The unveiling ceremony of the Yankuang Group Academician Workstation was held in Beijing on December 18, 2012. The event was attended by CAE President Zhou Ji, CAE Members He Jishan, Xie Heping, Peng Suping, Liu Jiongtian, and Yuan Qingtang. Also present were CAS Member Song Zhenqi, Wang Xianzheng, Chairman of the China National Coal Association, Zhai Luning, Director-General of the Science and Technology Department of Shandong Province, as well as Wang Xin, Chairman of the Yankuang Group. 

President Zhou expressed warm congratulations to the founding of Yankuang Group Academician Workstation on behalf of the CAE and then delivered a speech. He pointed out that coal had always ranked number one as a basic energy in China’s energy consumption structure, and the energy consumption structure dominated by coal would not change in the foreseeable future in China. Coal industry was an important basic industry for our national economy, playing an important role in the national economy and social development. In fact, one primary task facing the coal industry was to rely on technological innovation, and speed up the transformation of the economic development pattern. To achieve those goals, we should increase the supply capacity, optimize the energy structure, protect the coal mine safety, reduce environmental pollution, improve coal utilization efficiency and build up a new coal industry system, all of which could be seen as urgent needs for the safeguarding of national economic development. CAE had organized CAE Members for a series of strategic consultation research projects throughout the years, providing strong scientific, technological and intellectual support for the national energy security and national energy development strategy. 

Zhou said that Yankuang Group was a super big enterprise taking coal, coal chemicals, coal aluminum and complete electromechanical equipments manufacturing as its main products. As an outstanding representative of coal enterprises in China, Yankuang Group had always adhered to the scientific outlook on development, attached great importance to innovation as well as the acceleration of industrial restructuring and transformation of economic development pattern, thus making a series of significant achievements in technological innovation. Yankuang Group had actively implemented the “going out” development strategy, improving its core competitiveness and making itself a leader of coal industrial development in China. In terms of accelerating the transformation of economic development pattern and promoting innovation-driven development, Yankuang Group shouldered great responsibilities and historic missions, playing demonstrating and leading roles in the innovative development of coal enterprises in China. 

Zhou pointed out that the Academician Workstation at the Yangkuang Group was a high-level science and technology innovation platform on which academicians and enterprises could join hands in core technology research, thus providing powerful support for the industrialization of scientific and technological achievements, the training of innovative talents as well as the enhancement of innovation capabilities. Zhou promised that the CAE would greatly encourage CAE Members and their research teams to make cooperative efforts with Yankuang Group for major technology research, and further strengthen cooperative research and development as well as commercialization of research findings and results. (By Zhao Wencheng, December 2012; translated by Liu Chang)