Tongliao, Inner Mongolia, Shifts from "Coal-Powered Aluminum" to "Green-Powered Aluminum"; Green Power Substitution Drives Industrial Upgrading
In recent years, against the backdrop of the national push for the low-carbon, green transformation of energy-intensive industries, Tongliao, Inner Mongolia, has leveraged its local wind and solar resource advantages. Centered on green power substitution, the city has continuously driven the iterative upgrading of its electrolytic aluminum industry, forging a new development model that transitions from "coal-powered aluminum" to "green-powered aluminum" and charting a path toward green, low-carbon industrial growth.
Recently, at the No. 4 Electrolysis Plant of the Zhahanuo'er Aluminum Branch (under SPIC Inner Mongolia Energy Co., Ltd.) in Tongliao, indicator lights flashed continuously on the control panels of the 500kA intelligent baking-electrolysis cells. Following the "start" command, operators—adhering to technical standards—steadily raised the anodes in small, frequent increments to melt the materials within the cells and form the electrolyte bath. With the molten electrolyte level and melt temperature meeting all specifications, the Zhahanuo'er 350,000-ton green-powered aluminum project achieved full-capacity operation.
"We’ve upgraded from 400kA to 500kA cells and switched from semi-graphite to full-graphite cathodes; our aluminum smelting 'furnaces' are now larger, more energy-efficient, and more environmentally friendly, fundamentally reducing power consumption," said Li Huidong, Deputy Director of the Production Technology Department at the Zhahanuo'er Aluminum Branch.
The successful commissioning of the Zhahanuo'er 350,000-ton green-powered aluminum project marks a pivotal step in Tongliao’s effort to lead the low-carbon transformation of the coal-powered aluminum industry—not only in the city's north but across the entire Eastern Inner Mongolia region. The project has boosted the total electrolytic aluminum capacity of the Huolinhe Circular Economy Industrial Cluster to 1.21 million tons and expanded the installed capacity of new energy sources to 1.7 million kilowatts—accounting for 48.57% of the total installed capacity. This represents a solid stride toward transforming traditional resource-based industries into high-end, intelligent, and green sectors. "The Zhahanuoer Green-Power Aluminum Project has an annual electricity consumption of 4.65 billion kilowatt-hours and utilizes green electricity on a massive scale. Upon completion, it will become a 'green-power aluminum' production line with a high proportion of green energy usage, marking a significant milestone in the aluminum industry chain's transformation and upgrade from 'coal-power aluminum' to 'green-power aluminum,'" said Liu Xiaodong, Deputy Director of the Management Committee of the Tongliao Zaruite Industrial Park. "The project will deliver environmental benefits by reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 1.2 million tons annually—an amount equivalent to the carbon sequestration of 30,000 hectares of forest over a full year, or the complete neutralization of the annual residential carbon emissions of a medium-sized county with a population of 80,000 to 100,000."
Since the 1990s, Tongliao City has leveraged the open-pit lignite resources of Huolinhe to develop its coal-power-aluminum industry. Over the past three decades, it has established an aluminum-based new materials industrial cluster centered on the "lignite–power generation–electrolytic aluminum–downstream aluminum processing" value chain. Today, the region is accelerating the implementation of a new circular economy paradigm: "coal–new energy–electricity–aluminum."
As a demonstration zone for industrial relocation in Eastern Inner Mongolia, Tongliao is witnessing rapid industrial growth. Across the Horqin region, one can see the continuous extension of aluminum industry chains. Interconnected sub-chains—such as "primary aluminum–aluminum alloy–precision die-casting," "primary aluminum–aluminum alloy–precision profile processing," "primary aluminum–high-purity aluminum–precision aluminum foil processing," and "primary aluminum–ultrafine aluminum powder–high-end aluminum silver paste"—are driving the local economy's transformation and development.
With a developable wind and solar energy capacity of nearly 60 million kilowatts, Tongliao serves as a national-level base for wind power (at the 10-million-kilowatt scale) and photovoltaic power (at the million-kilowatt scale). To date, the city has completed the installation of 16.1 million kilowatts of new energy capacity. Since the start of the 14th Five-Year Plan period, Tongliao City has seen continuous growth in its renewable energy installed capacity. The city has added 10.21 million kilowatts of capacity, bringing its total power generation capacity to 25.46 million kilowatts, with new energy sources accounting for 63.22% of the total.
To further accelerate its development as a demonstration city for a modern energy economy and to advance the construction of the Eastern Inner Mongolia Demonstration Zone for Undertaking Industrial Relocation, Tongliao is actively promoting the coordinated development of green energy and industry. The city is implementing "tailored strategies for individual enterprises" to facilitate the switch to green electricity and drive the green transformation of traditional industries—such as aluminum, nickel, and silicon—while attracting industrial projects that are sensitive to electricity prices and favor green power.
"Currently, Tongliao’s electrolytic aluminum industry has secured 4.95 million kilowatts of new energy capacity, with 3.28 million kilowatts already installed. We are actively planning electrochemical and pumped-storage energy projects, accelerating the construction of incremental distribution network projects, and implementing green power supply initiatives within these networks. As a result, the average end-user electricity price within these incremental distribution networks has dropped by 15% to 27%," said Shan Lianheng, Party Secretary and Director of the Tongliao Municipal Bureau of Industry and Information Technology. Looking ahead, Tongliao will continue to deepen the transition to green electricity and drive high-quality green development across all industries, contributing the "Tongliao Experience" to the nation's industrial green transformation.
