The country's first IOT (Internet of Things) innovation center for LNG (liquefied natural gas) and remanufacturing industries was set up in Zhangjiagang, Jiangsu province, on Oct 16.

The center plans to attract technical experts from IBM and train more IT elites in the LNG industry to take a lead in LNG IOT.

By taking advantage of IBM's leading edge technologies in clouding computing and IOT, the center will serve as a platform for IOT data in the LNG industry and provide online services including energy e-commerce, smart logistics and finance.

Currently, the country has more than 3,000 LNG stations, with an annual trade volume of 60-80 billion yuan ($9.77-$13.02 billion). The number of stations and annual output are both expected to increase by 10 times by 2020. The center aims to increase its market share more than 30 percent within three years.

According to Wu Hequan, an expert from the Chinese Academy of Engineering, the center is a push for integration of Zhangjiagang's LNG industry and remanufacturing industry.

The center was jointly sponsored by IBM, Zhangjiagang Furui Special Equipment Co (a professional company engaged in LNG supply chain equipment science and technology), Shanghai Zhongyi New Energy Co (a service provider for low-carbon energy) and LNGTOP Tech Co (a company in Zhangjiagang specialized in operation of online platforms for the LNG industry).