Solar power-generation and energy storage components are produced at Huachu Photovoltaic. [Photo provided to China Daily]

The eastern Shanxi city of Yangquan is on track for high-quality development through a transformation that features the upgrading of traditional industries and cultivation of emerging industries.

An official at the Yangquan committee of the Communist Party of China said that the city is advancing an innovation-driven strategy to help its manufacturing industries, both traditional and emerging, toward advanced, intelligent and environmentally friendly operations.

One example of such transformation is local aluminum producer Zhaofeng Tiancheng.

The company used to be a major bauxite producer in Yangquan. It began to diversify years ago and has now expanded its operations into such fields as alumina, electrolytic aluminum and aluminum-magnesium alloy.

More recently, the company has begun to tap into the high-value-added sectors of the industry chain, producing deep-processed aluminum products for railway, automobile and household appliance industries.

One of its cutting-edge products is 0.4-millimeter aluminum alloy foil. The product began volume production in June 2022, as a result of years of research and development.

A company executive said the product is mainly used in air conditioners. It has been sought-after in the market due to its performance in energy conservation.

Huayang Group is another example of traditional industry players' transformation.

The company was one of the leading coal-mining and power-generation companies in Yangquan. It began to diversify into the new energy industry about a decade ago.

Its subsidiary, Huachu Photovoltaic, is now a major supplier of solar power-generation and energy storage components to domestic solar power-generation companies.

"We have secured 68 orders to supply photovoltaic components with a total capacity of 1,637 megawatts since last year," said Wang Wei, general manager of Huachu Photovoltaic. "Nearly 90 percent of the orders are from our long-term partners like Huaneng, Huadian, State Power Investment and CHN Energy."

Using the latest digital and automation technologies to improve operational efficiency is another major trend for Yangquan's manufacturers.

Huanxin Electricity, for instance, is a Yangquan-based producer of roll-core coiling systems for transformers.

Cui Zhongbao, a technology executive at the company, recalled that wire coiling work was done by hand in the past.

"Now we are using digitally controlled, automatic coiling machines, which allow the making of a roll-core coil to be finished in 35 minutes," Cui said. "This is a huge improvement in efficiency compared to the 180 minutes in the past."

While investing heavily in advanced equipment, the company has channeled a total of 40 million yuan ($5.5 million) in R&D over the past three years.

The production of refractory materials, which involve the process of firing in kilns, used to be a major source of pollution because of the emissions.

But the Xixiaoping Refractory, a company in Yuxian county in Yangquan, is showing that production can be environmentally friendly with the use of emission-reduction equipment and technologies.

According to Zhang Ruizhong, an executive of the company, Xixiaoping Refractory has invested a total of 80 million yuan in environmental protection over the past few years.

"We have installed denitration systems for all our 13 kilns," Zhang said. "At present, the emission of nitrogen oxide was reduced to 50 milligrams per cubic meter from the previous 200 mg."

He added that its emissions of other pollutants have all reached national standards.

Bai Xuefeng contributed to this story.