China's Energy Giants Embrace AI Revolution: DeepSeek Transforms 11 State Energy Leaders

This article is republished with permission from NE-Salon(新能荟).

source: NE-Salon新能荟

As of February 17, eleven major Chinese energy and power state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and their subsidiaries—including State Grid, China Southern Power Grid, China Energy Investment Corporation, State Power Investment Corporation, China Huadian, China Huaneng, China General Nuclear Power Group, China National Nuclear Corporation, PetroChina, Sinopec, and CNOOC—have announced the integration of the domestically developed DeepSeek large language model into their AI platforms. This comprehensive AI mobilization across power, oil and gas, and nuclear energy sectors signals China's formal entry into an era of profound transformation through the integration of large language models with physical industries.

source: NE-Salon新能荟

*Note: Implementation timelines for some companies were not specified. The data above was compiled from public reports and may not be exhaustive.*

 
As the first domestic large language model deeply tailored to the energy industry, DeepSeek has addressed three major pain points:

First, breakthrough in complex decision-making. DeepSeek has transcended traditional AI's single-point optimization to enable systematic decision-making for cross-regional power grid dispatching, oil and gas field development planning, and nuclear power plant safety assessments, improving overall efficiency by over 30%.

 

Second, multimodal integration.** DeepSeek has consolidated diverse information sources including geological data, equipment acoustic signatures, and satellite imagery. This has enhanced PetroChina's exploration efficiency by 40% and enabled Sinopec to achieve 98% accuracy in equipment failure early warning systems.

 

Third, knowledge-driven evolution. DeepSeek incorporates over 2 million energy industry knowledge graph entries, allowing Huaneng Group to forecast wind farm power generation with less than 3% error and helping State Power Investment Corporation improve photovoltaic energy utilization by 25%.

 

"This represents not merely a technological substitution but a cognitive revolution," stated the digitalization director at China Energy Investment Corporation. Large language models are restructuring energy companies' decision-making frameworks, transitioning from "experience-driven" to "data and knowledge dual-driven" approaches.

 

In practical applications, DeepSeek is helping enterprises reshape their industrial ecosystems. China Southern Power Grid has implemented an AI inspection system that achieves a 99.5% defect identification rate for transmission lines, completing the intelligent transformation from "humans finding faults" to "faults finding humans."

 

State Grid has leveraged large language models to build a "source-grid-load-storage" coordination platform that consumed over 1.3 trillion kilowatt-hours of renewable energy in 2023 while ensuring safety, economic efficiency, and environmental protection—equivalent to reducing carbon emissions by 450 million tons.

 

China Huadian has established an intelligent asset management system covering 28,000 pieces of equipment, improving spare parts inventory turnover by 50%. China National Nuclear Corporation has implemented AI quality inspection across the entire nuclear fuel component manufacturing process, approaching a 100% yield rate. This lifecycle management of trillion-yuan assets significantly enhances enterprise operational precision.

 

As one Chinese Academy of Engineering academician observed: "While the global community is still discussing how AI might change energy, China has already entered a new phase of 'redefining energy through AI.'"

 

Conclusion

The collective action of these eleven energy SOEs reveals a clear signal: AI is no longer merely a supplementary tool but a strategic asset determining future influence in the energy sector. The endpoint of this transformation may be a new energy civilization characterized by zero carbon emissions, intelligence, and sustainability—with China positioning itself as its architect.