A conference on expanding the transformer industry is held in Hai'an, Nantong, Jiangsu province. [Photo/Nantong Daily]

After more than six decades of steady development, Hai'an in Nantong, Jiangsu province has built a robust transformer manufacturing sector, forming a comprehensive industrial chain that spans design, manufacturing, and testing.

Today, the city is home to 34 transformer companies, each with annual sales exceeding 100 million yuan ($14.49 million). The overall industry scale has reached around 20 billion yuan, making Hai'an one of the key transformer industry clusters in Jiangsu province and across China.

The sector is entering a new growth phase as the rapid rise of artificial intelligence and the digital economy drives a surge in global electricity demand. According to the International Energy Agency, power consumption by data centers worldwide is expected to more than double by 2030, while annual investment in power grids is forecast to increase by over 50 percent. The trend is opening up unprecedented opportunities for the transformer industry.

Building on this momentum, Hai'an has been actively expanding and upgrading its transformer industry. In recent years, several global companies have set up operations in the city, including Fortune Global 500 firms Hyosung and Eaton.

Meanwhile, local enterprises have achieved internationally advanced levels in areas such as dry-type transformers and transformers designed specifically for photovoltaic power generation.

Hubang Transformer exemplifies the sector's growing strength. The company has developed a coordinated industrial chain covering transformer materials, sheet metal components and intelligent transformer equipment. It currently manages three major production bases, and runs a joint research center for intelligent equipment in partnership with Shanghai Jiao Tong University.

Chairman Yan Jiujiang said the company will continue to focus on key application scenarios such as solar power, wind energy, and energy storage, with the goal of delivering more efficient and intelligent transformer solutions, integrated equipment, and energy storage substation systems in the future.