China Advances Pilot-Scale Verification Platforms to Boost Tech Achievement Transformation

“We have successfully made fire-fighting suits from basalt fiber, which have now completed pilot-scale verification and achieved sample mass production,” a deputy revealed the latest progress of Xiantao City in the field of non-woven new materials during the open group activity of Hubei Delegation at the Fourth Session of the 14th National People’s Congress held on March 6. Pilot-scale verification, as a crucial link connecting scientific research achievements from laboratories to production lines, is regarded as the “last mile” of technological achievement transformation.

“The quality and efficiency of technological achievement transformation are important windows to evaluate the effectiveness of the innovation system,” noted a deputy who serves as director of the Yangtze River Delta National Technology Innovation Center and president of Jiangsu Industrial Technology Research Institute. He emphasized that strengthening the construction of pilot-scale verification platforms to “accelerate with one click” the transformation of scientific and technological achievements has become a key step in enhancing the overall effectiveness of the national innovation system.

The innovative achievement of turning hard basalt into soft fabric for fire-fighting suits comes from a team led by an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, who is also a national people’s congress deputy and secretary of the Party committee of Wuhan Textile University. In 2024, the five-star red flag woven from basalt fiber displayed by Chang’e-6 on the far side of the moon was developed by his team.

With years of experience in the textile new materials industry, he has a deep understanding of the difficulties in new material industrialization. “In laboratories, researchers focus on specific products without pursuing production efficiency, but once converted into commercial and civil products, they must meet indicators such as continuity, stability and economy,” he said. Regrettably, many achievements often fail to stand the test of industrialization and stumble at the initial steps of marketization, especially for innovative achievements without previous transformation examples, as many institutions are conservative and unwilling to invest in transformation tests for fear of failure.

Pilot-scale platforms serve as a bridge to help scientific research achievements cross the “valley of death” in transformation. “If laboratory research realizes the transformation from 0 to 1, the goal of the pilot-scale link is to complete the transition from 1 to 10, while enterprises are responsible for turning 10 into thousands or even tens of thousands,” the director of the Yangtze River Delta National Technology Innovation Center explained. The role of pilot-scale platforms is to conduct transitional tests before large-scale mass production, verify the feasibility and applicability of processes, and assess the market prospects of technologies. “For example, some achievements are technically feasible but difficult to transform because there are more economical and mature solutions on the market,” he added.

The 2026 Government Work Report clearly mentions strengthening the construction of pilot-scale verification platforms, and efforts to promote such platforms are being made across the country. Established in 2021, the Yangtze River Delta National Technology Innovation Center has built 110 R&D carriers and nurtured more than 190 innovative project companies. In 2025 alone, it completed 22 financings, attracting nearly 2 billion yuan of social capital and promoting the implementation and transformation of a number of technological achievements that fill domestic gaps.

The center has formed a full-chain incubation model of “concept verification + pilot-scale amplification + commercial promotion”, providing suitable transformation methods for achievements at different stages. Its 110 R&D carriers are distributed in different fields and regions, enabling it to provide corresponding equipment, industry experts and professional technology managers for innovation teams.

To further deepen the construction of pilot-scale platforms, suggestions have been put forward, including strengthening the training of professional technology managers who can identify achievements with transformation prospects. Relevant departments are also advised to strengthen financial support for pilot-scale platforms by setting up special funds, enabling them to support the exploration of original achievements. In addition, it is recommended to actively link the upper, middle and lower reaches of the innovation chain, promoting close cooperation between innovative achievements, R&D carriers and industrial needs to form a complete pilot-scale ecology. It is also emphasized that the construction of pilot-scale platforms should achieve an organic unity of public welfare and marketization, allowing tolerance for failure while enhancing self-sustainability to continuously promote the transformation of scientific and technological achievements from “bookshelves” to “shelves”.