The 12th Smart City Summit & Expo (SCSE) will be held from March 18 to 21, 2025, at the Taipei Nangang Exhibition Center, Hall 2. As the largest smart city exhibition in the Asia-Pacific, this year’s theme, "Digital and Green Transformation," focuses on AI applications, smart governance, energy efficiency, virtual power plants, net-zero sustainability, and global co-creation. Organized by the National Development Council, Kaohsiung City Government, and Taipei Computer Association (TCA), with Taipei City Government returning as a co-organizer, the SCSE will be held at two venues: Taipei Nangang Exhibition Center (March 18-21) and Kaohsiung Exhibition Center (March 20-22).
Alex C.C. Chien, Chairman of the Taiwan Smart City Solutions Alliance, stated that as global AI competition intensifies, AI applications are reshaping industries. By leveraging edge AI and generative AI, innovations are driving smart transportation, healthcare, building, and energy management. Leading companies, including Acer Group, ASUS, Chunghwa Telecom, Far EasTone, Foxconn, MiTAC, SECOM, SYSCOM Group, Tatung, Taiwan Mobile, TECO, and Quanta, will showcase their latest AI-powered solutions, accelerating Taiwan’s digital transformation. Additionally, the 12th Smart City Innovative Application Awards will feature outstanding projects, highlighting Taiwan’s advancements in smart city development through public-private-academic collaboration.
This year, the number of international visitors has reached a new high, with participants from 59 countries and regions, 138 cities, and 2,806 overseas visitors—a 28% increase from the previous year. Among them, 569 mayors or representatives will attend the exhibition, while industry delegations organized by technology associations from various countries will seek collaboration opportunities with Taiwan's smart solutions. The top five visiting countries and regions are Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Japan, and Hungary. Notably, a delegation of over ten Ukrainian city leaders will visit the exhibition. Special events, such as the "Ukraine Recovery and Reconstruction Business Opportunities Forum" and international matchmaking sessions, have been arranged to explore how Taiwan and the global community can contribute to Ukraine's reconstruction through smart technologies.
The inaugural "Smart City Global Co-Creation Pavilion" encourages Taiwanese enterprises to collaborate with domestic and international partners, integrating smart city solutions for global markets. Chunghwa Telecom has invited overseas telecom partners, including Japan's NTT, Singapore's Singtel, Thailand's AIS, and the IOWN Global Forum, to jointly showcase all-optical networks, smart streetlights, and smart city applications. Additionally, winners of the System Integration Award, such as SYSCOM Group and Wave-In, will present their successful overseas projects.
Cynthia Chen, Secretary-General of the Taiwan Smart City Solutions Alliance (TSSA), noted that with the decommissioning of Nuclear Power Plant No. 3, Taiwan is transitioning to a nuclear-free future, increasing reliance on renewable energy and raising grid stability challenges. To address this, Virtual Power Plants (VPPs) integrating distributed energy resources are becoming essential. The VPP Pavilion will feature key TSSA members, including Billion Watts, Chunghwa System Integration, Delta Electronics, e-Formula Technologies, Intelligent Cloud Plus, National Central University, Seetel, Tatung, WeatherRisk, YFY. The alliance will also host the "Taiwan Virtual Power Plant Development Trends and Business Opportunities Forum" to discuss strategies for expanding VPP deployment.
The Ministry of Transportation and Communications has established a "Low-Carbon Mobility Pavilion" to showcase the future of smart transportation. The Taiwan EV Power Supplement Alliance will present smart charging station standards and applications. Companies like Foxconn and Master Bus will display their latest electric buses, highlighting the potential integration of large batteries with virtual power grids, creating new business opportunities for electric bus operators. Furthermore, Additionally, the "Smart Startups Program" will feature 115 startups from 11 accelerators worldwide, showcasing innovations in smart technology and green sustainability.
To accelerate Taiwan's transition to net-zero emissions, the inaugural "Urban Energy Transition Award" will evaluate the past year's energy efficiency, renewable energy usage, and resource recycling performance of 22 counties and cities, based on government open data and local net-zero initiatives. The winners are Pingtung County and Kaohsiung City for the "Energy Transition" category, and Kinmen County and Taipei City for the "Circular Resource Promotion" category. The winning local governments will showcase their achievements during the exhibition.
Chen emphasized that Taiwan's smart city development has reached a new milestone. Through AI technology applications, international co-creation, deep energy conservation, and VPP development, Taiwan is accelerating urban digital and net-zero transformations. This exhibition not only demonstrates Taiwan's innovative technologies but also provides a platform for international cooperation and knowledge exchange.
