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With the rapid development of the economy and society, the demand for environmental pollution prevention and control is increasing, particularly regarding comprehensive water ecological management and the need for technological iteration. As sources of pollution evolve, challenges in water pollution prevention are emerging one after another.
To explore the future path of aquatic prevention and treatment, the Environmental and Ecological Research Institute of Tsinghua University's Shenzhen International Graduate School, in collaboration with Beijing SYS Technology Co., Ltd., organized the Second Summit Forum on Water Environment Management. Themed around 'Water Ecological Environment Management and Protection,' the forum focused on industry development trends, difficulties, and pain points in comprehensive water environment management, inviting experts, scholars, and entrepreneurs to jointly explore new models, measures, and practices in comprehensive water environment management.
The primary purpose of comprehensive water environment management is to address the source of pollution, construct aquatic ecosystems, and restore the self-purification ability of water bodies. This is of significant importance for improving living environments, enhancing urban quality, and promoting sustainable economic and social development. The current focus of society and the industry is determining the models, aspects, and measures to adopt for comprehensive water environment management.
At the forum, a reporter from Times Weekly conducted an exclusive interview with Ge Jing, Chairman and Head of the Technical Research Institute at Beijing SYS Technology Co., Ltd. They engaged in an in-depth exchange on topics such as the current state and future of water ecological environment management and protection, as well as SYS's practical experiences and technological paths.
Ge Jing stated that whether it's the current enhancements in wastewater treatment plants or the future '30 60' carbon peak and neutrality goals, China's water environment development must adhere to low-carbon, energy-saving standards and achieve energy self-sufficiency. This approach will be a growth point for the industry over the next two or three decades.
Since its establishment in 2000, SYS has been dedicated to the field of water environment management. After more than 20 years of deep cultivation in the industry, it has accumulated leading technology and rich experience in water environment management. Leveraging these strengths, SYS has adopted a macro perspective encompassing watersheds and regions to construct a comprehensive management service system encompassing 'consultation, design, manufacturing, implementation, operation' throughout the entire lifecycle. They have pioneered three major types of business: water treatment products, comprehensive water environment management solutions, and operational services, catering to the diversified needs of the downstream market.
The development and iteration of rapid bio-treatment technology, spore transfer technology, and circulating water treatment technology are testaments to SYS's over twenty years of deep commitment and industry evolution. Driven by innovation, SYS has become the absolute leader in the niche market of comprehensive water resource management and is gradually embracing the capital market.
When asked why he chose this under-the-radar industry, Ge Jing's distant memories were stirred. Before entrepreneurship, Ge Jing had extensive experience working in state-owned enterprises. After deciding to ride the wave of reform and opening up, he had many options, including relatively familiar markets like energy-saving, low-carbon, and heating boilers. However, after careful consideration, he ultimately chose the relatively obscure field of circulating water management. The lack of competition was one significant factor in his decision.
SYS initially encountered numerous difficulties on its development path. Reflecting on the hardships of early entrepreneurship, Ge Jing couldn't help but express his emotions, as SYS was in a desperate situation with no money, no backing, and no people - a real 'rags-to-riches' scenario. At that time, the circulating water management business was very weak domestically with few participants; national standards, management approaches, and customer needs were all in a very primitive and undeveloped stage.
The relatively weak market for circulating water treatment provided SYS with ample room for growth. After more than four years of cultivation, SYS expanded its business to include cooling water, chilled water, and heating water industrial circulating water, becoming a leading enterprise in this niche market.
Later, to expand the business, SYS needed to branch out into a second area beyond circulating water treatment, so they targeted the wastewater treatment segment. The key to SYS's firm standing in the wastewater treatment market was technological innovation and cost control.
In 2003, SYS began researching new wastewater treatment processes and subsequently developed a rapid bio-treatment technology. This superior technology gave SYS a significant differentiated advantage in market competition.
In investing in rapid bio-treatment technology equipment, SYS adopted a strict cost-control strategy. Ge Jing explained to Times Weekly that the traditional approach in the wastewater treatment market was to plan, design, construct, and start operations all at once. Innovatively, SYS introduced a new model of planning once, investing in stages, implementing in phases, and constructing and operating in a modular fashion.
'If others want to build a wastewater treatment plant with a capacity of 100,000 tons, they might need to invest 100 million yuan, while I invest 20 million yuan. Others are considering the water quantity growth over the next 5 or even 10 years, while the current water quantity might be just 20,000 tons. I invest 20 million yuan, and when the water quantity increases, I build new modules, thus eliminating the inefficiency of using a large cart to pull a small load.'
With domestic requirements for water environment management increasing, wastewater treatment is now gradually transitioning to ecological management, and ecological restoration is imperative. This shift is a top priority for domestic water environment management over the next 20 years and a future economic growth point. SYS seized this business opportunity once again and developed spore transfer technology. Thanks to this technology, the quality of SYS's treated water improved manifold, offering a higher cost-performance ratio, thereby once again solidifying the company's overall competitive strength.
SYS, amidst market demand shifts, has gained market recognition through breakthroughs in core technology. This success is no accident, as SYS prioritizes continuous innovation in its corporate development.
'Private entrepreneurs cannot survive or develop without innovation. Only through continuous innovation and iteration can they gain a head start and achieve breakthroughs in certain fields,' revealed Ge Jing. SYS's investment in innovation is increasing annually, demanding that the R&D team not only spends the budget but also ensures that the money is spent valuably.
To maintain its capacity for continuous innovation, SYS collaborates with renowned universities such as Tsinghua University, Beijing Normal University, and Beijing University of Chemical Technology. This collaboration promotes a profound fusion of industry, study, and research, empowering and enhancing business development.
Ge Jing emphasizes that in the collaboration of production, study, and research, production should be prioritized. Many companies in reality don't place production first due to its vulnerability. If market demands are overlooked, the resulting products might face the predicament of low practicality, low market conversion rates, and low cost-effectiveness.
As Ge Jing explained, SYS's approach to integrating industry, academia, and research involves identifying the features required in R&D products based on market needs. They then establish crucial indicators and requirements, set input and output conditions, and primarily engage in independent research and development, inviting university professors to co-develop significant projects.
Currently, SYS's rapid bio-treatment and spore transfer technologies, both core techniques, are recognized for their strong performance, high promotion potential, and cost-effectiveness, earning industry expert approval. Professor Max Dohmann from RWTH Aachen University in Germany notes that SYS's rapid bio-treatment is conveniently flexible, easy to install, and maintain, making it suitable for small and medium-sized wastewater treatment plants. The spore transfer technology can remove not just single nutrients like phosphorus or nitrogen but also various planktonic particulates. These techniques are applicable not only for treating polluted water in lakes and rivers but also for dispersed rural wastewater and industrial wastewater management, offering vast potential for future application scenarios.
Professor Zuo Jian'e, Deputy Dean of the Tsinghua University Shenzhen International Graduate School and Executive Deputy Dean of the Institute of Environment and Ecology, told Times Weekly reporters that SYS's rapid bio-treatment and spore transfer technologies possess core advantages in phosphorus removal and nitrogen reduction, which have been effectively applied in the wastewater treatment projects in the Dianchi Lake basin in Kunming.
Dianchi Lake in Kunming was once one of the most polluted lakes in China, included in the national key remediation project 'Three Rivers and Three Lakes.' The government has placed high priority on the remediation of Dianchi Lake. Zuo Jian'e, in collaboration with SYS, has been involved in the restoration of Dianchi Lake, primarily responsible for the ecological restoration of the lake basin.
Zuo Jian'e revealed to Times Weekly reporters that one of the core goals of the ecological restoration of the Dianchi Lake basin is the control of eutrophication and algal blooms, with the key lying in the control of nitrogen and phosphorus nutrients. SYS's spore transfer technology can achieve extreme phosphorus removal and nitrogen reduction, meeting the 'Dual 5 Standards' - total nitrogen below 5 mg/L and total phosphorus below 0.05 mg/L.
Zuo Jian'e conducted several technical verification studies in the Dianchi Lake basin remediation project. In a medium-sized water body relatively independent from Dianchi Lake (covering an area of 8,000 square meters with a water depth of 1.5 meters), the spore machine purification technology developed by SYS achieved good treatment results. It purified the water body in around ten days, reaching the effects of algae suppression and water clarification.
With sharp market acumen, continuous innovation capabilities, and mature cost-control concepts, SYS has gradually evolved into an innovative comprehensive service provider for water environment system management. According to Ge Jing, SYS has transitioned from treating 'small water' in the recycling sector to 'big water' in comprehensive water environment management.
Throughout its development, SYS has established numerous benchmark projects. The company's recycled water services are widespread across well-known domestic structures like the Bird's Nest, Water Cube, and National Grand Theater. Additionally, SYS played a significant role in treatment projects in areas like the Dianchi Lake basin in Kunming and the polluted, foul-smelling ponds in the Angangxi District of Qiqihar City.
Reflecting on the journey SYS has taken over the years, Ge Jing feels quite moved. Over twenty years ago, Ge Jing decided to delve into the burgeoning market of water environment management, working quietly and exploring diligently. He authored several national standards in the field and contributed to numerous group standards. Now, SYS is an innovative, comprehensive service provider specializing in water environment management systems. The company centers around clients' needs for water environmental control, providing water treatment products, comprehensive environmental management solutions, and operational services, playing a leading role in niche markets. 'I have no regrets in this life. I've left something for society, offered some insights, and contributed my strength to the development of the industry.'
SYS has not allowed past achievements to slow its progress. Throughout the interview, Ge Jing repeatedly emphasized to Times Weekly reporters the importance of 'thinking ahead in times of danger,' a principle that has become part of SYS's corporate culture and is ingrained in both the company and its employees.
The development of China's water environment management industry is still inadequate. There is insufficient support from industrial policies, and the environmental protection assessment system needs improvement. The industry's technical level is developing slowly, and there is a noticeable lack in the performance of water environment management products and systems, as well as in the capabilities for subsequent operation and maintenance management.
Ge Jing believes that there are two main issues with the current domestic water environment management and ecological restoration: one is the insufficient level of public participation, and the other is the top-level design of technical systems and other dimensions, which is still not perfected.
There is much room for improvement in the entire industry, and SYS also has a lot to accomplish. Ge Jing notes that to help achieve the national '30-60' carbon peak and carbon neutrality goals and fulfill corporate social responsibilities, SYS has proposed a five-step development strategy. The first step is precise equipment and energy consumption; the second is using limited space in wastewater treatment plants, employing photovoltaic systems to address some electrical load issues; the third is utilizing the height difference in the effluent of sewage treatment plants to generate electricity through water turbines; the fourth involves extracting energy from the temperature in the water using heat pump technology after electricity generation from treatment plant effluent; and the fifth step is to generate electricity from combustible gas through anaerobic digestion of the sludge from wastewater treatment plants.
Additionally, recognizing the immense market potential of future carbon trading and the soaring prices of tap water in Beijing, SYS has already ventured into carbon emission reduction consulting related to water environment management and the development of new water-saving devices, readying itself to tackle industry challenges.
Entering the niche of water environment, where industry standards were lacking, and technology was in its initial stages, SYS essentially stepped into a 'no-man's land.' By deeply cultivating and reshaping the industry landscape and setting new standards for industry development, SYS under Ge Jing's leadership has consistently driven corporate growth through innovation, drawing more attention to the development and importance of water environment management.
What direction will the industry take after 20 years? What path lies ahead for ecological restoration? What are the future international trends? These are questions Ge Jing is contemplating, and he hopes to find some fresh perspectives and inspiration at this session of the Summit Forum on Water Environment Management.
Ge Jing points out, 'Water ecology (restoration) has to advance further. New pollutants have emerged, such as endocrine disruptors, antibiotics, microplastics, and so on. The removal of these new contaminants is a challenge that needs to be addressed over the next 30 or even 40 years.'
With a clear vision for the future, Ge Jing outlined SYS's development blueprint to Times Weekly reporters. From the perspective of national policy, water environment protection has shifted from comprehensive management to ecological restoration. 'Ecological restoration is the most promising venture in the water environment market, with much to be done over the next 20 years. Post-restoration operation and maintenance management represent a significant economic growth point for SYS.'
