The team pioneered a brand-new principle and technology for in-situ direct electrolysis of seawater for hydrogen production, established a theoretical method for direct seawater electrolysis based on the self-migration and self-drive of gas–liquid interfacial phase change, and constructed physico-mechanical–electrochemical theoretical equations and technical models.

It thereby achieved dynamically self-regulated, stable direct seawater electrolysis in which the electrochemical reaction proceeds in coordination with seawater migration without additional energy consumption. This achievement was published in Nature and selected as one of the “Top 10 Science Advances of China in 2022.” The team further proposed a new pathway and technology for direct seawater hydrogen production that withstands the uncontrollable wave environment of the real ocean, developed a fully decoupled direct seawater electrolysis strategy, and built a floating offshore hydrogen production platform together with a smart and stable power supply system for offshore wind power. With these advances, it achieved long-duration, stable, low-energy hydrogen production at industrial-grade current density for over 250 hours, accomplished the world’s first successful sea trial of direct seawater electrolysis for hydrogen production driven by offshore wind power without desalination, and delivered the world’s first demonstration project of offshore-wind-powered direct hydrogen production from seawater.

The team first proposed the concept of in-situ self-triggered pressure-preserved coring, together with a novel principle of pressure- and temperature-preserved coring that combines “active + passive” thermal insulation. It originally put forward the disruptive principle and technology of “quality-, moisture-, and light-preserved” coring and “film-forming while drilling,” overcoming the challenge of in-situ film formation while drilling at depth and filling the technical gap in deep in-situ coring with quality, moisture, and light preservation. It independently developed the world’s first 1:1 full-scale deep in-situ “five-preservation” coring calibration and simulation analysis platform, filling the technical gap in the simulated testing and calibration of physical and mechanical parameters under in-situ environments at various depths. It innovatively proposed temperature–pressure interpolation decoupling control technology, breaking through the coupled temperature–pressure control challenge and filling the technical gap in the reconstruction of deep in-situ environments and fidelity-transfer docking. It further pioneered non-contact testing technologies and methods for acoustic and electromagnetic signals of rock cores in reconstructed deep in-situ fidelity environments, realizing non-contact measurement of the physical properties of fidelity-preserved cores. It also pioneered a system for preparing fidelity-preserved rock samples and conducting fidelity loading tests under reconstructed deep in-situ environments, enabling fidelity loading test analysis of preserved cores and providing a brand-new fundamental experimental platform for deep in-situ rock mechanics research. This equipment was officially released to the world in December 2024.

The team proposed the main control methods and technology for the dynamic true-triaxial electromagnetic Hopkinson bar, and developed tri-axial six-direction Hopkinson bars with specimen positioning and centering control, three-dimensional centering and leveling with the pulse gun, and supporting devices for 3D alignment control of the waveguide bars. These advances achieved high-precision, rapid three-dimensional centering and leveling control among the tri-axial six-direction Hopkinson waveguide bars, the specimen, and the pulse gun. The team was the first to complete tri-axial six-direction dynamic loading tests and multi-axial, multi-directional coupled static–dynamic loading tests, filling a gap both at home and abroad. It pioneered the tri-axial six-direction electromagnetic stress pulse loading method, technology, and apparatus, and created the tri-axial six-direction electromagnetic stress pulse generator, solving the worldwide problems of large arrival-time errors and low waveform repeatability in stress-wave loading and achieving adjustability, controllability, and repeatability of tri-axial six-direction electromagnetic stress pulses. It also pioneered tri-axial six-direction coupled static–dynamic loading methods, technologies, and equipment, breaking through the technical bottleneck of high-precision coupling between the true-triaxial static loading system and the tri-axial six-direction dynamic loading system, and realizing multi-axial, multi-directional coupled static–dynamic loading of static confining pressure and electromagnetic stress pulses. This equipment fills the international gap in three-dimensional rock dynamics testing methods and has received high praise from renowned experts and scholars at home and abroad.