The CERC will receive at least 150 million U.S. dollars in public and private financial support over a period of five years. The funds are shared equally between China and the United States. In the “Situation Notes†obtained by this newspaper, the US auto industry’s Big Three and many energy companies have been Included in the list of US partners.
During the visit of President Obama to China, CERC was announced by the Chinese and U.S. leaders to prepare for the establishment of the CERC. It aims to promote the joint research and development of clean energy technologies by scientists and engineers of the United States and China, and serves as an exchange center to help researchers in various countries strengthen cooperation.
On November 17, China and the United States held the second CERC Steering Committee Annual Meeting in Beijing and kicked off the CERC. At the meeting, Wan Gang, Zhang Guobao, and Zhu Yuwen discussed the selection of Sino-US members of the three CERC joint projects and identified three joint projects focusing on clean coal, clean vehicles, and energy-efficient building technologies.
According to the list of documents received by this newspaper, it can be seen that Zhu Xiwen’s current listing is a luxurious lineup of clean energy research and development in the United States. In terms of clean coal, West Virginia University will cooperate with China in a joint project focusing on new technologies for carbon capture and carbon sequestration. The participating project members also include the National Energy Technology Laboratory, General Electric, Duke Energy, l Amna, and U.S. Power.
In cleaning vehicles, the University of Michigan in the United States cooperates with China in a joint project focusing on vehicle electrification. The US members participating in the project include MIT, General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler, as well as the US Electric Power, First Energy and Transportation Research Center.
In energy efficiency building technology, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory cooperated with China in a joint project focused on improving the technology for building energy efficiency. The US members participating in the project include: Dow Chemical, Honeywell, GE Global Research, Schneider Electric and non-Marco Capital Advisors and other agencies.
"In the coming decades, the leaders will say that this is one of the most worthwhile investments the United States has made in China." Zhu Xiwen said that since China and the United States are also the emitting countries, "the interests of the two countries are highly connected. From this perspective, sharing technology is a very natural thing."
These three priority projects are very important to both countries. In the United States, more than three-quarters of the electricity is used in buildings. In addition, China and the United States both have large domestic coal reserves and use coal to produce most of their electricity (50% in the United States and 80% in China). These two countries are also the world's largest car market and oil consumers.
Although the trade ruling does not belong to Zhu Xiwen’s area of ​​competence, when asked about the United States’ investigation of China’s clean energy subsidies, Zhu Xiwen stated that both China and the United States have clean energy subsidies, but what the United States needs now is that of China’s. The clean energy subsidies can be applied equally to foreign companies.
“Two government officials, national laboratories, scientists and everyone have seen opportunities for cooperation between China and the United States in clean energy,†Zhu Xiwen said. “These will eventually overcome the obstacles we have encountered on the road.â€
Before this, in October, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative announced the launch of the 301 investigation into policies and measures related to clean energy in China. The reason was that on September 9 this year, the U.S. Steel Workers’ Federation complied with Article 301 of the U.S. Trade Act 1974. In accordance with the regulations, a 5,800-page application was filed with the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, stating that the Chinese government gave high subsidies to new energy companies to increase the price advantage of their products and influence employment in the United States.
Clean Coal, Clean Vehicles, and Energy-Efficient Construction Projects Prior to the joint announcement with the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology Minister Wan Gang and the Director of the China Energy Administration Zhang Guobao that the China-U.S. Clean Energy Research Center (CERC) has officially launched, the US Secretary of Energy Zhu Qiwen accepted the “First Finance†The Daily said in an interview: "This is one of the largest cooperation projects between China and the United States."