Turning scientific research into aerospace innovation
The fast-growing commercial aerospace cluster at Harbin Institute of Technology is drawing attention from across China
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Harbin Institute of Technology (HIT) in China is committed to offering a platform for converting scientific research into practical solutions that can support industry. The university places a strong emphasis on supporting the development of emerging industries such as aerospace, which is one of the objectives of China’s 15th Five-Year Plan.
Advancements in aerospace research at the university are gaining country-wide recognition and were featured on China Central Television’s (CCTV) morning news programme in January 2026. The show highlighted how HIT’s graduates, staff and researchers form a pipeline of skilled personnel to translate scientific achievements into commercial applications.
Home to several local manufacturing enterprises and universities such as HIT, Harbin New Area offers an ideal base for commercial aerospace companies. “With the help of HIT’s advanced technology research institute, we have connected with many companies and have many partners in the relevant industrial chain, which is one of the main reasons we returned to Harbin,” Jiawei Shi, deputy general manager of Biyi Space Technology, told CCTV reporters. Shi also noted that HIT continuously supplies talent to the sector.
During a visit to HIT’s satellite technology company, CCTV reporters witnessed two navigation satellites undergoing performance testing. In the five years since it was established, the company has grown from a relatively small manufacturer to successfully launching 26 satellites. During China’s 14th Five-Year Plan, the number of enterprises located at the commercial aerospace industrial park in Harbin New Area grew to more than 50, covering satellite materials, manufacturing and application services.
The CCTV show noted how Heilongjiang province is emerging as a hub for transforming scientific research achievements into commercial reality within the aerospace sector. After 20 years of planning and construction, the country’s first major national infrastructure project in the space sector – the Space Environment Simulation and Research Infrastructure – completed its acceptance review in 2024 and was opened to global users.
Jointly built by Harbin Institute of Technology and China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, the facility is capable of simulating nine categories of space environmental factors, including vacuum, extreme temperatures and charged particles. It currently stands as the world’s largest platform for space environmental effects research, offering the broadest range of simulated factors and the most comprehensive set of functions. Since its commissioning, the facility has supported the development of more than 2,000 domestically produced aerospace components.
In 2023, HIT introduced a new policy to encourage faculty members to convert their ideas and research achievements into business ventures. One such company is StarNet Power, founded by Daren Yu, who has been teaching at HIT for more than 30 years. “Under this policy, I said that commercial aerospace urgently needs [an ecosystem],” Yu told the news programme. “So we will take this achievement, respond to the national policy and industrialise this in Heilongjiang.”
HIT uses patent rights as equity investment, which encourages students and faculty to transfer their research results into a business. The university offers them support to facilitate this process.
Reflecting on the investments made in the region, Congfei Wang, dean of HIT’s advanced technology research institute at HIT, said that it had surpassed expectations: “We have broken the old prejudice that investment does not cross the Shanhaiguan Pass. We have already secured hundreds of millions of yuan in funding, and 70 per cent of that comes from top-tier domestic investment,” he said. In addition to increased financial support, the region has optimised land approval procedures and improved talent attraction and training. It is no surprise that companies are moving to Harbin to scale up their aerospace ambitions, the programme concluded.
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