Research on energy conservation and carbon reduction pathways in public research institution laboratories

Key national laboratories and science and technology infrastructures are core components of China’s scientific and technological innovation system. At the same time, they are one of the primary sources of carbon emissions from public research institutions. To implement the national “Dual Carbon” strategy and promote the green and low-carbon development of public institutions, this study focuses on the main problems of national science and technology infrastructures, which include high energy consumption and concentrated carbon emissions, and conducts a systematic study of their paths toward energy conservation and carbon reduction.

A series of studies were conducted to address the challenges of constructing large, low-carbon laboratories in public research institutions, and solutions based on the findings were proposed. This study examines low-carbon practices in representative high-energy-consumption scenarios, including high-performance computing platforms and major science and technology infrastructures. By combining case studies, particularly that of the Institute of High Energy Physics, it identifies actionable management and technical pathways for promoting low-carbon transitions. Employing a case study approach, the analysis of typical international high-energy particle accelerators reveals their distinctive high energy consumption characteristics and demonstrates that large laboratories in public research institutions currently have relatively limited options for implementing low-carbon technological transformations in their primary energy-consuming systems. Second, the policy and standard benchmarking analysis method is applied to explore the improvement of the evaluation system and standards for constructing low-carbon laboratories. Literature reviews and systematic analysis indicate that large laboratories in public research institutions lag behind in digital transformation and informatization and have not yet exploited policies aimed at reducing carbon emissions and lowering costs.

In view of current research into and practices in developing low-carbon laboratories, this study proposes an integrated four-dimensional strategy for energy conservation and carbon reduction centered on technological upgrading, management optimization, digital empowerment and policy coordination. First, with regard to the main energy-consuming links, high-energy-consumption equipment should be upgraded, and the application of new energy, such as solar power and waste heat recovery, should be promoted. Second, low-carbon management systems should be improved by compiling guidelines for the low-carbon construction of public research institutions and establishing targeted, classified evaluation standards. Third, the role of digital and intelligent empowerment should be strengthened to improve the effectiveness of energy data governance. Fourth, the “fourfold superposition” method should be adopted, including procurement of green power, participation in electricity market-oriented transactions, involvement in carbon emission auctions, and application for energy conservation subsidies, to implement carbon reduction and cost-cutting policies.

Addressing the biggest problems of national science and technology infrastructures, this study provides a systematic and operable implementation framework for energy conservation and carbon reduction in an integrated four-dimensional strategy, which consists of technological upgrading, management optimization, digital empowerment, and policy coordination. This strategy is of theoretical value and is practical for improving the capacity of green governance in scientific research and building an economical scientific research system.