24 hours in Hefei, China’s emerging innovation and tech hub

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(People's Daily Online) 10:19, July 19, 2024

Which city has been the fastest developing city in China in recent years? Many people give the answer: " Hefei!”

Two years ago, Hefei's aggregate economic ranking was outside the top 80 cities in China, but today it is ranked in the top 20.

Hefei's economic turnaround is inseparable from scientific and technological innovation. In a 2023 report produced by publication Nature, a well-known scientific magazine, Hefei was placed at 13th in a ranking of the world's scientific research cities.

In innovation driven Hefei, what does a day look like？

Time: 8 a. m.

Battery expert Xu Aiqin: "Powering up the leading industry"

It is the daily work of battery expert Xu Aiqin to find a balance between battery life, charging, weight and cost performance.

Battery expert Xu Aiqin is testing battery safety(People's Daily Online/Chen Hao)

The automotive industry is the premier industry of Hefei city, Anhui Province. In recent years, Anhui automotive industry pioneering company Jianghuai Automobile Co., Ltd. (JAC) has adeptly navigated the changing landscape, focusing on the new energy vehicle (NEV) sector. In 2011, upon graduating from Hefei University of Technology with a master’s degree in Vehicular Engineering, Xu committed herself to the growing field of NEVs. She has since been a part of the development of 10 new pure electric vehicles for JAC.

At 8 a.m., Xu arrives at the battery safety test cabinet. Today's task is to observe the safety performance of the new batteries at extreme conditions, including testing the batteries at temperatures up to 130℃.

“In the battery field, thermal runaway safety, - that is, ensuring the safety of the entire battery pack when a single cell fails – is of the utmost importance,” Xu explained. After investing a great deal of time and effort, JAC has introduced a revolutionary new battery design. The new design, which is in the shape of a honeycomb, achieves thermal isolation, electric isolation, and thermal decoupling creating a much safer battery. “Each battery undergoes 100 consecutive explosion tests, in which there is zero tolerance for any thermal spread following a single cell combustion,” added Xu, emphasizing the strict safety standards in place.

Small sized yet powerful battery packs are driving NEVs forward and are helping to promote the development of Hefei’s premier industry. In 2023, Hefei produced 1.34 million vehicles,

Time: 2 p.m.

Entrepreneur Han Dongcheng: "The core technology that cannot be bought"

"Today, I’m not holding the usual script,” said University of Science and Technology of China President Bao Xinhe on June 22 at the school’s graduation ceremony. Being able to deliver the speech without notes was not because of a sudden boost in memory, but thanks to the assistance of Han Dongcheng, a PhD graduate majoring in optics at the university, Bao added.

The picture is Han Dongcheng, who is conducting the experiment. (Photo by Xu Ganjiang)

The "help" Bao refers to is the "Interactive aerial imaging technology" independently developed by Han.

This technology allows an image of Bao’s script to appear in the air in front of him, without it being visible to anyone else. What’s more, people can operate and work on the displayed images in the same manner one would use a computer screen.

After finishing with visitors in the morning, it was already 2 p.m. These days, many people visit Anhui Easpeed Co., Ltd., which was founded by Han in 2016. At that time, he was still a first-year master’s degree student at the University of Science and Technology of China.

"The key to the realization of air imaging is in the glass,” says Han. In Anhui Easpeed Co., Ltd., there is a room stacked with substandard glass. "Each piece represents a failure and the beginning of a new attempt,” added Han.

With the successful development of the negative refractive slab lenses, or DCT-plates, and the sensors required for interaction, Anhui Easpeed Co., Ltd. has mastered the interactive aerial imaging technology.

"Core technology can't be bought,” exclaimed Han. Looking back on the journey, Han reflected emotionally regarding how the technology was once controlled by others. Today though, the company has repositioned itself from follower, to competitor, to leader in the industry. As a now industry leader, the company has been able to apply its technology in fields such as displays, medical equipment, automobiles, home appliances, and more. The company is currently valued at 3 billion yuan ($ 412 million).

In Hefei, technological entrepreneurship is thriving. The city has cultivated 188 national-level specialized and innovative "little giant" enterprises, over 8000 national high-tech enterprises and 11,000 national science and technology based small-medium sized enterprises.

Time: 8 p.m.

Key technical expert Sun Hantao: "The industries of the future are already here"

At 8 p.m., Sun finished his day's work.