With the rapid development of AI technology, energy consumption is also increasing. Taiwan's semiconductor and other high-tech industries, which are all technology- and energy-intensive, have an international competitive advantage.
And with the rise of global awareness of carbon reduction, low-carbon transformation has become a trend for future industrial development. to find clean or carbon-free energy solutions, countries are competing for talent and resources in various industries. Therefore, the future planning and layout of the energy infrastructure and talent nurturing and retention will be the key to maintaining Taiwan's competitiveness.
Regarding Taoyuan's power supply and industrial development, according to a report by the Taiwan Electrical and Electronic Industries Association, the self-sufficiency rate of Taoyuan's power supply has reached 137.7%, and the Taoyuan City Government has set up a cooperation platform with Taipower since the beginning of 2024 to solve the problem of power transmission through the power grid. Those efforts ensure Taoyuan's capability to maintain a stable power supply while advancing economic development, making it a suitable location for enterprises to invest and grow.
Taoyuan is the youngest city in Taiwan in terms of average age. In 2023, the average age of Taoyuan residents will be 41.64 years old, making it the only major city in Taiwan seeing a growing population. There has been a net influx of nearly 200,000 people in the past 10 years, which symbolizes that Taoyuan has an appeal to young, skilled talents in terms of employment and education.
Taoyuan is also the first city in Taiwan that has responded to the United Nations' goal of Race to Zero emissions. In recent years, it has also promoted relevant policies to help small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Taoyuan to undergo low-carbon transformation, thus creating a win-win situation.
Promotes industry-government-academia cooperation to open up new horizons for talent development
Take Taiwan's semiconductor industry as an example, the industry is inherently talent-, capital-, technology-, and energy-intensive. With the rapid development of AI technology, energy consumption continues to rise. To effectively optimize energy efficiency, it is necessary to rely on talents to advance technological breakthroughs, so the planning and layout of talent nurturing and retaining will become the key to maintaining the competitiveness of the high-tech industry.
In the past, academia in Taiwan was mostly theoretical research, less close cooperation with the industry. Seeing the growing demand for talent in AI technology, Taoyuan launched the industry-government-academia cooperation in AI talent development under its jurisdiction.
The academia joining this alliance includes the National Sun Yat-sen Institute of Science and Technology, National Institute of Atomic Energy Science and Technology, as well as 17 colleges and universities (including branch campuses) such as National Central University, Chung Yuan Christian University, Yuan Ze University, Chang Gung University of Science and Technology, Lung Wah University of Science and Technology, Jian Hsing University of Science and Technology, etc., all of which are the most prestigious universities in Taiwan. Each year, more than 25,000 talented workforces can be trained to work in semiconductor, intelligent logistics, intelligent medical,l and other industries.
NVIDIA has established an AI research center with Chung Yuan Christian University and cooperated with National Central University to cultivate high-tech applied technology talents.
Smart manufacturing to assist Taoyuan's industrial transformation
The development of AI application technology has led to significant growth in Taiwan's electronic components, IC manufacturing, and printed circuit board (PCB) industries, and has also attracted many international manufacturers to set up data centers in Taiwan, most of which are concentrated in Taoyuan. In recent years, the presence of Vantage Data Centers and Microsoft in Taiwan to build large-scale data centers has led to a surge in energy consumption, so the biggest challenge facing Taoyuan is how to help enterprises improve production efficiency and energy efficiency to achieve carbon reduction.
How to help enterprises improve production efficiency and energy efficiency to achieve carbon reduction has become the biggest challenge facing Taoyuan. In order to assist its industries in introducing smart manufacturing to reduce carbon emissions and environmental pollution, Taoyuan has promoted the "Smart Manufacturing and Digital Transformation Pilot Program", and has teamed up with local universities and professional consultants to provide technical support for smart manufacturing and digital transformation to meet the needs of various industries; it has also partnered with Tsinghua University and ChinYeJunShin to set up an "Intelligent Manufacturing Service Center" to assist enterprises in implementing the application of AI technology through one-stop transformation consulting services.
We also collaborated with Tsinghua University and ChinYeZhongXin to establish the Intelligent Manufacturing Service Center, which provides one-stop transformation consulting services to help enterprises implement AI technology applications. In addition, Taoyuan also promotes a subsidy program for energy storage equipment to actively support the energy transformation of various industries and has set up a factory decarbonization counseling group to provide energy-saving, renewable energy, and carbon emission reduction solutions to help small and medium-sized enterprises accelerate decarbonization.
Taoyuan's concentration of talent, convenient transportation, abundant resources, and relatively stable geological conditions have attracted domestic and foreign enterprises to locate in Taoyuan, giving rise to diverse industrial clusters spanning from technology and electronics to chemicals, biotechnology, smart medical care, food, and textiles, promoting the application of new AI products or services in a wide range of fields. To foster the sustainable development of industries in Taoyuan, which has become the core of Asia's logistics and manufacturing industry, connecting with the world will be an important strategy for Taoyuan's future.