Hainan, Wujiang Seawater Desalination Plant.

Accompanied by factory executives, Zhao Ye and his group toured the entire factory.

This seawater desalination plant is quite large, producing 300,000 tons of water per day, which can supply the normal water needs of more than 500,000 people.

However, the cost of seawater desalination is relatively high, at 4 yuan per ton, while the selling price is 3 yuan per ton. Wujiang Seawater Desalination Plant is almost operating at a loss, but fortunately, the government provides subsidies, which can barely make up for the losses.

Moreover, Zhao Ye didn't care about this loss, considering it a small benefit for the people of Hainan.

Hainan has no shortage of water, which is essential for its better and faster development.

The slight losses suffered by the Wujiang desalination plant are negligible compared to the money the entire Wujiang Group earns in Hainan.

It's worth noting that Wujiang Group has invested heavily in tourism development in Hainan Island, generating hundreds of billions in profits annually.

"Chairman Zhao, although our factory is currently operating at a loss, with the improvement of reverse osmosis seawater desalination technology, the cost of seawater desalination will be significantly reduced!"

Xi Botao, the general manager of the desalination plant, spoke up. Although Zhao Ye didn't care whether the desalination plant was losing money or not, as the general manager, Xi Botao couldn't just sit idly by and watch the plant operate at a loss. He also needed to impress Zhao Ye and satisfy him; otherwise, his position as general manager might be insecure.

The boss says it doesn't matter if we lose money, but you can't let the boss keep losing money.

This is when you need to demonstrate your value.

Xi Botao paused for a moment, then continued, "According to our estimates, the cost of seawater desalination will be reduced to about 2.5 yuan! In addition, we are also vigorously researching seawater desalination electrolysis technology and combining it with hydrogen production technology to produce hydrogen using cheap electricity!"

China's vigorous development of solar, wind, and hydropower has led to a significant reduction in electricity costs, laying a solid foundation for hydrogen production.

In particular, offshore solar and wind power generation does not cause environmental pollution and is considered "green electricity".

Green electricity used to produce green hydrogen would be even better.

Hydrogen is a major industrial raw material and one of the most important industrial and specialty gases, with wide applications in petrochemicals, electronics, metallurgy, food processing, float glass, fine organic synthesis, and aerospace. It is also used as a raw material for the synthesis of ammonia, methanol, and hydrochloric acid.

Moreover, hydrogen can also be used as fuel, and hydrogen fuel cells have huge development potential. Otherwise, Japan would not have risked its national destiny to develop hydrogen energy. However, the development of hydrogen energy is quite difficult, and Japan is currently mired in difficulties. But this does not mean that the path of hydrogen production is wrong.

Japan is a small country with scarce resources, making it difficult for it to become a major hydrogen-producing nation. Although Japan currently holds many hydrogen energy patents, it is not impossible for China to catch up. Moreover, China is also working hard to develop hydrogen energy.

Wujiang Group is currently mainly focused on the development of lithium batteries because lithium battery technology is more mature and easier to achieve results.

The rapid development of new energy electric vehicles in China owes much to lithium batteries.

The future prospects of hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles are very promising, that's undeniable, but it will take a long time to develop, and it's unlikely that hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles will become widespread in the next decade or so.

When Zhao Ye heard Xi Botao talk about hydrogen production, he couldn't help but nod in agreement. However, the cost of producing hydrogen after seawater desalination was still relatively high.

The best approach is to produce hydrogen directly from seawater without desalination.

Only when the problems of hydrogen production, storage, and transportation are solved can hydrogen energy be rapidly popularized and applied.

For short-term energy storage, there are lithium batteries, while for long-term energy storage, there is hydrogen storage. As the price of hydrogen produced from renewable energy decreases, the hydrogen storage industry will become increasingly competitive, and market demand will continue to grow.

Zhao Ye was also aware of the importance of hydrogen energy, and thought to himself that Wujiang Group must invest more in hydrogen energy research and development in the future.

Let's get back to the main topic.

Xi Botao continued his explanation, and Zhao Ye's thoughts returned to seawater desalination. With the increasing demand for agricultural, industrial, and residential water use in urban areas, water shortages are becoming increasingly serious, necessitating the implementation of seawater desalination projects in most coastal cities of China.

Upon arriving at the office, Zhao Ye talked for a long time with Xi Botao and other executives of the seawater desalination plant, deciding to invest in building plants in major coastal cities in China to reduce the cost of seawater desalination through large-scale construction and development.

Furthermore, energy consumption is a key factor directly determining the cost of seawater desalination. While significant breakthroughs in current seawater desalination technology are not yet possible, the availability of inexpensive electricity would further reduce the cost of desalination.

Therefore, Zhao Ye decided that while building seawater desalination plants in coastal cities of China, he would also lay offshore photovoltaic power stations and offshore wind power stations.

It's that simple and straightforward. Zhao Ye is confident that he can bring down water prices in less than two years, making it affordable for everyone.

Zhao Ye couldn't help but think of the desalination problem of the Bohai Dam. Not only would water be pumped into the ocean, but a super-large desalination plant would also be built to provide freshwater resources for surrounding cities. This would solve the local water shortage problem and accelerate the desalination speed of the Bohai Sea, killing two birds with one stone.

...

Having finally made it to Hainan, Zhao Ye spent about ten days there before returning to Shanghai.

However, the decision he made was already in the planning stages.

The combined investment in seawater desalination plants, offshore photovoltaic power stations, and offshore wind power stations is enormous, much to the delight of leaders in major coastal cities.

To everyone's surprise, Wujiang Group suddenly made such a large-scale strategic move, which was both delightful and astonishing.

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