New Pilot Platform Supercharges China’s Ceramic Industry – From Lab to Factory

Liu Qing, director of the Yangtze River Delta National Technology Innovation Center, says the secret to turning a single breakthrough into a whole industry lies in smart cooperation models. Over the past few years her team has tested ideas like a “project‑manager system,” “team holding,” and “combined funding for investment,” proving they can turn research into real‑world products. In Jiangxi’s Pingxiang city, a hub for chemical ceramics and high‑voltage porcelain, officials have built the Pingxiang Semiconductor Advanced Ceramic Materials Pilot Testing Platform. Partnering with Guoke New Materials Technology, the platform pulls the latest university research into the factory floor, giving the local ceramic sector a high‑tech boost. Guoke’s general manager, Fu Xingguo, stresses that the platform tailors services to the region’s strengths and lets companies lead innovation. A concrete success: with help from Wang Shiwei’s team at the Shanghai Institute of Silicate, they cracked the “bottleneck” in semiconductor wafer grinding and polishing, and now produce large‑size, high‑purity LCD boards using home‑grown ceramic gel‑casting technology—complete with independent patents. China’s broader push under the 14th Five‑Year Plan has created about 2,400 pilot testing platforms across key sectors, 241 of which are flagship sites run by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. More than 80 % of these serve the public, linking raw‑material research, consumer goods, equipment manufacturing, IT, and emerging industries to accelerate the nation’s industrial upgrade.

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China Takes the Lead in Next‑Gen Solar Power – Perovskite Breakthroughs Spark Global Race

Perovskite solar cells are the hot new technology that could soon eclipse traditional silicon panels. By stacking a thin perovskite layer on top of crystalline silicon, manufacturers can harvest more sunlight without overhauling existing factories. Chinese giants are already ahead: LONGi Green Energy has pushed small‑cell efficiency to a certified 34.85% and large‑area modules to 33%, while Trina Solar’s tandem modules now deliver 30.6% efficiency and 886 W power output. All‑perovskite tandems—using two perovskite layers and no silicon at all—promise even lower costs, but they still wrestle with material stability. In March 2025, Lightcause Technology and Shanghai Jiao‑Tong University reported a 31.27% efficiency record for this format. Globally, the race is fierce. Japan, once a world‑record holder, now focuses on flexible, stable, mass‑production designs. South Korea set a 25.8% single‑junction record in 2021 but is being overtaken by China’s tandem advances. Europe’s Oxford PV launched a 100 MW production line and sold the first commercial perovskite modules (24.5% efficiency) in 2024. The U.S., backed by Bill Gates‑funded CubicPV, hit a 24.0% mini‑module record in 2025, yet industrial scaling lags. China’s rapid catch‑up—driven by top universities, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and aggressive industrial investment—exemplifies the “latecomer overtakes the leader” pattern. With efficiency climbing past 28% for tandem cells and large‑scale factories under construction, the country is poised to turn perovskite solar power from a laboratory curiosity into a commercial reality.

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