Kaituo 2 (Pioneer 2), the first deep-sea polymetallic sulfide mining vehicle engineering prototype independently developed by Shanghai Jiao Tong University’s School of Naval Architecture, Ocean and Civil Engineering, has successfully completed a series of functional tests in the nearshore waters of Yazhou Bay in Sanya, Hainan, meeting its research objectives.
Over more than a month of testing, the project team worked through summer heat and sudden severe convective weather to complete integrated underwater commissioning of the Kaituo 2 system, driving and obstacle-crossing over complex terrain, simulated cutting of polymetallic sulfides and other functional tests, comprehensively testing and verifying eight key subsystems, including adaptive four-track seabed driving, integrated drilling and extraction of seabed sulfides, deep-water high-power hydraulics, deep-water high-voltage power transmission and distribution, and underwater environment perception and intelligent control. Completion of these functional tests marks an important milestone in Shanghai Jiao Tong University’s development of deep-sea heavy-duty operations technology and equipment, and lays a solid foundation for upcoming deep-sea trials in the South China Sea and the Western Pacific.
The deep seabed holds rich mineral resources such as polymetallic sulfides, which can provide important support for safeguarding China’s strategic resource security and achieving high-quality economic development. Innovation in technology and equipment for developing deep-sea mineral resources is a frontier of current competition in marine science and technology. Supported by a key project of the Ministry of Education’s integrated research platform for deep-sea heavy-duty operations equipment and a Shanghai municipal major project for strategic emerging industries, the team led by Professor Yang Jianmin at the School of Naval Architecture, Ocean and Civil Engineering pioneered research on deep-sea heavy-duty operations technology and equipment, successively developing the deep-sea polymetallic nodule mining vehicle Kaituo 1 (Pioneer 1) and the deep-sea polymetallic sulfide mining vehicle Kaituo 2, among other deep-sea equipment. Kaituo 1 completed a deep-sea trial in the Xisha waters of the South China Sea in August 2021, reaching a trial depth of 1,305 meters.
The newly developed Kaituo 2 is 6.0 meters long, 3.0 meters wide and 2.5 meters high, weighs about 14.0 tonnes in air, and has a design operating depth of 6,000 meters. It is the first in China to break through key technologies including adaptive four-track driving over complex seabed terrain, integrated cutting and drilling of polymetallic sulfides, combined acoustic and optical sensing of the deep-sea environment, intelligent control of seabed mining operations, and heavy-load deployment and recovery on a non-metallic deep-sea umbilical cable. It also carries equipment for comprehensive environmental monitoring of deep-sea plumes, underwater noise and other parameters. In a mid-term technical appraisal, the project expert panel assessed Kaituo 2’s technical performance as reaching an internationally advanced level.
The successful development of the Kaituo 1 and Kaituo 2 deep-sea mining vehicles establishes a family of deep-sea heavy-duty operations technologies and equipment at Shanghai Jiao Tong University, plays an important demonstration and leading role in China’s development of technology and equipment for deep-sea mineral resources, and will strongly promote the formation and growth of China’s deep-sea mining as a strategic emerging industry.
