At the 23rd China-ASEAN Expo and the China-ASEAN Business and Investment Summit, China Southern Power Grid unveiled a suite of digital and intelligent innovations aimed at strengthening energy cooperation between China and ASEAN. The highlight was the DaWatt - Lao Language Large Language Model (LLM) for the Energy and Power Sector V2.0, alongside the Flexible Grayscale Intelligent Monitoring & Analysis Platform for power system cybersecurity. These technologies signal a significant shift toward digitalization, smart technologies, and green energy in regional collaboration.
The Lao-language LLM has already been deployed at Electricité du Laos Transmission Company Limited (EDL-T), where it rapidly analyzes thousands of inspection images. After optimizing algorithms for Laos' mountainous and rainforest terrain, the model completed intelligent inspection analysis for four transmission lines, processing 26,000 drone inspection images and identifying over 3,600 equipment defects. This deployment demonstrates how AI can overcome geographical and linguistic barriers to enhance operational efficiency.
Liu Ying, general manager of the Digitalization Department at Guangxi Power Grid Co., Ltd., noted that the company is building multilingual professional corpora for the power sector across ASEAN countries, including Laos, Vietnam, and Malaysia. Leveraging the DaWatt foundation model, they are developing energy and power models tailored to ASEAN languages and real-world applications. This initiative not only facilitates technical exchanges but also positions China as a key partner in advancing ASEAN's energy infrastructure.
Talent development is another cornerstone of the cooperation. The China-ASEAN Institute of Energy, jointly established by Guangxi Power Grid Co., Ltd. and Guangxi University, is pioneering an industry-university training model with a strong practical focus. Two cohorts totaling 53 students from ASEAN countries have already enrolled. Moreover, cooperation is evolving from one-way training to joint innovation. Guangxi Power Grid Co., Ltd. and the Royal Academy of Cambodia have established a laboratory for artificial intelligence and safety equipment, while peer-to-peer exchanges with Electricité du Laos aim to improve power supply reliability.
To address language barriers in cross-border technical exchanges, Guangxi Power Grid Co., Ltd. developed an AI-powered translation platform backed by a specialized database containing terminology for more than 1,800 types of power equipment. The platform supports accurate translation between Chinese and English, Chinese and Lao, and Chinese and Vietnamese. At a recent training program for Chinese and overseas engineers, the system enabled one-click generation of bilingual course materials and real-time speech translation, helping participants navigate highly specialized terminology.
Supporting regular international exchanges, the company has established an international talent pool covering management, technical, and skilled personnel. It has developed 24 hours of courses on international affairs and 20 short-form video courses. Sun Xiaohua, deputy director of the Human Resources Department, said, "This year, we will also explore joint postgraduate programs with universities in ASEAN countries." Such initiatives underscore a long-term commitment to building local capacity and fostering sustainable partnerships.
Looking ahead, Guangxi Power Grid Co., Ltd. plans to advance a development model featuring "R&D in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangdong, integration in Guangxi, and application in ASEAN." The company will continue expanding its multilingual power-sector corpora and explore a "Token Goes Global" model for power-sector AI, with computing resources and models based in Guangxi while knowledge services are delivered overseas. This effort aims to create new forms of China-ASEAN energy cooperation and support the green development of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area 3.0.
For more information, visit Guangxi Power Grid Co., Ltd. and China Southern Power Grid.
