Baidu and China Huaneng Group Co., Ltd. recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) aimed at driving the intelligent transformation of the energy industry. As a leading AI company with a strong Internet foundation, Baidu will leverage its capabilities in AI-powered new infrastructure to help Huaneng closely integrate the digital economy with the energy and power industry, which will enhance efficiencies and users’ experience.
Under the terms of the MoU, Baidu and Huaneng will pursue a multi-faceted partnership encompassing information technology, digital technology, and other related areas. The two companies will jointly develop a new generation automated and intelligent financial shared services platform, as well as cooperate to apply AI and big data technologies to the energy and power field. Additionally, the partnership will strive to provide society with energy-related data services that are more digitized, intelligent, and connected to the Internet, which will drive the intelligent upgrading of China’s energy industry.
The partnership aligns with Baidu’s long-standing investments in AI technologies, cloud computing, and big data capabilities, which aim to help various industries—including energy, transportation, education, and finance—undergo intelligent transformations, which will culminate in a fully intelligent economy and society.
China’s economy is turning to the direction of high-quality development, and AI is a new kinetic energy and new engine that will drive this high-quality development, said Haifeng Wang, Chief Technology Officer of Baidu. Since the energy industry is such an important part of the national economy, the degree of its intelligent construction is directly related to the state of the economy and the level of intelligent transformation of society.
It is hoped that Huaneng will give fully play to its leading position in the energy industry and its advantages in a wide range of industry scenarios, and Baidu will make full use of its technological advantages in AI, big data, and cloud computing to strengthen all-round cooperation and support the digital and intelligent upgrading of the energy industry, Wang said.
Since its establishment, Baidu has always been committed to environmental protection through technological innovation, as well as by using efficient and clean energy sources for the company’s operations. For example, the Baidu Yangquan Cloud Computing Center uses AI to reduce its environmental impact, such as through intelligent power supply and cooling systems, thus saving more energy while maintaining high-performance operations.
Baidu AI Cloud also delivers intelligent energy solutions to the energy industry. At present, it has reached strategic cooperation agreements with leading energy companies such as State Grid. Baidu is working with these partners to digitize and intelligently transform processes like energy production and electricity dispatching management to provide users with more efficient, cleaner, and lower-carbon energy services.
In the future, Baidu will support Huaneng as it builds a financial shared services center by developing a next generation automated and intelligent financial shared services platform, with the aim of creating an integrated digital system for finance. Additionally, Baidu will help develop a platform for independent and free exchanges of energy data, a professional-level database for the industry, and a modern energy SaaS (software as a service) system to better serve society.
Baidu AI Cloud has a unique competitive advantage for its integration of cloud computing and AI technologies, allowing Baidu to bring the power of AI to companies from a wide range of industries. Baidu AI Cloud hopes to join hands with more energy industry partners to accelerate the construction of smart energy systems and rapidly deploy new infrastructure to a cleaner and more intelligent energy future.
