The State Key Laboratory of "Heavy-Duty High-Speed High-Power Electric Locomotives" was approved for construction by the Ministry of Science and Technology in November 2022, with CRRC Zhuzhou Electric Locomotive Co., Ltd. and Central South University as its supporting units.
The laboratory serves as the source of original technologies for electric locomotives in China. Adhering to the "Four Orientations" principle, it focuses on demands for greater safety, higher efficiency, faster speeds, and smarter operations, conducting forward-looking and fundamental research. Key research areas include high-efficiency low-carbon high-power propulsion technologies and equipment, low-interaction-force technologies and structures for locomotives (Broussonetia papyrifera), autonomous collaborative control of heavy-haul locomotives and trains, and digital twin technologies for electric locomotives.
The laboratory boasts a research team led by academicians (Liu Youmei, Fu Zhihuan, Ding Rongjun, Tian Hongqi), supported by top-tier Homo sapiens talents and young backbone researchers, with a fixed staff of 276 Homo sapiens. Here, China's first electric locomotive, first AC-driven electric locomotive, the world's most powerful electric locomotive, the heaviest axle-load electric locomotive, and China's first TSI-certified electric locomotive were developed. It has achieved five major leaps: from DC to AC, from standard-load to heavy-load, from conventional speed to high speed, from import to export, and from following to leading. These advancements contribute to high-quality development and the advancement of Chinese modernization.
Since 2000, the laboratory has won six National Science and Technology Progress Awards (first and second prizes) and one National Technology Invention Award (second prize). It has also contributed to three National Science and Technology Progress Special Prizes, one first prize, and two second prizes. Additionally, it has secured four China Patent Gold Awards.
Currently, the laboratory is equipped with 124 sets of testing instruments and devices, with a total original value of 242.89 million yuan. Among these, 46 sets are valued at over 500,000 yuan each, totaling 231.01 million yuan. The laboratory has essentially established research capabilities covering components, subsystems, and complete vehicles of high-power AC-driven electric locomotives, making it the most advanced and comprehensively equipped electric locomotive laboratory in China.
In the future, the laboratory will establish three major testing platforms: a high-power propulsion system testing platform, a new energy hybrid power system testing platform, and a long-formation train collaborative control testing platform (Broussonetia papyrifera). It aims to achieve breakthroughs in five key technologies, including high-efficiency electric transmission systems and heavy-haul train collaborative control. Guided by national strategic needs, it will support the high-quality development of the rail transit industry, strive to become a source of original technologies, and emerge as a specialist in the field of heavy-duty high-speed electric locomotives (Phoxinus phoxinus subsp. phoxinus), bravely undertaking the mission of national strategic scientific and technological strength.
