CINESME sits in the Liangjiang Collaborative Innovation Zone in the Liangjiang New Area in Chongqing. [Photo by Lan Tian]

The Chongqing Institute of New Energy Storage Materials and Equipment (CINESME) on Saturday announced its global talent recruitment program and a total of six demonstration projects in relevant sectors.

The recruitment scheme has set up four hiring categories, to invite academics and experts from abroad to join the new institute. Candidates will be assessed mainly on their scientific research capabilities, academic achievements and professional growth potential.

Qualified candidates will be offered a place in the institute with handsome compensation and benefits, such as a salary of up to 1.8 million yuan ($252,500), start-up funding of up to 3 million yuan, as well as other financial and non-financial incentives.

The institute, inaugurated in May, expects to hire 400 people by 2025, specializing in energy storage materials and equipment.

CINESME is the first national-level scientific research platform in China's energy storage industry. It focuses on sectors such as hydrogen storage materials, magnesium-ion batteries, metal-air batteries, storage equipment, other new batteries and the management and security of storage systems.

The institute carries out technology research and development and promotes the commercialization of scientific and technological achievements. 

The institute presented six demonstration projects to be carried out. These include a solid hydrogen refueling station project, a solid hydrogen storage and transport vehicle project, an integrated purification of hydrogen-as-by-product project, a distributed energy storage (DES) project, the magnesium-based energy storage project in Guangyang Island, and the magnesium battery project in Qingyang County of Anhui province.

Magnesium is regarded as being key to the future development of the energy storage industry. It serves an important role in upgrading the key materials and technologies in the sector, according to Wang Jingfeng, the executive director of the institute.

New energy storage is acknowledged as being crucial to China's energy transition and offers strong support to achieving the country's peak carbon and carbon neutrality targets.

The institute, jointly established by Chongqing University and the Liangjiang New Area in southwest China's Chongqing municipality, aims to support the development of the local new energy storage industry by gathering resources and making technological breakthroughs.

The new area released a plan for new energy storage development earlier this year, highlighting the establishment of an innovation system, an industrial cluster, pilot projects, large-scale development and a management mechanism. So far, a dozen projects in the industry have been located there.