The first national-level science and technology innovation platform in the Water Town Living Room broke ground on Sept 28, strengthening research and international exchange functions in the core area of the Yangtze River Delta Ecological and Green Integrated Development Demonstration Zone.

The State Key Laboratory of Water Pollution Control and Green Resource Recycling, jointly supported by Tongji University and Nanjing University, will focus on green and low-carbon development, integrated watershed management, resource recycling, functional environmental materials, and environmental health.

The project will include a digital-intelligent water environment superbrain and six research centers covering watershed pollution control, zero-waste cities and resource recycling, water-energy-resource coordination, drinking-water safety, material separation technology, and soil and groundwater remediation.

Targeted for completion by the end of 2028, the laboratory is expected to combine research, proof-of-concept testing, and technology commercialization, while supporting green industrial upgrading across the region.

On Sept 28, the demonstration zone's executive committee and Tongji University also signed an agreement to establish the Global Conference on Environment and Sustainable Development's permanent venue at the Water Quad of the Water Town Living Room.

The conference, previously held in the demonstration zone in 2023 and 2025, is planned for early to mid-November with an opening ceremony, a main forum, roundtables, parallel sessions, and a green technology exhibition. Organizers aim to develop it into a long-term platform for international cooperation, technology transfer, and sustainable development.

Source: Qingpu district government