NHIZ climbs up in provincial innovation rankings

The Nantong National High-tech Industrial Development Zone, the only national-level high-tech zone in Nantong, Jiangsu province, saw a significant boost in its ranking in the latest comprehensive evaluation of innovation-driven development among provincial high-tech zones.

The progress can be attributed to the zone's strategic focus on seizing upon emerging industrial trends and attracting relevant industrial projects. Among these projects is Zonchow Industrial Automation (Jiangsu) Co Ltd, which specialized in the photovoltaic sector.

As a high-tech enterprise, Zonchow has developed cutting-edge equipment with unique capabilities. This has resulted in an integrated business ecosystem covering everything from material research and process development to sales and end-user applications, earning them the support and recognition of high-quality partners both upstream and downstream.

Since starting operations in February of this year, the company's 24,000-square-meter manufacturing facility has already expanded to 48,000 square meters.

The new energy PV sector is currently undergoing a phase of technological iteration and upgrade, with heterojunction technology being of particular interest. It has become a hot investment area for domestic manufacturers and a key focus for technological investment in various regions.

Since 2020, NHIZ has taken advantage of the development opportunities in the heterojunction sub-sector of the PV new technology landscape. By attracting leading companies with strong growth prospects, including Zonchow, the zone has gathered more than 10 related enterprises.

"This year, NHIZ has hosted several specialized training sessions on heterojunction industrial development," said Wu Xiaohao, deputy director of NHIZ science and talent bureau.

In recent years, NHIZ has been promoting industrial transformation and upgrading, forming a distinctive industrial structure characterized by automotive components, new-generation information technology, and high-end intelligent equipment manufacturing.

In 2022, the combined output value of these three leading industries accounted for 75.7 percent of the zone's total industrial output value.

An aerial view of the Nantong National High-tech Industrial Development Zone. [Photo/Nantong Daily]