Ulsan to study China's offshore wind, autonomous driving industries

Ulsan plans to visit Chinese cities known for their offshore wind and autonomous vehicle industries to study best practices and explore ways to apply them locally, including opportunities for regional businesses to participate in cooperation.

Mayor Kim Sang-uk will travel to Zhongshan, Yangjiang and Shenzhen in China's Guangdong Province from Thursday to Sunday with local business leaders to examine trends in floating offshore wind, eco-friendly hydrogen industries and urban autonomous driving services. The trip was arranged at the invitation of MingYang Smart Energy, a leading Chinese wind power company that visited Ulsan in September.

On Thursday, the first day of the visit, the delegation will tour MingYang's headquarters in Zhongshan to review the company's offshore wind technology and water electrolysis development. The group will also explore ways to build a green hydrogen industrial ecosystem linked to the floating offshore wind project under development off the Ulsan coast, as well as avenues for local companies to join the supply chain.

MingYang is one of China's leading wind power companies, developing and manufacturing ultra-large offshore wind turbines and floating offshore wind installations. The company has drawn particular attention for its 16.6-megawatt floating offshore wind unit, OceanX, which it has been operating on a demonstration basis in Yangjiang waters, and for its proprietary hydrogen production technology using water electrolysis.

The delegation will meet with MingYang executives to discuss technology cooperation in large-scale floating offshore wind and ways for Ulsan companies to engage with China in marine structures, equipment and hydrogen. The group will also meet with Huang Ning, acting mayor of Zhongshan, to discuss cooperation in new energy industries including offshore wind and hydrogen.

On Friday, the delegation will visit Yangjiang to tour its offshore wind complex and meet with Mayor Yu Jinfu. Yangjiang is a hub for the offshore wind industry, integrating wind farms, turbine and component manufacturers, testing and research institutions, and port and logistics functions. Ulsan officials plan to study how the city's wind farm development feeds into a broader industrial structure encompassing manufacturing, equipment supply, and transportation and installation services, as well as how the local government supports businesses in the sector.

On Saturday, the delegation will visit Shenzhen to tour the exhibition hall of Baidu, the internet and AI technology company often called "China's Google," and review the current operations of its autonomous taxi service. The city plans to use insights from how autonomous driving technology functions as a real urban service to advance its "AX Nexus Ulsan" initiative, which aims to establish the city as a hub for AI transformation in urban environments.