LONGi Unveils Photovoltaic Food Security Solutions at UNCCD COP17

The 17th session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD COP17) opened on August 17 in Ulaanbaatar, the capital of Mongolia. During the conference, LONGi participated in multiple side events and officially released its photovoltaic-powered food security solution. At a side event titled "From Desert to Asset – Integrated Photovoltaic Ecological Restoration Solution," co-hosted by Tsinghua University's School of Social Sciences and the China Green Carbon Foundation, LONGi founder and Chief Technology Officer Li Zhenguo joined via video link. Li recently published a perspective article in the international academic journal Nature Sustainability titled "Photovoltaic Technology for Food Security," outlining two technical paths with practical application prospects.

The first path is photovoltaic-driven artificial synthesis of starch from carbon dioxide. This path uses photovoltaic power to electrolyze water for green hydrogen, which is then coupled with captured carbon dioxide to synthesize green methanol, and subsequently converted into starch through oxidation and polymerization. Compared with the solar energy utilization efficiency of about 2% in natural photosynthesis, this path can raise efficiency to 7% to 10%. Calculations show that deploying photovoltaics on just 3.7% of the Sahara Desert area could generate 26 trillion kilowatt-hours of green electricity, enough to synthesize 3 billion tonnes of food and meet the current food demand of the global population.

The second path is a photovoltaic-driven "energy-water-food" synergy system. By building photovoltaic power stations in desert areas, the shading effect of photovoltaic modules reduces soil water evaporation, improves the soil microclimate, and lowers irrigation demand.

LONGi has already put this into practice in the Kubuqi Desert in Inner Mongolia, China, adopting a model of power generation above the panels, planting below, and breeding between the panels, carrying out ecological restoration and agricultural production under the photovoltaic modules. The theme of this COP17 is "Restoring Land, Rekindling Hope." LONGi participated in multiple side events, exchanging experiences on integrating photovoltaics with desertification control and ecological restoration with government agencies, scientists, and business representatives from around the world.