On February 9, the Changsha Research Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (CRIMM) and Shanghai Jiao Tong University signed an agreement in Shanghai to jointly build a Marine Heavy Equipment and Systems Technology Laboratory under the national major science and technology infrastructure project, the Deep and Far Sea All-Weather Resident Floating Research Facility. Zhuo Xiaojun, Party secretary and chairman of CRIMM, and Lin Zhongqin, academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, witnessed the signing and held talks. Liu Xu, Party committee member and deputy general manager of CRIMM, and Hu Yongjun, deputy chief commander of Shanghai Jiao Tong University’s deep and far sea facility project, signed on behalf of the two parties.
At the meeting, Shanghai Jiao Tong University presented the history and plans for building the deep and far sea large-scale science facility, and CRIMM presented its progress in deep-sea mining and deep-sea technology and equipment research. The two sides reviewed the foundation of their earlier cooperation and held further in-depth discussions on future development needs and the content of the cooperation.
Zhuo Xiaojun thanked Shanghai Jiao Tong University for its long-standing support of CRIMM’s deep-sea resource development work. He noted that CRIMM, guided by the strategy of accelerating the building of China into a maritime power, has worked in the deep-sea mining field for more than 40 years and has now entered a critical period of transition from nearshore to deep sea and from pilot-scale equipment to industrial equipment, continuing to aim at the goal of commercial extraction of deep-sea minerals. Through this joint laboratory with Shanghai Jiao Tong University, CRIMM will precisely match technology needs, draw on the research and development advantages of the university’s large-scale science installations, deepen university-enterprise collaboration, jointly tackle key technical problems in deep-sea mining, actively advance the construction of overseas mineral bases, and accelerate the commercialization of ecologically friendly mining.
Lin Zhongqin welcomed Zhuo Xiaojun and his delegation. He said that Shanghai Jiao Tong University and CRIMM are important partners whose directions in deep-sea resource development and marine heavy equipment research are aligned and whose needs are well matched, with a good foundation of cooperation already in place. Shanghai Jiao Tong University has solid technical research and large-scale science facility construction capabilities, while CRIMM has extensive sea trial experience and industrialization needs, making the two sides complementary. The joint laboratory will further promote comprehensive, in-depth cooperation and joint work on key core technologies, supporting the implementation of the national deep-sea resource development strategy.
Under the joint laboratory agreement, the two sides will follow the principles of open cooperation, complementary strengths, win-win collaboration, and common development. Relying on Shanghai Jiao Tong University’s plans for the deep and far sea large-scale science facility, and drawing on CRIMM’s foundation in deep-sea mining technology and equipment development and its future industrial construction needs, the laboratory will focus on testing the operational performance, safety, and reliability of deep-sea mining equipment in deep and far sea environments, cooperating on the construction and application of a large system-level real-sea test platform.
Heads of relevant CRIMM functional departments and its Marine Research Institute, along with relevant officials of Shanghai Jiao Tong University, attended.
