Looking back at Anhui's progress in 2025, the Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST) set a new world record of "100 million degrees for 1,000 seconds," China achieved long-distance quantum communication over ten thousand kilometers for the first time, the International Deep Space Exploration Society was inaugurated in Hefei, and the number of quantum industry chain enterprises in the province exceeded 100, leading the nation. By venturing into the "uncharted territory" of technological frontiers, assisting the nation in achieving high-level technological self-reliance and independence, and continuously generating new productive forces, Anhui is transforming the "critical variable" of scientific and technological innovation into the "maximum increment" of high-quality development, continuously injecting new momentum and shaping new advantages for composing the Anhui chapter of Chinese modernization.
Significant news continues to emerge from the construction of the three major sci-tech innovation highlands. In January of this year, the Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST), often called the "artificial sun," broke a world record by achieving a steady-state long-pulse high-confinement mode plasma operation at over 100 million degrees Celsius for 1,066 seconds. Song Yuntao, Vice President of the Hefei Institutes of Physical Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, stated this is a crucial milestone, signifying that fusion research is transitioning from frontier basic research to engineering practice, which is highly significant for accelerating the realization of fusion power generation. As China's next-generation "artificial sun," the compact fusion energy experimental device carries the mission of achieving plasma "ignition." In October this year, the main construction of the device entered a new stage, with component development and engineering installation accelerating significantly. In the same month, the Comprehensive Research Facility for Fusion Technology (CRAFT) achieved an important breakthrough—its divertor prototype component successfully passed expert testing and acceptance.
From EAST to the compact fusion device and CRAFT, Hefei is rising as a vital international base for fusion research. Industrially, Hefei has gathered nearly 60 enterprises in the fusion energy industry chain, covering the entire spectrum from upstream superconducting wire production, midstream main equipment manufacturing, to downstream design and operation. The development of Hefei's fusion industry epitomizes the construction of Anhui's three major sci-tech innovation highlands. This year, Anhui has fully advanced the development of these three highlands, ensured robust support for national laboratories, and planned major application projects for quantum communication networks. It is accelerating the construction of the Comprehensive Research Facility for Fusion Technology, building the Tiandu Laboratory to high standards, and facilitating the establishment of the International Deep Space Exploration Society in Hefei.
The frequent good news from these highlands and the continuous emergence of scientific and technological achievements are underpinned by a sustained surge in R&D investment. Information released at a press conference held by the Provincial Government Information Office on October 29, 2025, showed that since the "14th Five-Year Plan" period began, Anhui's total societal R&D investment has risen from 11th to 9th nationally, with an average annual growth rate of 12.1%, and its regional innovation capability has remained firmly within the top tier nationally.
Scientific and technological achievements are accelerating their journey from lab to market, generating economic value. "Steel slag, which was once difficult for steel enterprises to handle, has now become a revenue generator," said Professor Zhang Hao from the Key Laboratory of Metallurgical Emission Reduction and Resource Utilization at Anhui University of Technology. The cold slag is transformed into a high-quality raw material for industries like rubber and coatings; this "alchemy-like" transformation stems from a technological breakthrough spurred by the university's reform of granting rights to scientific and technological achievements. On one side are the urgent technical needs of enterprises, and on the other are "dormant" research results in universities. To increase the conversion rate of university research and move more achievements from the "laboratory" to the "production line," Anhui has fully promoted a model of granting rights, transferring ownership, and agreeing on收益分享 for job-related scientific and technological achievements in 106 provincial undergraduate universities, key medical institutions, and new R&D institutions. Anhui University of Technology was one of the first pilot universities for this reform in the province. To date, the province has granted rights for 2,153 job-related scientific and technological achievements, with an estimated value of approximately 908 million yuan, leading to the establishment of or investment in 148 enterprises.
A high-performance intelligent super cockpit, a multilingual AI transparent screen, a flying car capable of both driving and flying... at the third China (Anhui) Scientific and Technological Achievements Transformation Fair held this year, breakthrough achievements in cutting-edge fields like artificial intelligence, quantum information, and new energy were displayed. Nearly 30% of the showcased achievements were making their debut or first exhibition, attracting over 1,500 enterprises and institutions to participate. The fair also hosted ten specialized matchmaking events, featuring project roadshows and transactions to promote the landing of sci-tech projects. Using the fair as a bridge to facilitate connections and transactions, Anhui has streamlined the path for achievement transformation. By coordinating various achievement matchmaking activities, the three sessions of the China (Anhui) Fair have cumulatively secured signed agreements totaling 229.68 billion yuan.
At the fair, there was also a "Technology Manager Service Team" wearing blue vests. As a critical link connecting the innovation chain and the industrial chain, technology managers play a key role in pushing scientific and technological achievements from the "bookshelf" to the "market shelf," illuminating the "tech tree," and forming a "forest of industries." To continuously strengthen the ranks of technology managers, Anhui established the Anhui Technology Managers Association, formed a Technology Manager Service Team, and set up 10 technology manager agencies. It has also carried out a series of innovative explorations in areas like professional title evaluation, credit point management, and equity incentive implementation. This year alone, Anhui has trained 1,075 technology managers. To date, the province has cumulatively trained over 4,600 technology managers.
To maximize the value of scientific and technological achievements, Anhui is strengthening pilot-scale testing and incubation, building carriers for achievement transformation. This year, it has initiated the construction of top-tier incubators in five fields, including artificial intelligence and life sciences, to drive the improvement of incubation services across the province. Anhui is also building a number of concept verification centers to accelerate the validation of the technical feasibility, commercial value, and market potential of scientific and technological achievements.
Innovation is driving vibrant industrial vitality. Being a step ahead in technology leads to leading the way in industry. "Thanks to technological innovation and R&D investment, our company has made rapid progress in all-solid-state batteries and quasi-solid-state batteries," said Wang Yonghai, Senior Vice President of Gotion High-tech. In 2025, the company's independently developed Jinshi all-solid-state battery achieved a qualitative leap in R&D progress. The ionic conductivity of the sulfide electrolyte increased by 60%, its air stability significantly improved, and the specific capacity of the positive and negative electrode materials also saw major breakthroughs. Hefei-based Gotion High-tech Co., Ltd. has long adhered to a technology-driven and globalized strategy, with its R&D investment ratio exceeding 10% for many years. Its power battery installation volume has ranked fifth globally.
Enterprises are the main force driving innovation and creation. To strengthen the role of enterprises as the primary actors in innovation, this year, the province has persisted in cultivating high-quality market entities, focusing on both nurturing influential sci-tech leading enterprises and supporting specialized, sophisticated, distinctive, and innovative SMEs. It is enhancing the integrated development of large, medium, and small enterprises, solidly promoting the deep integration of scientific and technological innovation with industrial innovation, fostering and strengthening new productive forces, and accelerating the formation of an innovation ecosystem where "tall trees" tower, "shrubs" thrive, and "seedlings" flourish.
How can artificial intelligence make rail transit smarter and greener? Recently, at an Artificial Intelligence Industry Innovation Conference, the Hefei Rail Transit Group released a "Rail Transit AI Application Scenarios" project. Dai Rong, Head of the Sci-Tech Innovation Department at Hefei Rail Transit Group, explained that the project aims to build a smart rail transit system featuring full-factor perception, whole-process coordination, and all-ecological optimization, creating a replicable "scenario model" to lead the rail transit industry's leap towards intelligence, green development, and integration. In recent years, Anhui has seized the opportunity presented by general artificial intelligence, continuously strengthened top-level design, and steadily reinforced underlying capabilities like computing power, data, and models. It has successively introduced and implemented Version 1.0 and Version 2.0 of special policies for AI, issued and implemented an "AI+" action plan, and accelerated the application of AI across all industries. In the first three quarters of this year, large-scale AI enterprises in the province achieved operating revenue of 167.39 billion yuan and attracted 1,167 AI project landings.
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