Che Lei, an entrepreneur who returned from abroad with a doctorate and founded Zhejiang ECO Environmental Technology Co Ltd in Huzhou, East China's Zhejiang province, is now expanding his environmental technology business internationally.

Recently, he signed an agreement with Kazakhstan to collaborate on oilfield pollution control and urban solid waste resource utilization, leveraging world-leading pyrolysis technology to significantly reduce harmful petroleum hydrocarbons.

Che's journey began in 2011 when he returned to China, inspired by the national talent recruitment plan, to challenge the foreign monopoly previously held on oilfield pollution management.

After exploring over 10 cities, he established his venture in Huzhou. The path from laboratory to implementation was challenging, especially in remote oilfields. In particular, in Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region's Tuha Oilfield, Che and his team endured extreme conditions.

Che Lei (first from the left) conducts an experiment. [Photo/Tide News]

In 2018, Che's team developed a green, safe, and resource-efficient pyrolysis system, marking the first use of a domestic solution of its kind in Chinese oilfields.

Zhejiang ECO now boasts over 250 patents and processes over 2 million metric tons of solid waste annually.

Now, Che focuses on converting waste into resources, addressing the retirement of wind turbine blades and photovoltaic panels, and extracting valuable materials.

In collaboration with Zhejiang University and Huzhou Normal University, Che is advancing industrial solid waste pyrolysis and intelligent equipment.