These are included in a list of 30 areas that have attracted the most attention from Chinese research and industry groups.
The annual list, which also includes high-performance graphics processing units and future space exploration tools, was announced on Tuesday by the government-funded China Association for Science and Technology (CAST).
Research areas often see significant advances after appearing on CAST’s annual list, with some areas being solved within a year or two of receiving attention.
Improving the efficiency and sustainability of coal-fired power generation by combining coal-fired power plants with hydrogen production units is also on the list of scientific challenges, along with developing an efficient ammonia-hydrogen based internal combustion engine with near-zero emissions.
Other areas of research take a broader perspective, such as elucidating the biological basis of how plants use light so efficiently, and determining whether ancient human fossils discovered in China are the ancestors of modern Chinese people.
The top ten engineering and technology challenges include research into developing deep-water platforms for power generation, the reliability of high arch dams in earthquake-prone regions, and improving autonomous engineering software.
Industrial technology challenges make up the final 10 areas on the list and include green manufacturing of pharmaceuticals through fine chemistry and low-carbon steel production using clean energy.
Also highlighted is the development of “independently and controllable” high-performance GPU chips for advanced computing, as well as the development of high-speed, high-capacity optical transmission technology that can be used for communications and the Internet within the limitations of current chips.
The application of cloud networking technology to internet satellites, which can improve efficiency and data management, has also been identified as a key area of focus.
Great progress has been made on the issues highlighted in last year’s CAST list (presented as a list of questions), particularly with regard to industrial technology development.
Another question – how China can develop a large-scale energy base in its desert regions – was answered late last year with the opening of a 16-megawatt wind and solar farm in the Kubuqi Desert in Inner Mongolia.
The Jiangsu Provincial Bureau of Ecology and Environment said earlier this year that a method had been developed to remove nearly 30 contaminants from waste salt to meet quality standards, addressing another challenge that was on last year’s list.
