Sichuan Grand Wu Han: Exploring the road to green and low-carbon development

Sichuan Grande Technology Co., Ltd. has been deeply involved in high-power LED lighting for nearly two decades. It has always taken high-power LED lighting as the core, contracted energy management as the link, and "dual carbon" and smart cities as the direction, and has embarked on a green development path of "hard technology, flexible model, stable implementation, and long-term benefits". Recently, we had an exclusive interview with Wu Han, the company's chief engineer, to hear him talk about Grande's past, present and future, and to see how this company turns a street lamp into an important fulcrum for the city's low-carbon transformation.

Past: Starting from a lamp, achieving the ultimate in technology

Wu Han recalled that the starting point of Grande came from a deep insight into the pain points of traditional lighting. At the beginning of this century, urban road lighting was dominated by high-pressure sodium lamps, which had problems such as low light efficiency, high energy consumption, short life, frequent maintenance, and mercury pollution, which placed a considerable burden on the finances. For this reason, Grande has anchored the high-power LED energy-saving lighting track since its establishment, and set "high light efficiency, long life, and intelligence" as its product genes.

In terms of technology, the company's R&D team, led by Dr. Tan Guoyi, made independent breakthroughs in the entire chain from power supply design, chip packaging to intelligent control. It took more than ten years to complete four generations of product iterations, forming a core technology platform for LED multi-core simulation systems to overcome stubborn industry problems such as high-temperature light decay. Data shows that the overall light efficiency of its high-power LED street lamps in 2019 reached 218lm/W, far exceeding the general level of the industry; the lamp life span exceeds 50,000 hours, which is more than 10 times that of traditional sodium lamps. The 10-year light decay rate is less than 4%, and can adapt to extreme environments.

Excellent technology has earned market recognition. Grande has won more than 50 national patents, was shortlisted for the semiconductor lighting demonstration projects of three national ministries, and was rated as a national high-tech enterprise. Its multi-core technology was awarded the National Torch Plan Industrialization Demonstration Project. Wu Han emphasized that the company not only makes lamps, but also provides systematic energy-saving solutions. In response to the issue of the funding threshold for municipal renovation, Grande adopts the energy management contract (EMC) model, in which the enterprise bears the entire initial process costs, and the government pays in installments with energy-saving benefits, achieving "zero-investment renovation and long-term carbon reduction."

Technology + model innovation allowed Grande to quickly open up the national market. Benchmark projects such as Chongqing Qijiang and Chengdu Xihang Port were implemented. The power saving rate generally exceeded 70%, and the lighting rate remained above 98%. It won the recognition of three parties and laid the foundation for subsequent comprehensive energy service operations.

Now: technology + engineering + finance, the trinity lights up the city's low-carbon road

Today, with the technology empowerment of Sichuan Grande, Chengdu Grande Integrated Energy Service Co., Ltd. has grown into a comprehensive service provider integrating scheme design, project implementation, and carbon accounting, forming a complete ecosystem of "technology research and development + project implementation + financial guarantee", and becoming one of the preferred partners for municipal lighting energy-saving renovation. Wu Han summarized the current development with "stable technology, stable implementation, and stable benefits."

Technological stability is now reflected in intelligent upgrades. The product is equipped with a fully digital intelligent control module, which can be infinitely dimmed, remotely monitored, and dynamically adjusted according to light and human flow. The independent LoRa module enables single light control, seamlessly connects to the smart city platform, and collects energy consumption data in real time to adapt to the "Carbon Emission Accounting Guidelines for Public Institutions" implemented in April 2026.

The stable implementation comes from collaboration with leading institutions such as China Communications Construction Company No. 1 Public Hospital. Relying on its planning and design advantages, LED smart lighting and EMC modes are expanded to waterfront spaces, high-speed tunnels and other scenarios. After renovation in Qijiang District, Chongqing, the illumination doubled and the energy saving rate was 73%; the high-speed tunnel renovation solved the dazzling problem and the energy saving rate exceeded 70%, promoting the low-carbon transformation of transportation infrastructure.

Stable benefits and a win-win situation for the government, enterprises and the people. For the government, carbon reduction assessments can be completed with zero financial pressure; for cities, it can improve lighting quality and brand image to ensure the safety of night travel; for enterprises, it can achieve sustainable development with stable energy-saving income. Calculated based on 100,000 street lights in a medium-sized city, replacing Grande products will save more than 75 million kilowatt hours of electricity per year, reduce carbon emissions by more than 25,000 tons, and be green and environmentally friendly throughout the life cycle.

The future: From lighting service provider to urban low-carbon operator

Standing at a new starting point in 2026, with the implementation of the "Carbon Emission Accounting Guidelines for Public Institutions", high-power LED lighting and comprehensive energy services will usher in a golden period. Wu Han made it clear that Grande will closely follow the trends of efficiency, intelligence, and multi-functionality and upgrade from a "street light provider" to a new urban low-carbon infrastructure operator.

In the future, Grande will accelerate the application of third-generation semiconductor technology to further improve street lighting efficiency and reduce energy consumption by more than 15%; it will integrate wind and solar storage and lighting to transform street lights from "power-consuming terminals" into "green power-generating units." At the same time, it fully integrates 5G and IoT technologies to achieve precise control of individual lights, and the intelligent platform is connected to the carbon accounting system to help digital upgrades of urban management. In addition, we promote the implementation of multi-functional smart light poles and integrate charging piles, 5G micro base stations and other functions to achieve "multiple poles in one" and serve refined urban management.

Wu Han revealed that the company will focus on the three major directions of global municipal lighting renovation, transportation infrastructure low-carbon lighting, and comprehensive energy value-added services in the next step to create full-chain solutions. "We need to go deep, thorough, and long-term to accompany the city's green growth and turn every ray of light into a driving force for low-carbon development." He said that Grande will adhere to its original intention of "investigating things to gain knowledge and be virtuous in the world" and illuminate the city's low-carbon future with ultimate technology, honest service, and responsibility.