Honeywell's Shanghai research institute to boost green, digital development

Ti Gong

Honeywell, a Fortune 500 industrial giant, announced the opening of a research institute for smart buildings in Shanghai, fitting well with China's long-term strategies on green and sustainable development and intelligent operation.

Honeywell is the latest multinational firm to expand and set up its regional headquarters and research institute in Shanghai this year as the city starts to recover after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Honeywell's new Shanghai smart building research institute will focus on five areas, namely, building Internet of Things, energy saving, flexible energy use, digital intelligence operation and cross-system integration.

In China, it will collaborate with leading domestic companies like Tencent to jointly enhance digitalization and sustainability efforts in the buildings industry, said William Yu, president of Honeywell China.

"The local research institute will enable us to promote both a sustainable and digital transformation and drive indigenous innovation tailored to local customer needs," Yu said.

About 60 percent of Honeywell's new product introduction research and development investment is directed toward products that improve environmental and social outcomes for customers, he added.

In February, a batch of 20 regional headquarters and 10 R&D centers of multinational enterprises, including Honeywell, was awarded official certificates in Shanghai.

Even during the COVID-19 pandemic, the American conglomerate continued to increase its investment and expand production in China and Shanghai.

Besides Shanghai, Honeywell is seeking investment opportunities in tier-2 cities like Changsha, Wuhan and Suzhou, Yu said.