The semi-finals of the 2022 Mingyue Lake International Innovation & Entrepreneurship Competition recently concluded in Liangjiang New Area, which saw more than 10 of the top 60 teams engaging in the auto industry.

The competition takes place in the Liangjiang Collaborative Innovation Zone, where some world-class institutes and universities are located. [Photo provided to english.liangjiang.gov.cn]

As a key base for the auto industry in Chongqing, Liangjiang New Area is building an industrial cluster worth a trillion yuan. So far, a total of 10 car manufacturers and more than 200 core parts companies have set up operations in the area, producing 2.4 million cars annually.

The Mingyue Lake International Innovation & Entrepreneurship Competition was endorsed by the local government in the new area to attract promising teams and projects focusing on technological innovation, with financial support of up to 100 million yuan ($14.21 million) as well as a series of favorable policies. Winning teams and projects are expected to boost the local industry through technological innovation.

The healthy business ecosystem in the new area is believed to be an attractive factor for the teams engaging in the auto industry.

One high-capacity full-cell project specializes in the R&D and manufacturing of hydrogen batteries. The company has several projects in the new area established in cooperation with local auto and logistics companies. It is one of the top 10 players in the sector in China and is in urgent need of commercialization, which the company hopes to achieve through the competition, according to a senior official from the company.

"We are considering setting up our headquarters and R&D center in the new area," the senior official said. He believes Chongqing holds a promising future for the hydrogen and full-cell industry, and the new area is an ideal investment destination thanks to its strong auto industry base and many application scenarios.

Shenzhen Yuntong Technology is a semiconductor design company specializing in the localization and replacement of automotive-grade IGBTs. It is the world's first manufacturer of the six-in-one PIM MOSFET for cars and has been working to tackle the difficulty caused by the lack of chips in the auto industry.

The company moved its headquarters and manufacturing base to Liangjiang. According to the general manager of the company, one of the key reasons lies in the competitive industrial ecosystem and industrial cluster in the new area, which covers all production categories, provides a complete industrial chain and offers robust industrial services.

As the first national pilot zone for the Internet of vehicles (IOV) in west China, Liangjiang was able to attract several leading players in the field to participate in the competition by relying on its favorable policies, abundant application scenarios, and more than 20 institutes engaging in relevant sectors.

One of the participating teams is an IOV service provider that specializes in the R&D and manufacturing of V2X products. The high-tech company targets the key technologies and services in new-generation Intelligent transportation system applications and intelligent networked vehicles.

The company is the national leader in terms of the shipment of V2X products and has expanded business to more than 20 cities. It serves 1.14 million cars as the carrier of China's first V2X mass production project,

The new area has a unique geographic location, abundant application scenarios, and a strong industrial base, according to the official in charge of the project. The company is looking to achieve enriched, scaled, and commercialized utilization of smart infrastructure and intelligent connected cars based on the scenarios in Liangjiang, and eventually meet the needs of the public, government, and industrial development, the official added.