The 20th National Congress report proposed to accelerate the construction of a maritime power. To build a maritime power, it is necessary to speed up the pace of marine scientific and technological innovation, vigorously develop fundamental technologies for marine equipment, fundamentally solve the "from 0 to 1" problem, and support the high-quality development of the marine equipment industry.

This article, based on the major development needs of the country and the direction of industrial trends, focuses on future industrial and social needs, distills the widely used, source-based key foundational technologies in the field of marine equipment, and proposes a strategic roadmap for the development of key foundational technologies in marine equipment for China by 2030, 2035, and 2050, as follows.

10 key fundamental technologies in China's marine equipment field

(1) High-efficiency clean combustion and ultra-low emission control technology for low-carbon and zero-carbon ship engines

Facing international carbon reduction demands, our country needs to leverage its strengths as a major power in scientific and technological innovation, comprehensively tackle the technology for using various low-carbon/zero-carbon fuels in ship engines, actively participate in the formulation of international standards, and lead the development of the industry. On one hand, adopting power plants driven by low-carbon/zero-carbon fuels (such as LNG, hydrogen, methanol, ammonia, batteries, etc.) effectively reduces greenhouse gas emissions from ships; on the other hand, by optimizing the combustion process, improving fuel quality, and employing post-combustion treatment methods, the emission intensity of harmful pollutants (such as particulate matter, nitrogen oxides, sulfur oxides, etc.) from ship engines is reduced.

Currently, our country is at an internationally advanced level in particulate matter (PM) capture technology, efficient combustion of low-carbon/zero-carbon fuels, and the efficient removal of nitrogen-based and unconventional hydrocarbon pollutants from exhaust. There is a gap between our country's low-energy, high-efficiency CO2 capture and storage technologies and foreign advanced technologies, but they are also at a relatively advanced technical level. There is a significant gap between our country and the international leading level in long-life, high-consistency injection technology for low-carbon/zero-carbon fuels, mainly due to the insufficient process level of domestic key components and the supporting industrial chain.

(2) Full-ship state inversion reconstruction and digital twin technology based on multi-source data monitoring

Thoroughly excavate, integrate, and analyze various data generated during the operation and subsequent management of ship equipment, and use modern information technology to recreate the internal and external conditions of the ship during navigation. This has significant importance for improving the performance of ship equipment and providing danger warnings.

Currently, our country has reached an internationally advanced level in ship communication technology and sensor data fusion technology, but there is still a significant gap compared to international advanced levels in the establishment of ship dynamics models, the application of ship digital twin technology, and equipment energy efficiency and emissions.

(3) Intelligent Operation and Maintenance Technology for Ship-Shore Collaboration

The advantages of intelligent operation and maintenance include real-time monitoring such as self-checking and self-diagnosis of equipment, timely sending of fault warning signals, and support for remote fault alarms and remote analysis. With the help of a new model of ship-shore collaborative intelligent operation and maintenance, it is possible to reduce the operation and maintenance costs of ship equipment, decrease the probability of system failure, and improve the reliability and safety of marine equipment and systems.

At present, our country is closely following international advanced levels in terms of remote centralized control intelligent operation and maintenance technology and autonomous intelligent operation and maintenance technology; in the aspects of big data-based intelligent fault analysis technology and fault mechanism and migration diagnosis technology, we are at the initial development stage along with the international community. In recent years, shipborne operation and maintenance robot technology has become a research hotspot, but the technological maturity is relatively low, making it a key technological field that our country needs to focus on developing in the future.

(4) Key Technologies of Shipbuilding Software

Shipbuilding industry software is a programmed encapsulation of relevant science, theory, knowledge, and experience, serving as a tool for product design, manufacturing, evaluation, and management. It is the "nerve center" for the digitalization and intelligent construction of ships. Currently, the urgent technological needs to be addressed in our country are: first, the independent geometric kernel technology for auxiliary design software (CAD), including hybrid kernel for ships, parametric modeling, constraint solving based on ship design and construction engineering, and massive model display technology for ships; second, simulation analysis and evaluation software (CAE) technologies for different application scenarios, including fluid assessment, structural assessment, optimization techniques, parallel computing, fluid-structure interaction, and mesh generation; third, for the needs of data sharing, standard unification, and ecosystem co-construction, a cloud-native integrated platform architecture and flexible integration technology.

(5) Ocean bottom node seismic exploration technology

The continuous expansion of the depth and breadth of marine oil and gas exploration, the increased demand for complex structures and detailed exploration, and the increase in offshore production facilities have all made construction more difficult. OBN seismic exploration technology has the advantage of flexible acquisition under complex conditions and is a core technology for future deep/deep-water and complex structure exploration. Currently, internationally, this technology can operate at water depths of 3000 to 4000 m and can be combined with towed streamer seismic exploration. Although China's independently developed OBN seismic exploration equipment (the "Dolphin") has undergone trial applications, its performance indicators still do not meet the requirements for deep-water operations.

(Six) Key Technologies of Deepwater Subsea Oil and Gas Production Systems

In our country's deepwater subsea oil and gas extraction systems, many core devices rely on imports from abroad, including deepwater subsea well control systems, deepwater floating platform single-point mooring systems, and subsea remote multiphase boosting systems.

Currently, the main manufacturers of deepwater well control systems are Cameron Corporation, National Oilwell Varco, and General Electric Company, which hold a monopoly in terms of technology and market; the key core equipment for deepwater floating platform single-point systems is mainly controlled by European companies, with a high level of technological maturity; the technological maturity of foreign underwater remote multiphase boosting systems is also high, and cutting-edge equipment such as subsea compressors and subsea separators have already been commercialized. In contrast, China's research on the key technologies of these three systems started relatively late, and there is a significant gap to engineering application.

(7) Offshore hydrogen production and energy storage technology

In recent years, countries and regions such as Europe and the United States have elevated hydrogen to a national strategy, with offshore wind power for hydrogen production becoming one of the main forces in future green hydrogen production. Globally, about half of the announced water electrolysis hydrogen projects belong to offshore wind power for hydrogen, indicating vast market potential and development prospects. The primary technical requirements for offshore hydrogen production and storage are to convert the electricity generated by offshore wind turbines through power electronic converters, produce hydrogen via water electrolysis, and store it, supplying power and heat through fuel cells when needed. Currently, both domestic and international offshore wind power for hydrogen technologies are mainly at the experimental demonstration stage, limited by high hydrogen production costs, difficulties in hydrogen storage and transportation, and utilization, and have not yet been widely applied.

(Multi-mechanism underwater high-precision positioning and high-speed communication technology)

Sound is currently the primary medium for underwater positioning and communication, but acoustic positioning and communication have limitations in terms of security and transmission rate. Multi-mechanism-based positioning and communication technologies are expected to improve positioning accuracy and communication rates, adapting to the dynamic network construction of underwater scientific equipment and meeting the demands of a three-dimensional ocean observation network. In the future, it will be necessary to overcome issues such as the principles of "sound-light-magnetism" and the application of new principles, achieving full-sea-depth high-precision positioning and high-rate communication for single or networked equipment based on the "sound-light-magnetism" principle, and exploring the mechanisms and engineering applications of underwater positioning and underwater quantum communication relying on cosmic ray muons.

(9) Acoustic Field ‒ Optical Field ‒ Electromagnetic Field Joint Sensing Mechanism and Engineering Application Technology

Sensors are the most restricted aspect in the development of China's marine scientific research equipment. Domestic sensors face issues of insufficient reliability and accuracy, and there is an urgent need to conduct joint sensing mechanism research for different fields (sound field, light field, and electromagnetic field), develop high-precision, fast-response new marine sensors, and achieve efficient and stable marine observation. The main technological demand at present is to break through the coupling mechanism and fusion networking technology of sound field - light field - electromagnetic field joint sensing, design sensors with characteristics such as small size, multi-parameter, high reliability, and resistance to contamination, to realize multi-scale, wide coverage, and adaptation to extreme environments for new marine sound field, light field, and electromagnetic field environmental monitoring, and improve the deep-sea operational stability of domestic sensors. China has a relatively high level of technological maturity in mid-to-low-end marine sensors, but there is still a significant gap compared to foreign countries in high-end marine sensors.

(10) Artificial Intelligence Framework and Algorithm Model Technology for Marine Scientific Research Equipment

Semiconductor hardware, intelligent algorithm software, massive high-quality data, and stable and efficient energy supply are important foundations for the intelligence of marine scientific research equipment. In recent years, artificial intelligence algorithms represented by deep learning have developed rapidly, becoming a strong driving force for the intelligent transformation of marine scientific research equipment. The main technical requirements are to integrate marine scientific research observation and equipment operation data, construct new artificial intelligence frameworks and algorithm models, build intelligent models suitable for various application scenarios of marine scientific research equipment, and achieve the collection, integration, and standardized acquisition of big data from marine scientific research observations and equipment, completing the intelligent upgrade of the equipment.

2. Development goals and roadmap for key foundational technologies of marine equipment in our country

By 2030: In the field of marine transportation equipment, establish a low-carbon energy power technology system, build a digital technology system for the inversion and reconstruction of the entire ship's state, improve the integration and service technology level of intelligent operation and maintenance systems for ship-shore collaboration, and break through key core technologies such as CAD geometric kernel technology, CAE evaluation technology, integrated platform architecture, and flexible integration technology for ship industry software. Both domestic and international software will be used simultaneously and verified with each other. In the field of marine resource development equipment, develop independent capabilities for the maintenance of deep-water subsea blowout preventers, form research and experimental verification capabilities for single-point mooring systems, break through 1500 m underwater multiphase boosting technology, and develop offshore water electrolysis hydrogen production and energy storage technologies and equipment. In the field of marine scientific research equipment, develop high-precision positioning and high-speed communication devices based on sound fields, light fields, and magnetic fields for the full ocean depth, make progress in basic research on new positioning and communication technologies such as cosmic ray muons and quantum, construct an ocean big data expansion architecture, and carry out intelligent upgrades of marine scientific research equipment based on existing models.

By 2035: In the field of marine transportation equipment, achieve independent control over key core technologies for low-carbon/zero-carbon engines and emission control, industry application of full-ship status inversion reconstruction and digital twin technology based on multi-source data monitoring, formation of leading enterprises and brands in intelligent operation and maintenance with ship-shore collaboration, and domestic marine industrial software covering the entire business process from R&D, design, manufacturing, management, to service assurance, achieving partial domestic substitution. In the field of marine resource development equipment, achieve OBN seismic exploration technology operations at depths exceeding 1500 m, and conduct engineering demonstrations of offshore hydrogen production and energy storage technology in the deep and distant seas. In the field of marine scientific research equipment, achieve industrialization of high-precision positioning and high-rate communication equipment for the entire ocean depth, application trials of new positioning and communication technologies such as muons and quantum, form stable operational capabilities at great depths, develop combined sensors for sound fields, light fields, and magnetic fields, with domestic sensors taking the lead, and establish a new artificial intelligence algorithm framework for marine scientific research.

By 2050: In the field of marine transportation equipment, fully achieve a low-carbon/zero-carbon green transformation, with multi-source data monitoring-based whole-ship state inversion reconstruction and digital twin technology reaching an internationally leading level, fully realizing fewer or unmanned intelligent maritime navigation, and achieving domestic substitution of shipbuilding industrial software, leading the development of intelligent ship manufacturing in our country. In the field of marine resource development equipment, OBN seismic exploration technology will reach a working depth of 3000 m and form a complete industrial chain, breaking through single-point system design technology, core components, and comprehensive domestication and scaling up of supporting facilities, 3000 m deep-water well control equipment, and underwater multiphase boosting technology will be domestically produced, offshore wind power for hydrogen production and energy storage will achieve large-scale application. In the field of marine scientific research equipment, high-end equipment for the entire ocean observation network will be industrialized, muon, quantum, and other new positioning and communication technologies will be applied in engineering, joint sensing technology of sound, light, and magnetic fields will reach a stable operation level across all water depths and sea areas, domestically produced sensors will dominate the high-end market, and new artificial intelligence models will be used to upgrade marine scientific research equipment intelligently.