The steel pipe manufacturing technology and complete equipment for major national pipeline projects, led by the Harbin Welding Institute Limited Company, won the 2024 Mechanical Industry Science and Technology Award special prize.
 
This accolade represents the highest honor for scientific and technological achievements in China's machinery industry.
 
The evaluation committee highly praised the project for its core technological innovation, advanced technical indicators, economic and social benefits, intellectual property achievements, and industrial application.
 
Large-diameter, high-quality steel pipes are essential for building long-distance pipelines for natural gas, hydrogen transport, and carbon capture, utilization, and storage.
 
For over 20 years, the Harbin Welding Institute Limited Company has collaborated with leading domestic universities and major equipment manufacturers in a "production, education, research, and application" approach, aiming to overcome key technological challenges in steel pipe manufacturing processes and achieve large-scale production capabilities.
 
Focusing on high-quality, efficient, low-cost mass production, the project achieved comprehensive autonomy across the entire process, including welding materials, methods, equipment, and quality control.
 
This significantly supported the rapid and high-quality construction of major national pipeline projects, such as the West-to-East gas transmission pipeline and the China-Russia East-Route natural gas pipeline, which contributed to national energy security.
 
The project has been granted 106 invention patents, including 10 international patents, and established 37 national industry standards. Over 100 papers have been published, and the technology has been applied in over 360 units by companies in China, Russia, the US, India, Kazakhstan, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE.