Nantong accelerates collaboration between sci-tech, industrial innovation

Matchmaking meeting for marine scientific and technological innovation achievements takes place during the 2024 Nantong Science and Technology Industry Collaborative Innovation Season. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

The recently-concluded 2024 Nantong Science and Technology Industry Collaborative Innovation Season heralds the beginning of a new chapter in the collaborative development of technological and industrial innovation in the city.

With the goal of becoming more innovative, Nantong is actively promoting joint research and development efforts among universities, research institutes, and enterprises to cultivate innovative talent. This effort has led to the nurturing of 35 national individual champion enterprises, 175 specialized and special "small giant" enterprises, and 3,622 high-tech enterprises.

In order to become more innovative, the city needs the support of high-level innovation platforms. The polar and extreme environmental simulation experiment facility jointly established by Southeast University and Nantong was launched during the event. This platform aims to build the world's highest-performance and largest artificial polar region. Once completed, it will significantly enhance China's experimental environment for polar science, contributing to the development of a comprehensive national scientific center in Jiangsu province.

Nantong is currently pursuing industry expansion and technological empowerment to accelerate the development of a modern ocean city with distinctive Jianghai characteristics. During the collaborative innovation season, the city hosted a matchmaking meeting for marine scientific and technological innovation achievements, where agreements for 16 projects in the marine industry sector were signed.

One of the projects is the deep-sea, high-pressure, high-power electrical equipment R&D project being jointly carried out by the Advanced Ocean Institute of Southeast University and Zhongtian Technology Marine Systems. Guo Zhaoyang, general manager of Zhongtian Technology Marine Systems, introduced the project, which involves developing a high-voltage underwater connector box for deep-sea observation systems. He said he hopes academia and industry can work together to swiftly complete product development and production, supporting national efforts in marine equipment and exploration.

Nantong, one of the first open coastal cities in China, plans to further open the doors to cooperation, strongly aligning with various industrial, innovative, and financial resources to nurture new quality productive forces in the marine sector. It aims to become a beacon of marine equipment, advanced materials, and new energy.