According to the list of winners of the “Mechanical Industry Science and Technology Award” for 2024, jointly announced by the China Machinery Federation and the Chinese Mechanical Engineering Society, the project “High-quality and Efficient Laser Welding Technology and Complete Equipment for Key Components of New Energy Vehicles,” led by Huazhong University of Science and Technology and participated in by Newlaz and several other units, has won the first prize of the “Mechanical Industry Science and Technology Award” for scientific and technological progress in 2024.
The development of new energy vehicles (NEVs) is an essential path for China to transition from being a major car-producing country to a powerhouse in the automotive industry. It is also a strategic initiative to address climate change and promote green development. In the “14th Five-Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development and the Long-Range Objectives Through the Year 2035,” new energy vehicles are included in the column for enhancing the core competitiveness of the manufacturing industry, and they are listed as a strategic emerging industry. China’s NEV industry has achieved tremendous success, with sales leading the world for eight consecutive years. In 2023, the sales of domestic brand new energy vehicles accounted for 80% of the total, making it one of the significant forces in the transformation and development of the global automotive industry.
Metals such as aluminum and copper are widely used in the manufacturing of key components for new energy vehicles, such as car bodies, power batteries, and hairpin motors, due to their good electrical conductivity, low density, and other advantages. Laser welding is an advanced manufacturing technology that integrates optics, mechanics, and electronics. It offers high energy density, efficiency, and flexibility, providing new methods for the manufacturing of new energy vehicles. The manufacturing of new energy vehicle parts is characterized by large volumes and high production rates, which places extremely high demands on the stability of welding processes, the efficiency and accuracy of inspection technologies, and the performance of core components and equipment.
The project team, with the support of the National Natural Science Foundation of China’s special projects, the National Key Research and Development Plan, and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology’s high-quality development special projects, has overcome the technical challenges in the mechanism, process, and detection of high-power laser welding for high-reflective materials such as aluminum and copper. The team has developed a ring-shaped beam laser, a laser scanning welding system, and an OCT (Optical Coherence Tomography) detection system, breaking the monopoly on core components held by foreign countries. The complete set of laser welding equipment has met the urgent need for high-quality manufacturing of key components in new energy vehicles, promoting the advancement of laser welding technology levels in China’s new energy vehicle industry. The project’s outcomes have been successfully applied in leading enterprises such as BYD and CATL.
On the path to gradually replacing imported laser welding equipment with domestic alternatives,Newlaz actively responds to the national call, deeply cultivates the field of intelligent laser welding, insists on technological innovation, and continuously breaks through difficulties. The company’s flying welding and penetration detection technologies are already leading in China and are competing internationally. In the future, Newlaz will continue to adhere to a development path of specialization, refinement, and intelligence, continuously strengthening the company’s level of scientific and technological innovation, breaking through technical shortcomings in niche areas, promoting the development of mechanical industrial science and technology, and contributing to the construction of an innovative country!
