On December 18, 2024, Engineering, a journal of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, officially released the "Top Ten Global Engineering Achievements in 2024". These achievements represent the pinnacle of innovation in global engineering technology over the past five years, spanning key sectors such as aerospace, energy, artificial intelligence, healthcare, renewable energy, and more. China Exporsemi will conduct an in-depth analysis of these achievements, especially China's outstanding achievements, and discuss technological highlights, industrial impact and future development directions.
1. Chang'e-6: A new milestone in China's lunar exploration program
The successful return of samples from the Chang'e-6 probe marks the first time that humans have collected samples on the far side of the moon, filling the technical gap in human exploration of the moon. The mission went through 11 key stages and took 53 days to bring back 1,935.3 grams of lunar back samples. The key technologies of this breakthrough include: precision lunar landing, automatic sampling and return flight control system, which has greatly improved China's technological accumulation in the field of deep space exploration.
The achievements of Chang'e-6 not only deepen the understanding of the geology of the far side of the moon, but also provide important data support for the construction of future lunar bases. The Long March 5 launch vehicle, orbiter and lander system behind it fully demonstrate the independent innovation strength of China's aerospace industry.
Figure: One of the world's top ten engineering achievements in 2024: Chang'e-6
2. High-temperature gas-cooled reactor nuclear power plant: the leader of the fourth generation of nuclear energy technology
Led by Tsinghua University, the high-temperature gas-cooled reactor nuclear power plant is the first in the world to achieve commercial demonstration after 20 years of technical research. On December 6, 2023, the Shidaowan high-temperature gas-cooled reactor in Shandong Province completed a 168-hour continuous operation assessment, marking the official start of commercial operation.
The high-temperature gas-cooled reactor adopts a modular design, which has the advantages of high inherent safety and high power generation efficiency, and can provide high-parameter steam at 300-500°C, which is widely used in power generation, industrial heating, hydrogen energy manufacturing and other fields. This achievement not only fills the gap of the fourth generation of nuclear power technology in the world, but also accelerates the process of clean and industrialization of nuclear energy, demonstrating China's leading position in nuclear energy technology in the world.
Figure: One of the world's top 10 engineering achievements in 2024: high-level gas-cooled reactor nuclear power plants
3. Low-orbit communication satellite constellation: a new infrastructure for global Internet networks
The low-orbit communication satellite constellation, with its advantages of low latency, high capacity and global coverage, has become an important breakthrough in global communication technology. Since its launch in 2019, SpaceX's "Starlink Program" has deployed 6,851 satellites by 2024, forming the world's largest satellite communication network. This technology has greatly improved the Internet coverage in remote areas and promoted the construction of global informatization.
At the same time, China is also accelerating the deployment of low-orbit satellite constellations, and plans to build a high-speed communication network covering the world through the "Hongyan Constellation" and other autonomous communication systems, narrow the digital divide, and promote application innovation such as 5G and the Internet of Things.
Figure: One of the world's top ten engineering achievements in 2024: low-orbit communication satellite constellation
4. Flexible display technology: a new blue ocean in the field of future displays
Flexible display technology has broken through the form limitations of traditional display devices and promoted the popularization of innovative products such as foldable mobile phones, flexible wearable devices, and smart homes. For example, Chinese panel companies have made significant progress in OLED flexible displays, and their global market share continues to rise.
The future development direction of flexible display technology includes higher resolution, longer lifespan and multi-form adaptation, which will further improve the user experience and give birth to more intelligent terminal devices.
5. Smart Factory: A Pioneer in Digital Transformation in the Manufacturing Industry
Through the Internet of Things, big data, AI and other technologies, the smart factory realizes the automation, digitization and intelligence of the production process, significantly improving production efficiency and reducing costs. For example, the smart factories of BMW, Tesla and other enterprises have realized full-process automated production, becoming a benchmark in the manufacturing industry.
In China, intelligent manufacturing has become an important strategic direction for industrial transformation. Enterprises represented by Foxconn and Haier have accelerated the layout of the global supply chain through smart factories to help the transformation and upgrading of "Made in China" to "Made in China".
Figure: One of the world's top 10 engineering achievements in 2024: smart factory
6. Driverless cars: reinventing the future of mobility
Driverless car technology has moved from "concept" to practical application, and companies such as Tesla, Waymo, and Baidu Apollo continue to make breakthroughs in the field of unmanned driving. Tesla's FSD (Full Self-Driving) system has realized automatic navigation on urban roads, and Baidu Apollo has achieved large-scale commercial operations in the fields of logistics and taxis.
Autonomous driving will reshape urban transportation systems, reduce human error, and improve travel efficiency. It is estimated that by 2030, unmanned driving will occupy an important share of the global automotive market, driving the rapid development of sensors, chips, 5G and other industrial chains.
Figure: One of the world's top 10 engineering achievements in 2024: driverless cars
7. Surgical Robots: Technological Innovation in Surgery
Surgical robotic technologies, such as the da Vinci Surgical System, have dramatically improved surgical precision and patient recovery. In recent years, China's self-developed surgical robots, such as MicroPort and TINAVI, have broken through the bottleneck of core technologies and gradually entered the international market.
Surgical robots will combine AI, 5G remote control and other technologies to achieve more accurate and minimally invasive surgical solutions, bringing revolutionary changes to the global healthcare industry.
8. Wensheng video model Sora: The beginning of the era of multimodal AI
The release of OpenAI's Sora model is a leapfrog development of generative AI technology. Sora is known as a "simulator of the video world" by understanding the relationship between text and image/video and being able to generate highly complex dynamic videos.
Sora not only shows great potential in film and television production, advertising and marketing, education and other fields, but also promotes the development of multimodal AI technology, providing a broader imagination space for AI applications.
9. Mega-Wind Turbines: Advances in Renewable Energy Technology
Large-scale wind power generation equipment represents the cutting-edge level of global wind power technology, capable of efficient power generation in extreme environments. Chinese companies, such as Goldwind and Envision Energy, have reached global leading positions in the field of ultra-large wind turbines, helping to transform the global energy mix to renewable energy.
In the future, with the technological innovation and cost reduction of wind power equipment, wind energy will occupy a larger share of the global energy supply.
Summary
The "2024 Top 10 Global Engineering Achievements" comprehensively showcases the latest breakthroughs in global engineering technology, reflecting cutting-edge innovation and practical application potential in various fields. These achievements have not only driven the development of emerging industries, but also provided new impetus for global economic growth.
In particular, China's outstanding performance in the fields of aerospace, nuclear energy, and intelligent manufacturing proves China's strong innovation capability and international competitiveness in engineering science and technology. Looking forward to the future, with the continuous progress of technology and global collaborative innovation, we have reason to believe that engineering science and technology will create a better tomorrow for human society.
