On the morning of August 9, the Shandong Provincial Industrial Talent Innovation and Development Conference was held in the Golden Hall of Shandong Mansion. Ling Wen, Vice Governor of Shandong Province; Zhang Hongyan, Deputy Director-General of the Personnel and Education Department of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology; and Gong Wendong, Deputy Director of the Shandong Provincial Committee Organization Department and Executive Deputy Director of the Provincial Talent Work Leading Group Office, attended and delivered speeches. During the event, the Shandong Provincial Department of Industry and Information Technology organized the signing ceremony for the 2022 Key Core Technology “Challenge and Command” Projects. CAS Hefei Gasification Technology Co., Ltd. (ZHGAS), Shandong Rongxin Group Co., Ltd., and the Institute of Engineering Thermophysics (IET), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), signed a cooperation agreement in the fields of clean and efficient coal utilization and renewable energy technology R&D.

Shandong Rongxin Group, established in 2007, operates subsidiaries including Shandong Hengxin Technology, Shandong Benyue New Energy, Shandong Hengxin New Materials, and Shandong Hengxin Shipping. Its production capacities include:

• 2.4 million tons/year of coke

• 250,000 tons/year of methanol

• 360,000 tons/year of coal tar processing

• 100,000 tons/year of advanced carbon materials

• 100,000 tons/year of anthracene oil hydrogenation

• 100,000 tons/year of crude benzene hydrogenation

• 200,000 tons/year of polyoxymethylene (POM) from methanol

• 2×25 MW waste heat power generation

The group produces over 30 chemical products, such as coke, methanol, coal tar, needle coke, industrial naphthalene, and modified asphalt, forming a circular economy industrial chain spanning coking, tar deep processing, coal-based needle coke, hydrogenation, methanol synthesis, and waste heat recovery.

ZHGAS, Shandong Rongxin, and IET will collaborate on:

• Technology development: Gasification fly ash utilization, activated carbon production from biomass and coke powder fly ash, biomass-coal co-gasification, dry quenching technology, and coal partial gasification-combustion.

• Platform co-construction: Shared R&D facilities and innovation hubs.

• Talent cultivation: Joint training programs and knowledge exchange.

This partnership integrates market resources, scientific expertise, and engineering capabilities, driving synergies across innovation platforms, talent development, fundamental research, and industrial applications to achieve mutual benefits and high-quality advancement.