Yangkou Environmental Thermoelectric, a key provider of steam and heat for enterprises in the Yangkou Chemical Industrial Park, has transformed its operations to improve energy efficiency and reduce costs.

By 2021, coal costs, which comprised 80 percent of the company's operational expenses, had surged from 700 yuan ($95.91) per ton to 2,450 yuan per ton. Due to supply agreements, the company could neither halt production nor adjust steam pricing, resulting in a loss of several dozen yuan for every ton of steam produced.

To address this, the company conducted extensive research and identified compressed air as a critical yet inefficiently supplied industrial resource in the park. Most enterprises relied on small, self-built air compressors with high costs, low efficiency, and high energy consumption. Xu Li, the company's general manager, proposed a scalable compressed air supply system that could reduce regional energy consumption, optimize the company's heat-to-power ratio, and lower overall costs.

In 2021, the company established a subsidiary to focus on compressed air supply. The facility became operational in 2022, serving 23 enterprises with an annual supply of 2.9 billion standard cubic meters of compressed air. This year, it invested 75 million yuan in a second-phase expansion, which is expected to triple production capacity. 

Another key innovation came from addressing the energy-intensive nature of industrial fans used in thermoelectric production. The company partnered with a technology firm to develop and test "air suspension bearings", a cutting-edge product with no prior market validation. Yangkou Environmental Thermoelectric sent technical staff to assist in research and testing, eventually deploying the bearings in its oxidation blowers.

Over the course of a year, the company successfully converted all its blowers to air suspension technology, significantly reducing energy consumption. Third-party evaluations estimate annual savings of 850,000 kWh of electricity, 250 tons of coal, and 380,000 yuan in total costs. These advancements have positioned Yangkou Environmental Thermoelectric as one of the most energy-efficient companies in the industry, offering economic, environmental, and energy-saving benefits.