On March 26, the core project “DN400 All-Metal Sealed Gate Valve” of the “Tritium-Compatible Vacuum Products Joint Laboratory” — jointly established by the Institute of Energy, Hefei Comprehensive National Science Center and Sichuan Jiutian Vacuum Technology — successfully passed expert group acceptance in Nanchong, Sichuan. This achievement marks a new breakthrough for China in the field of high-end vacuum valves.

The DN400 all-metal sealed gate valve is a specialized valve designed for extreme operating conditions such as tritium exposure, high temperature, high pressure, and strong corrosion. It is widely used in petrochemical, nuclear power, and other fields. To address the long-standing pain points caused by reliance on imports — including long procurement cycles, high costs, and delayed after-sales service — the joint R&D team from both parties spent two years tackling key challenges. They overcame core technologies including all-metal hard seal structure design, dynamic seal reliability, and ultra-precision machining processes, successfully achieving domestic substitution.

The expert panel consisted of many authoritative experts, including Professor Chen Changqi from Hefei University of Technology, Professor Liu Kun from Northeastern University, Professor Chen Jian from Sichuan University, and Researchers Hu Jiansheng and Xie Yuanlai from the Institute of Plasma Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences. After rigorous technical inquiries and on-site testing, the expert panel unanimously agreed that the project had completed all scheduled research tasks, met the relevant key technical indicators, and approved its acceptance. Professor Chen Changqi, head of the expert panel, stated: “It is recommended to put the product into industrial production as soon as possible and accelerate the development of the same product series to meet market demand.”

At the meeting, Researcher Zuo Guizhong, the project leader, delivered a special report on the R&D background, technical pathway, industrialization plan, and socioeconomic benefits.

At the meeting, Dr. Song Kaiyu, the technical leader, gave a detailed report on technological innovation and valve performance. He stated that the independently developed DN400 all-metal sealed gate valve has overall performance comparable to the international advanced level.

In his speech, Zhang Zhiming, Vice President of Sichuan Jiutian Vacuum, emphasized: “In the future, we will accelerate the industrialization of the DN400 all-metal sealed gate valve and provide cost-effective localized solutions for the construction of future fusion reactors.”