the Development of Green and Low-Carbon Science and Technology Talent

22. Focusing on the green and low-carbon sectors, we will globally recruit top industry talent and teams, develop talent roadmaps for key industrial sectors, and leverage key enterprises and major science and technology innovation platforms to precisely attract innovation teams and urgently needed talent. We will launch the provincial “Overseas Engineers” support program to encourage and guide enterprises to introduce specialized technical talent in the green and low-carbon sectors through market-based mechanisms, providing enterprises with talent recruitment and utilization subsidies via ex-post grants.

23. Support technology-based enterprises in collaborating with universities and research institutes within and outside the province to conduct customized talent training programs, thereby cultivating a cohort of high-level green technology professionals and interdisciplinary industry leaders. Implement the Provincial Outstanding Young Scientists Fund Project (Overseas) to vigorously attract young talent in the green and low-carbon sectors. Organize the “Entrepreneurship in Shandong · Win-Win Future” High-Level Talent Entrepreneurship Competition to encourage domestic and international talent driving green and low-carbon economic development to bring capital and projects to Shandong for innovation and entrepreneurship.

VIII. Deepening International and Domestic Cooperation on Green and Low-Carbon Development

24. Support and guide leading enterprises in the green and low-carbon sector to deepen scientific and technological cooperation with the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the Chinese Academy of Engineering, and renowned universities. Engage in comprehensive cooperation with renowned research institutions covering “guidance funds, project collaboration, talent cultivation, and platform development.” Establish the Northern Carbon Neutrality Center to create a science and technology demonstration park featuring multi-energy integration and high-efficiency, low-carbon operations, thereby becoming a leading domestic hub for comprehensive innovation in carbon emissions and carbon neutrality.

25. In collaboration with the China Productivity Promotion Center, universities, research institutes, enterprises, and technology service organizations in provinces and cities along the Yellow River, establish the Yellow River Basin Science and Technology Innovation Alliance. Focusing on the green and low-carbon sector, the alliance will conduct joint research on major key generic technologies and facilitate the transfer and commercialization of technological achievements.

26. Strengthen strategic cooperation with the China 21st Century Agenda Management Center to jointly develop *China Population, Resources and Environment* into a nationally renowned journal brand.

27. Strengthen financial cooperation with international green organizations and make full and effective use of international green loans. Encourage various innovation entities to take the lead in or participate in the formulation of international green technology standards, and actively engage in international scientific and technological cooperation in the green and low-carbon sectors.

IX. Strengthen Policy Support for Green Technology Finance

28. Establish Shandong Green Technology Bank Co., Ltd. to build three major platforms: a green technology information platform, a green technology transformation platform, and a green technology finance platform. This will create an innovative science and technology finance organization that aggregates green technology evaluation, acquisition, storage, appreciation, and transformation services while providing comprehensive financial solutions, thereby driving the implementation and international transfer of green technologies across the province.

29. Deepen reforms in equity investment of science and technology funds. Invest in a batch of major R&D and innovative product development projects in the green and low-carbon sectors. For projects that attract co-investment from social capital, the equity stake held by science and technology funds will be appropriately reduced or the funds will exit early. Strengthen in-depth cooperation with key provincial state-owned enterprises in green and low-carbon science and technology finance. Establish an enterprise financing evaluation system with green technology innovation capability as the core indicator. Provide investment and financing services for high-tech enterprises and science and technology-based small and medium-sized enterprises, and offer financial support for the transformation of scientific and technological achievements.