China News Service, Yidu, Hubei, October 23, Title: Yichang, Hubei: "Electrifying the Yangtze River" from blueprint to reality
Reporters Guo Xiaoying Dong Xiaobin
On October 23, welding flowers splashed in the Yichang Industrial Investment (Yidu) Green Intelligent Ship Industrial Park, and the roar of machines was intertwined with the sound of river waves lapping the shore. On the slipway, the main structure of a new energy cargo ship customized for a Dutch shipowner has been completed and will be delivered into the river in November.
This is one of the core projects in Yichang’s “Electrified Yangtze River” layout. Equipped with internationally leading intelligent equipment and the country's first reverse-pull drainage system. It is understood that enterprises in the park have more than 50 orders on hand, and the production plan has been scheduled to 2028. A green intelligent ship industry chain is accelerating in the middle and upper reaches of the Yangtze River.
"We rely on the advantages of the golden waterway of the Yangtze River and the green power of the Three Gorges to open up the supporting chain of hull, battery, electronic control and shore power to create an influential electric ship intelligent manufacturing base in the middle and upper reaches of the Yangtze River." Yidu High-tech Zone Green Intelligent Ship Industrial Park Coordination Office According to Zeng Fanjin, the person in charge of the park, the park has laid out ship assembly, battery charging and swapping facilities, and "three power" supporting sectors, and built an intelligent production line that can mass-produce zero-emission pure electric cruise ships, official boats, and battery-swapping electric cargo ships. The products are widely favored by domestic and overseas markets.
In addition to shipbuilding, Yichang is using industrial parks as a carrier to promote clustering and clustering, forming an industrial space carrying system with clear division of labor and efficient collaboration.
In the upstream of the industrial chain, Yichang relies on local lithium battery production capacity to support the "three power" systems of marine batteries, electronic controls, and electric propulsion; in the midstream, Yidu Green Intelligent Ship Industrial Park is used as a platform, and enterprises are responsible for ship design, segmented construction, and final assembly testing; downstream, port shore power and battery exchange terminals are simultaneously constructed, and shipping entities are linked to carry out operational demonstrations of electric ship passenger transport, freight, and waterborne official services, forming a complete industrial closed loop.
The development of green ships in Yichang is not an isolated proposition, but an interlocking link between Yangtze River ecological protection and industrial transformation. Currently, 179 sets of shore power facilities are deployed in 71 terminals in the city. The cumulative usage of shore power in the Yichang section of the Yangtze River has exceeded 75 million kilowatt hours, equivalent to 17,000 tons of alternative fuel. Shore power, new energy ships and ecological restoration are advancing simultaneously, making the "electrified Yangtze River" from a blueprint to a reality.
Led by electric ships, Yichang is building a new multi-functional collaborative green shipping pattern. The four major shipbuilding parks in Yidu, Zhijiang, Zigui, and Changyang are developing in a staggered manner. Electricity, hydrogen, and gas are advancing in parallel. There are more than 230 ship orders in the city, and new energy ships account for more than 75%. It is expected that by the end of 2026, the output value of Yichang's new energy ship manufacturing industry chain will reach 5 billion yuan, with an annual output of more than 100 green smart ships.
From cracking the "chemical encirclement of the river" and vacating the shoreline to cultivating a green smart ship industry on the river bank, Yichang has completed a relay from "pollution control" to "green use" on the Yangtze River's golden waterway.
