China's eastern city of Changzhou has announced the construction of the country's first city-level green token factory, marking a new step in its effort to support the booming artificial intelligence industry with renewable energy.
The project, developed with partners including Alibaba Cloud, aims to produce 60 trillion AI tokens annually while running entirely on wind and solar power.
Unlike traditional factories that manufacture physical products, token factories generate the digital "tokens" used by large language models such as ChatGPT and DeepSeek.
Tokens are the basic units AI models use to process and generate text, with every prompt and response consuming thousands of them.
Industry analysts increasingly describe AI data centers as "AI factories," producing tokens rather than simply providing computing power.
According to the National Data Administration, China's daily demand has reached around 140 trillion tokens, driven by the rapid adoption of generative AI across businesses and consumers.
Changzhou's facility differs from conventional AI data centers by connecting directly to nearby wind and solar farms instead of drawing electricity through the public grid.
Developers say the approach improves energy efficiency, enabling the same computing hardware to produce up to 62.5% more tokens while lowering operating costs and carbon emissions.
The project reflects China's broader strategy of combining its expanding renewable energy capacity with AI infrastructure.
Similar token factory projects have also been announced in Beijing and Ningxia, as local governments compete to build AI computing hubs powered by clean energy.
Reporter: Xie Hongzhou
Author: Fu Rong (intern), Xie Hongzhou
Cameraman: Xie Hongzhou
Video: Xie Hongzhou
