As an important old industrial base of the country, Xiangyang has a solid foundation covering 37 major industrial categories. However, it has long faced the predicament of "having industries but lacking leaders, and having chains but lacking loops". When the wave of new energy swept across the world, this old "car city" did not choose to follow the old path of low-end supporting industries. Instead, it resolutely attacked the toughest areas - filling the gaps and strengthening the foundation - forging its own "killer moves" on the differentiated track. 

From the "44-day miracle" of the Chu Neng project to the "giant" all-vanadium liquid flow battery of Long Le Energy Storage; from "enterprises seeking policies" to "services delivered directly to the door"... Xiangyang is making one breakthrough after another, contributing key strength to Hubei's "becoming a fulcrum". What kind of "overcoming-the-odds code" does this old industrial base possess? 

How could a two-story-tall "giant" become a "stabilizer" for the power grid? 

In Xiangyang High-tech Zone, the latest 3,000-kilowatt-hour all-van liquid flow battery energy storage system developed by Longye Energy Storage Technology Hubei Co., Ltd. is a "giant" that measures two floors in height. It can discharge at a power of 500 kilowatts continuously for 6 hours, which can ensure the electricity consumption of a medium-sized factory for the entire day. What's even more astonishing is that it has an extremely long lifespan of 20 years, with tens of thousands of charging and discharging cycles, making it a "powerful tool" for peak load regulation of the power grid. 

If we compare the power battery to the "heart" of new energy, then energy storage can be regarded as the "lung" of the power grid. 

Avoiding the "red sea" of homogenized competition, Xiangyang, leveraging its local chemical industry foundation, has differentiated its layout in the all-vanadium liquid flow battery energy storage sector. To put it simply, this approach is "not seeking to be large or comprehensive; instead, it focuses on perfecting its unique skills to the highest level" - avoiding internal consumption in the "large and comprehensive" direction, and instead, delving deeply into the "special and strong" aspect. 

"The installed capacity of renewable energy in Hubei is the largest among the central provinces, and the market is very broad," said He Fang, the director of the Longdi Energy Storage Office. "Moreover, Xiangyang has a mature industrial base for mechanical processing and power electronics, which can enable the V2G battery industry chain to achieve localized integration in Xiangyang - this combined advantage is very rare across the country." 

From "lagging behind" to "keeping pace", the large-scale energy storage project is leading Xiangyang's energy storage industry to launch a fierce attack on the "leading position". And behind this, there are two key supporting factors - the "Xiangyang speed" achieved in project construction, and the "last mile" of financial services being connected. 

Speed and Assurance: Two Pillars Supporting the Thrust of the Energy Storage Industry 

The rise of an industrial chain requires both the "speed" of project implementation and the "stability" of financial resources. Xiangyang has made efforts in both aspects, thus laying a complete path from signing contracts to production, and from technology to market for large-scale energy storage and other new energy enterprises. 

On the one hand, the project construction has achieved the "Xiangyang speed". Take the Chueng project, which was also established in the High-tech Zone, as an example: it signed the contract in September 2025 and started construction in October. The regular approval and site leveling work that usually takes half a year was completed in just 44 days. "We broke down the prerequisite conditions into 33 specific tasks, scheduled the work in reverse order, and used a visual chart to coordinate the efforts. This made the impossible become possible," said Qiao Junqiang, the deputy director of the Xiangyang High-tech Zone Management Committee. It is precisely this "extremely meticulous" style that has enabled the new energy projects to accelerate in Xiangyang. 

On the other hand, financial services bridge the "last mile". For industries to break through, technology alone is not enough; funds are like "blood", and if circulation is not smooth, even the strongest body will suffer from lack of blood supply. Xiangyang Financing Guarantee Group has optimized the guarantee model for enterprises with light assets, expanded the coverage of credit loans, implemented data-based and fiscal-based credit enhancement, and translated "one enterprise, one policy" into products. "Let enterprises do less running around, obtain loans quickly and at low costs, and truly reduce the burden on business operations," said Jia Yingyao, the deputy general manager of Xiangyang Financing Guarantee Group Co., Ltd. 

From "enterprises seeking policies on their own" to "proactively extending services", from the "44-day miracle" in project approval to the "credit turning into real gold" in financing guarantees - Xiangyang is using speed and services to pave every step for "chain leader" enterprises like Longsheng Energy from technological breakthrough to industrial implementation. This path is about differentiation, relies on hard power, and wins through long-term benefits. On the track of all-vanadium liquid flow batteries, Xiangyang has already set its own pace.