--- --- Oct 30, 2025 # Lei Zhang Chairman, Envision by Lei Zhang  Photo-Illustration by TIME (Courtesy Photo) _Lei Zhang is the chairman of Envision, a provider of renewable energy solutions for businesses, governments, and institutions that uses AI to effectively orchestrate energy systems it manages. In the past year, Envision launched the world’s largest green hydrogen and ammonia plant in inner Mongolia, and is set to replicate a similar plant in Brazil. The clean fuels will help decarbonize the fertilizer, chemicals, and shipping industries. The company is also helping develop a gigawatt-scale wind farm in Egypt._ **What’s one sustainability effort you personally will try to adopt in the next year?** AI systems are already consuming an ever-growing share of the world’s energy, with consumption projected to more than double by 2030 due to the rise of AI-driven workloads. With that in mind, over the next year, I intend to create the world’s first AI data centre in the Gobi Desert that is powered entirely by infinite renewable energy—a 100% integrated renewable system with wind, solar, and hydrogen. This will solve AI’s enormous energy hunger in the most sustainable manner and show what zero-carbon infrastructure for AI can really look like. **What gives you hope about the future of the planet?** The industrialization of green technologies is already shaping a new chapter in human progress. Today, building clean, intelligent energy systems is not only far more affordable than it was just a few years ago—it’s also a strategic imperative. This isn’t just about economics; it’s about securing a resilient, competitive future. Renewable power, driven by innovation and sustainable growth, will form the foundation for the next era of global prosperity. **If you could stand up and talk to world leaders at the next COP, what would you say?** That energy powers civilization, and the transition to renewables is not optional—it’s essential. If we want humanity to thrive, not just survive, we must recognize that sustainability is the new prosperity. A renewable future isn’t a sacrifice—it’s a smarter, stronger and more prosperous path forward. Lei Zhang: The 100 Most Influential Climate Leaders of 2025 ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https://time.com/collections/time-100-climate-2025/7326556/lei-zhang/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/collections/time-100-climate-2025/7326556/lei-zhang/"},"headline":"Lei Zhang","datePublished":"2025-10-30T11:30:16.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-03T01:01:14.914Z","description":"","url":"https://time.com/collections/time-100-climate-2025/7326556/lei-zhang/","keywords":["TIME100 Climate 2025","list","franchise","Magazine","Special Project","sponsorshipblock","Accolades"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0c1d07f1ad91edc7/6998caffe1ba00016298e0d2/Innovators-Lei-Zhang.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"creator":"TIME Staff","articleSection":"Climate","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0c1d07f1ad91edc7/6998caffe1ba00016298e0d2/Innovators-Lei-Zhang.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/climate/","name":"Climate"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time100-climate-2025/","name":"TIME100 Climate 2025"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/collections/time-100-climate-2025/7326556/lei-zhang/","name":"Lei Zhang"}}]}] ```