Yantai in East China's Shandong province has accelerated its energy transition by developing four major clean energy bases for nuclear, wind, solar and LNG power, driving the city's clean energy installed capacity to over 65 percent of its total energy mix.

Battery materials have become a key link in Yantai's new energy industry chain, while Wanhua Chemical Group is positioning the sector as its "second main business" in its efforts to become a global leader.

In late March, Wanhua began producing lithium iron phosphate cathode materials at its green industrial parks in Haiyang and Laizhou, two county-level cities in Yantai, with a combined annual capacity of 750,000 metric tons.

Meanwhile, the Weichai-BYD new energy industrial park in Fushan district achieved its first battery pack rollout in just 300 days and is now running at full capacity.

Yantai's green push is delivering tangible results. After its GDP surpassed one trillion yuan ($146.6 billion) in 2023, the city's energy intensity fell by 20.9 percent. On March 23, China's first commercial nuclear heating project, based in Haiyang, completed its seventh heating season, providing stable heating for 127 days to 400,000 residents across a 13.5 million-square-meter area.

With total clean energy investments exceeding 700 billion yuan, Yantai's installed clean energy capacity now accounts for over 65 percent of its energy mix.