China Energy News published an article signed by Zheng Peng.

Shanxi Pengfei Group Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Pengfei Group”) is actively aligning with the national trend of energy transition, achieving a strategic leap from traditional energy to new energy and from traditional industries to emerging ones, and embarking on a new journey to build itself into a “globally leading smart clean-energy enterprise.”

Pengfei Group has consistently upheld the development philosophy of “Green Pengfei, Technological Pengfei.” Starting with a capital of RMB 25,000 in 1993, the company has overcome numerous challenges and grown into a privately owned enterprise that integrates coal mining, premium coal washing and processing, coke production, modern coal chemical engineering, a full‑chain hydrogen energy ecosystem, renewable energy utilization, 5G‑enabled smart applications, and integrated road‑rail connectivity, alongside cultural tourism, hospitality, and real estate. The group is now a digitally intelligent, circular, and green enterprise. It has been listed among China’s Top 500 Private Enterprises for six consecutive years, ranking 92nd in 2024, and has appeared on the Fortune China Top 500 list for four straight years, placing 240th in 2024.

Full-cycle, low-carbon development paints a green vision for Pengfei.

Green is the underlying tone of Pengfei’s development. Pengfei Group is committed to building a world‑leading, smart clean‑energy enterprise, actively responding to the nation’s “dual carbon” goals and adopting a full‑cycle, low‑carbon development model to comprehensively and multi‑levelly shape a green Pengfei. In the coal‑coking industry, it has pioneered the construction of China’s first 6.25‑meter three‑stage heated push‑type coke oven, significantly boosting production efficiency while markedly reducing energy consumption and pollutant emissions. The Group has also invested in an integrated methanol‑LNG‑ammonia project, becoming one of the few enterprises nationwide capable of producing methanol, LNG, and synthetic ammonia simultaneously on the same process route, thereby achieving efficient resource utilization and circular development. As hydrogen energy represents a key direction for future energy development, Pengfei Group is proactively seizing opportunities in this field. It has planned and built the Pengwan Hydrogen Port Hydrogen Industry Park—the largest of its kind globally with the most complete industrial chain—establishing a modern hydrogen‑based industrial system that integrates production, storage, transportation, refueling, application, research, and equipment manufacturing. The Group has outlined an ambitious vision: a “ten‑thousand‑mile hydrogen‑energy corridor, ten thousand hydrogen‑refueling islands, one million hydrogen‑powered vehicles, and a one‑million‑ton hydrogen‑energy supply base.” To date, projects such as high‑purity hydrogen production from coke‑oven off‑gas and the country’s first electrolysis‑based green‑hydrogen plant have been commissioned. Meanwhile, the Bei Yao Comprehensive Energy Island, with a daily hydrogen‑refueling capacity of eight tonnes, has become the nation’s largest hydrogen‑refueling hub, and the world’s first independently developed…   A 250 kW single‑stack hydrogen fuel cell power system has been successfully launched, and 830 hydrogen‑powered vehicles have been put into operation in succession. Pengfei has become the only entity nationwide to operate a fully commercialized “gas–station–transport–vehicle” hydrogen energy industry‑chain demonstration project. Its “coal–coke–chemicals–hydrogen” closed-loop, all‑scenario industrial development has earned widespread recognition from both the industry and society, establishing it as a shining benchmark in the energy sector. In February 2023, Pengfei Group was elected chair unit of the Shanxi Province Hydrogen Energy Industry Alliance; in 2024, it was appointed president unit of the Shanxi Provincial Association for Environmental and Resource Protection.  

Comprehensive technological innovation ignites the engine of technological advancement.

Technology is the driving force behind Pengfei Group’s development. Adhering to the principles of industrial digitalization and digital industrialization, the Group continuously pursues innovation, demonstrating strong resolve and capabilities in intelligence, technology, and digitalization. It has established strategic partnerships with industry giants such as China Mobile and China Unicom, and set up the Lvyuan Digital Intelligence Innovation Lab and the AI Industrial Intelligence Joint Laboratory. Leveraging the DeepSeek foundational large model and employing cutting-edge technologies—including AI, 5G, cloud computing, the Internet of Things, and big data—the Group is comprehensively advancing the construction of smart mines and intelligent factories, introducing state-of-the-art smart manufacturing production lines that have achieved automation, flexibility, and intelligent operation, significantly boosting productivity, reducing workers’ exposure to hazardous environments, and ensuring intrinsic production safety. Its Changzhi‑area Changxin Coal Mine has been recognized as a benchmark demonstration mine for smart operations and has earned the highest national Level 3A certification for the integration of informatization and industrialization. The Group has also created the nation’s first full‑chain hydrogen energy benchmark for intrinsic safety and deployed the country’s first industrial AI agent application—Xiaopeng—while building an integrated “computing–network–intelligence–security” smart industrial cloud platform, providing robust computational power, network support, intelligent services, and security safeguards to fuel enterprises’ digital transformation. In addition, Pengfei Group has deepened industry–university–research collaboration, partnering with prestigious institutions such as Shanghai Jiao Tong University and Taiyuan University of Technology, as well as leading domestic and international companies. By capitalizing on universities’ research and talent strengths, the Group jointly tackles core technological challenges. Its independently developed world’s first 250 kW single‑stack hydrogen fuel cell power system was successfully launched in Xiaoyi, filling a critical domestic gap in this field. To date, Pengfei Group holds 95 patents, 8 group standards, and 3,998 innovative achievements. To accelerate the quality upgrade of the equipment manufacturing sector, the Group has invested in the Pengfei Zhichuang Automotive Manufacturing Industrial Park, aiming to establish an internationally advanced, domestically top‑tier base for hydrogen‑powered vehicle manufacturing and core component production. Through the introduction of cutting‑edge production equipment and processes, and by cultivating highly skilled technical professionals, the Group is propelling the growth of the hydrogen‑powered vehicle industry. Furthermore, in collaboration with Xinhua News Agency and Game Science, it has opened the nation’s only offline physical experience store for “Myth: Wukong,” blending advanced technological solutions with elements of traditional Chinese culture to deliver an unprecedented immersive experience. In 2022, Pengfei Group successfully obtained the national AAA‑level certification for the integration of informatization and industrialization.

Pengfei Group is driving the integration of basic energy with AI, culture with innovation, commerce with the humanities, and cultural tourism with dreams, while advancing hydrogen energy in tandem with green development. By 2025, Pengfei will continue to explore and innovate, striving to build a green, technology‑driven enterprise and realizing its ambitious vision of becoming a globally leading smart clean‑energy company.

(The author is the Chairman of the Board and President of Shanxi Pengfei Group Co., Ltd.)