The Shuimu Mengdian Carbon Neutralization Demonstration Plant Project is a major project approved by the Henan Provincial Development and Reform Commission in 2021. It is jointly invested and constructed by Henan Mengdian Group and Beijing Shuimu Jiutian Technology Co., Ltd., a modern agricultural enterprise with the background of Tsinghua University. The two parties established Shuimu Mengdian Carbon-rich Agricultural Technology Co., Ltd. as the carrier, combining the waste heat and carbon dioxide generated by Mengdian Group's thermal power generation with the Shuimu Vegetable Plant, using the photosynthesis of crops to fix carbon dioxide into organic matter, and realize the neutralization of agricultural carbon dioxide.
The first phase of the Shuimu Mengdian Carbon Neutralization Demonstration Factory Project covers an area of over 3 hectares and has an investment of 210 million RMB. The project is divided into four parts: a carbon-rich technology innovation center, a carbon-rich vegetable factory, an energy island, and a microalgae factory.
The carbon dioxide and waste heat generated by thermal power generation enter the vegetable factory after being processed by the "energy island" and are converted into nutrients for increasing plant production and quality. It has achieved agricultural carbon sequestration and carbon saving while greatly increasing production. Through the intelligent and precise control of water, light, gas, fertilizer, and heat, the factory area realizes continuous production throughout the year. The output of tomatoes and cucumbers is 50 times that of the open field, and the average annual output value per hectare exceeds 7500,000 RMB. The comprehensive benefits of carbon sequestration and carbon saving far exceed that of forests.
According to Wang Xiaoqing, general manager of Henan Shuimu Mengdian Carbon-rich Agricultural Technology Co., Ltd., the solidification of one hectare of land here is equivalent to the carbon sequestration capacity of 22.5 hectares of primeval forest in the south, which can make the ecology more perfect while developing the economy.
The production of crops through carbon dioxide has not only changed the traditional agricultural model of relying on the weather for production and explored the realization of green, low-carbon, cyclical and regenerative agricultural production methods but also stimulated the growth potential of crops through scientific and technological means to achieve high-yield results. Wang Xiaoqing told reporters: "We use the heat in the factory to increase the temperature in winter and cool down in summer, so as to complete its continuous production throughout the year, and the planting density is higher, so its output is over 50 times higher than that of the open-field."
Source: PlantFactory