Recently, the "Sus AIDC Joint Exploration of the Business Value of Data Centers in the Era of Artificial Intelligence" themed salon, jointly organized by the Shanghai Overseas Economic and Technological Promotion Association (referred to as the "Association") and HK-AITRI, was successfully held in Shanghai. Representatives from upstream and downstream enterprises in the data center industry chain, scientific research think tanks, and industrial parks gathered together to have in-depth exchanges on the evolution path, technological trends, and industrial synergy of data centers driven by AI.
Jiang Keping, Secretary of the Sea Promotion Association, stated in his speech that as a municipal non-profit social organization established in 1988, the Sea Promotion Association has long been committed to the purpose of "using overseas Chinese as a bridge, going global, developing the economy, and building a strong country to enrich the people". It aims to build a platform for economic and technological exchanges at home and abroad, and hopes to rely on the Sea Promotion Association's resource platform to jointly create enterprise and social value in the AI era. Zhang Liqiang, a member of the Sea Promotion Association and a senior think tank member of HK-AITRI, presided over the salon.
Accelerating the evolution of computing power base towards AIDC
Yang Haitao, General Manager of Shenzhen Jinyun Zhixin, shared the capability evolution of the general computing center and AI data center, as well as the technical implementation path of containerized data center products. He pointed out that data centers are an important component of "new infrastructure", and AI is driving the growth of computing power demand. Data centers are accelerating their evolution towards artificial intelligence data centers (AIDCs) with intelligence, integration, security, and greenness. The fourth generation of green intelligent data center products has been launched in 2026, featuring multiple combination delivery solutions such as edge node construction, single cabinet density of 50kW, wind and liquid same source, and mobility. Efficient, flexible, intelligent, and green container data centers have become important product carriers for diverse scenarios.
Clean technology empowers computing infrastructure
Li Xiaoqiang, Business Director of Huakang Clean East China, introduced the business strategy of Huakang Century Clean Technology Co., Ltd. The company was founded in 2008, with clean technology as its core, providing full cycle clean services for hospitals, laboratories, biopharmaceuticals, electronic semiconductors, data centers, food industry and other fields. With computing power becoming the core productivity of the digital economy, Huakang Clean keeps up with the trend of "open computing power ecology" and continues to deepen its cultivation in the field of data center clean technology, empowering high-quality development of computing infrastructure with clean technology.
Building a cloud platform for intelligent computing services throughout the entire chain
Mr. Wu, the supply chain manager of UCloud, introduced the company's business layout and the opportunities and challenges of the AI era data center value chain. Founded in 2012, Youkede is a neutral and secure cloud computing and AI service platform. It independently develops a one-stop intelligent computing service platform for the AI era, covering the full chain requirements from AI model training to inference deployment to AI agent applications. In January 2020, UCloud was listed on the Science and Technology Innovation Board, becoming the first publicly owned cloud based company in China to be listed on the board and the first "same stock, different rights" listed company in the A-share market. At present, the company is building and operating 36 availability zones worldwide, covering 28 regions. It relies on two self built intelligent computing centers, Ulanqab in Inner Mongolia and Qingpu in Shanghai, to build a green and low-carbon digital information infrastructure.
Cabinet system moves towards "power+cooling" standard interface
Mr. Steven Zhao from Xinjinyi Industrial Company gave a systematic and professional technical report on the composition architecture, technological evolution, and development trends of data centers. He pointed out that in the future, AI data center cabinet systems will develop in five directions: high-density, liquid cooling, prefabrication, intelligence, and power supply transformation, ultimately leading to the same goal - cabinets becoming the standard interface for "power+cooling". High density is the goal, liquid cooling and power supply transformation are the means, prefabrication and intelligence are the engineering and operational guarantees.
Collaboration between government, industry, academia, and research to solve implementation challenges
Xiong Xiaofang, General Manager of Wujing Science and Technology Park Management and Development Co., Ltd., introduced Wujing Town, an important innovation carrier in Shanghai's science and technology innovation hub and the Big Zero Bay Science and Technology Innovation Base. Wujing Town has gathered 15 national level innovation platforms and 24 municipal level innovation platforms, with a total of 70 national and industry standards led or participated in by enterprises in its jurisdiction; Collaborate with Shanghai Jiao Tong University to jointly build a concept verification platform, establish a full chain support system of "concept verification incubation acceleration industry landing", cultivate 31 certified professional technical managers, and promote the industrialization landing of more than 20 aviation technology achievements. Through the online carrier of "technology gas station", achieve precise matching of enterprise needs. The attending companies had in-depth discussions with General Manager Xiong Xiaofang on the bottleneck of data center business development. Both sides agreed that in the era of artificial intelligence, the long-term planning and development of enterprise data centers urgently need support and collaboration from government, industry, academia, and research to jointly cope with the transformation and changes.
Shanghai Hong Kong think tank releases AI-ZELCA business development model
Dr. Cao Longjin, co-founder of HK-AITRI, introduced the background and original intention of the establishment of the research institute. The research institute was initiated and established by scholars and industry practitioners who are committed to using AI technology to transform industries. Rooted in Hong Kong, it builds an AI industry laboratory and a collaborative platform between the institute and enterprises, aiming to break down barriers between technology research and development, technological innovation, and industry demand, and create an industrial AI industry university research collaborative innovation platform for the Greater Bay Area.
Dr. Cao Longjun highlighted the AI Industry Laboratory project of the research institute - the application of AI+radiation cooling technology and coating products in low-carbon buildings, and systematically explained the AI-ZELCA business development model that HK-AITRI is building, supported by five core competencies:
Electricity free Cooling Technology (T): a passive cooling technology that does not require electricity, such as radiation cooling, to provide low-carbon cooling sources for industrial heat dissipation, building energy conservation, and urban thermal management;
Lean System Engineering (E): Using lean concepts to coordinate system design, integration, and delivery, improving engineering efficiency and resource utilization;
AI+ESG data service: using AI to achieve measurable, verifiable, and traceable low-carbon materials and operational data, supporting green operations and the implementation of ESG goals;
Zero Carbon Material (Z): Promote the research and application of zero carbon and low-carbon materials, and reduce carbon footprint from the source;
Life Cycle Assessment (LCA): Quantitatively evaluating the environmental benefits of products and solutions from a full lifecycle perspective, providing scientific basis for technology selection and industrialization.
Dr. Cao Longjun stated that the AI-ZELCA model organically integrates five capabilities, forming a closed loop from technology research and development, engineering implementation to carbon efficiency verification, providing a practical path for achieving green operations and ESG goals. Radiation refrigeration technology will play a more systematic role in industrial heat dissipation, building energy conservation, urban thermal management, and other fields. The research institute will continue to promote the integration and innovation of AI and green materials, work together with industry partners to build an efficient, low-carbon, and intelligent thermal management system, and provide technical support and industrialization path for the "dual carbon" goal.
This salon brings together various forces in the data center industry chain, from the evolution of computing infrastructure, clean technology, cloud platform services, cabinet systems to park ecology and think tank collaboration, outlining a complete picture of the business value of data centers in the AI era. All parties attending the meeting expressed that they will take this exchange as an opportunity to deepen the linkage between Shanghai and Hong Kong and the collaboration between government, industry, academia, and research, and jointly promote the high-quality, green, and intelligent development of the data center industry.
Further Reading
The Hong Kong Institute of Artificial Intelligence Technology Development (HK-AITRI) is affiliated with Hong Kong Artificial Intelligence Technology Development Limited and was initiated by a group of scholars and industry practitioners who are committed to transforming industries with AI technology. The research institute is rooted in Hong Kong, building an AI industry laboratory and a collaborative platform between the institute and enterprises, aiming to fill the gaps in the manufacturing innovation system, create a multi-party collaborative innovation carrier, link various enterprises, universities, and government agencies, and jointly promote the high-quality development of advanced manufacturing industries. The research institute focuses on the practical application of physical AI and intelligent agents, and adopts a project-based approach to output research teams and cutting-edge AI technology capabilities, breaking down barriers between technology research and development and industry demand, helping physical enterprises achieve low-cost intelligent upgrades, and creating an industrial AI industry university research collaborative innovation platform for the Greater Bay Area.
SUS AI Data Center is an industry event and media brand focused on the field of AI Data Centers (AIDC). Based on the concept of sustainable development and deep understanding, SUS AIDC connects all parties in the AI data center industry chain through four micro activities - micro research, micro training, micro consulting, and micro public welfare - to promote industrial resource synergy and ecological development.
