As a major state-owned enterprise, Shenhua Group Corporation Limited, since its foundation, has always attached great importance to scientific & technological work and continuously strengthens its independent innovation capacity. In the innovation system, Shenhua Group, in accordance with its own characteristics and the needs of the coal industry and our country, designs in a systematic manner, distributes in a unified manner, adheres to “One center, two principles, and three systems”, and has explored and implemented Shenhua technological innovation project  integrated with basic resources, which has significantly improved the comprehensive research and development capabilities of the Group. On this basis, through combination of production, study, research and application, Shenhua Group has promoted and developed a group of major scientific and technological projects with international advanced level and even leading level, and has realized unconventional and leap-type development, making it become a first-class coal-based energy conglomerate in China and one of the international integrated energy enterprises with some influence in the world.

"1" is "one center": namely, technological innovation supports the sustainable development of the enterprise, leads scientific and technological progress of the industry, and enhances the competitiveness of our national core technology.
"2" is "two principles": namely, to firmly grasp the core technology and the key elements of the technological innovation management. The focus is construction of R & D institution and training of innovation personnel.

The construction of R & D institution speeds up. In 2001, Shenhua set up four technical centers for coal, electricity, oil, and transportation; in 2006, corresponding technology research institutes were set up for the Power Technology Center and Coal Liquefaction Technology Center; and in 2008, Shenhua began the construction of National Low-carbon Energy Research Institute and Shenhua Research Institute. National Low-carbon Energy Research Institute is a low-carbon energy technology research and development entity founded upon the lead organization of the Central Organization Department, Ministry of Science and Technology, and other ministries, in response to the world development trend of low-carbon, and from the height of our state.

Talents with innovative thinking assemble rapidly. The recruitment of high-end talents is conducted both at home and abroad, while technical management and R & D personnel are trained in a diversified manner. For example: “National Low-carbon Energy Research Institute” has recruited a strategic scientist as the Director from America and several internationally renowned experts as laboratory directors. Currently, Shenhua has gathered a group of world first-class experts of coal-to-oil and coal chemical industry.

"3" is the "three systems": namely, the technological innovation organizational system, management system and evaluation system based on the scientific and technological resource integration model.

Organizational system: it has established the institutional mechanism of strengthening internal decision-making of technological innovation and integrating external scientific and technological resources production-learning-research and cooperation, to tackle major technical problems through technological innovation strategic alliance, and to tackle common technical problems in the manner of production-learning-research and strategic cooperation. Shenhua takes the lead in the formation of coal development and utilization technological innovation strategic alliance which is one of the four alliances of the country’s first group of pilots and whose members include 23 units covering China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation and Harbin Institute of Technology. Shenhua has established strategic cooperative relationships with over 100 production-learning-research units at home and abroad such as the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Management system: implementing the control model for the technological innovation process, Shenhua conducts rigorous process management for the establishment, research and development, acceptance, and post evaluation of technical projects. For example: the tenders of all the projects undertaken by external units are commissioned to Shenhua International Trading Co.

Evaluation system: Shenhua has formulated the multi-objective technical innovation evaluation system, based on economic indicators, technical level, and social benefits, and treats the system as the core content for performance evaluation. Multi-objective evaluation and effective incentive make the technological innovation results be recognized by all sides and form the innovation culture of “encouraging innovation, advocating innovation, and initiative innovation”. In such kind of innovation system, seniors attach importance to innovation, technical managers are proud of innovation, and professional technicians are respected for making innovation.

Through years of efforts, Shenhua Group has built a unique technological innovation system. And it is named one of the first group of “innovation-oriented enterprises” by the Ministry of Science and Technology and the State-owned Assets Supervision Administration Commission. Technological innovation not only provides Shenhua Group with necessary technical support for its rapid development and expansion, but also makes it obtain tremendous economic benefits. In some technology areas, Shenhua Group makes breakthroughs and gradually becomes the “vane” of leading China's coal mining technology and the development direction of related industries.