SHENZHEN, CHINA – On September 16, on the occasion of the Fourth China Quality Conference, the “Symposium on the Quality Assurance System and Testing Technology for Off-grid Solar Products” jointly organized by the World Bank Group’s Lighting Global Project Team, Shenzhen Municipal Administration of Market Supervision and Shenzhen Technology University was held. The event was part of the “Shenzhen Quality Month” series of activities. Russell Sturm, Global Head of Energy Access at World Bank Group’s IFC and “Father of Lighting Global”, Li Zhong, Secretary of the Leading Party Members’ Group and Director of the Shenzhen Municipal Administration of Market Supervision, and Ruan Shuangchen, President of Shenzhen Technology University, participated in the symposium and delivered speeches, while Chen Zeyong, Vice President of Shenzhen Academy of Metrology & Quality Inspection, hosted the symposium. The symposium attracted more than 20,000 online participants from relevant enterprises and social organizations.

In a congratulatory letter to the Fourth China Quality Conference, His Excellency Xi Jinping, the General Secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the Chinese President, said, “Quality is an important guarantee for production and life for humanity. China is willing to work with all countries to strengthen international cooperation on quality, jointly promote quality reform and innovation, promote quality infrastructure connectivity, and make contributions to promoting global economic development and creating a better future for humanity.” The symposium closely followed this theme, bringing new impetus to improving the quality of off-grid solar products and promoting the healthy development of the global off-grid solar industry.

Director Li Zhong said that the collision of ideas from all sides at the symposium will enhance the willingness and ability of suppliers to apply the relevant international standards, and to drive the relevant products to the international market with standards as the first step. In the future, Shenzhen will participate in international standardization cooperation in this field in more diversified forms, to promote high-quality development with standards and help “Made in China” go global.

President Ruan Shuangchen mentioned that the needs of industrial development guides talent training, and he hoped that an exchange platform will be established through this symposium to accurately connect school education and enterprise demand, and to promote the building of talents in the field of off-grid solar energy in China.

According to Russell Sturm, the establishment of Lighting Global Quality Assurance has regularized the international off-grid solar product market and protected the rights and interests of consumers and enterprises. The adoption of the Lighting Global Quality Standards as international standards by the IEC, the release of the Chinese version of the corresponding international standards, and the adoption of these standards by the market-leading Chinese industry, are all important milestones for the development of the off-grid solar industry.

During the symposium, experts from the Schatz Energy Research Center of Humboldt State University, the World Bank Group’s Lighting Global initiative and Shenzhen Academy of Metrology & Quality Inspection shared their views on the quality assurance system framework, quality requirements and testing methods of the VeraSol program (a continuation of the Lighting Global Quality Assurance service).

Lighting Global is the World Bank Group’s platform to support sustainable growth of the international off-grid solar market as a means of rapidly increasing energy access to the 1.5 billion people living without reliable grid electricity. For more than a decade, the program has built a mature global off-grid solar industry ecosystem, becoming a bridge for off-grid solar enterprises to the international market. China is a major producer of off-grid solar energy, and most of the off-grid solar products in the global market are produced in China. This symposium has raised awareness and understanding of the World Bank’s Lighting Global Quality Standards among those involved in off-grid solar products in China, helping Chinese manufacturers to produce products that meet the Lighting Global Quality Standards, thus contributing to solving and improving the problem of lack of electricity in poor areas around the world, and accelerating the achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

A recording of the symposium is available on our YouTube channel. The Lighting Global and VeraSol portions of the program are between timestamps 11:15 and 57:00 and between 1:50:00 and 2:11:00.

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About Lighting Global

Lighting Global is the World Bank Group’s initiative to rapidly increase access to off-grid solar energy for the 840 million people living without electricity worldwide. Lighting Global – managed by IFC and the World Bank – works with manufacturers, distributors, governments, and other development partners to build and grow the modern off-grid solar energy market. Our programs are funded with support from ESMAP, The Public-Private Infrastructure Advisory Facility (PPIAF), The Netherlands’ Ministry of Foreign Affairs, The Italian Ministry for the Environment, Land, and Sea (IMELS), and the IKEA Foundation. For more information, please visit www.lightingglobal.org.

About Shenzhen Technology University

With approval of the Ministry of Education, Shenzhen Technology University (SZTU) was established by Guangdong provincial and Shenzhen municipal governments on 30, November, 2018, aiming to build a leading applied science university with world-class, high-level and exemplary features. Drawing on valuable experiences from the world-class applied science universities such as German and Swiss peers, we at SZTU embrace the educational philosophy of “Artisan Spirit and Humanity” focusing on cultivating high-quality talents such as excellent engineers and designers with international perspectives, expertise and innovative power through four-year university degree or above education.For more information, please visit: www.sztu.edu.cn.

About Shenzhen Academy of Metrology & Quality Inspection

Shenzhen Academy of Metrology & Quality Inspection (SMQ) was founded in 1985 by Shenzhen municipal government authorized by the State Administration for Market Regulation. Serving as an legal metrological verification and product quality inspection institute, we at SMQ provides technical services covering instruments and devices verification and calibration, products testing, products certification, supply-chain quality assurance testing, technical consultation and training for various enterprises and companies. For more information, please visit: www.smq.com.cn.

This update was originally posted on the Lighting Global website.