An NUAA vacuum-state super-insulation composite insulates 10+ Antarctic research cabins, including at Kunlun Station, and won national awards in 2026.
Professor Chen Zhaofeng's Super-Insulation Composite Materials Laboratory in NUAA's College of Materials Science and Technology has developed a low-temperature, vacuum-state super-insulation composite with room-temperature thermal conductivity as low as 1 mW/(m·K). According to the team, it insulates 20–30 times better than traditional materials.
The material has been installed in more than 10 research cabins at Chinese Antarctic stations, including Kunlun Station. According to NUAA, it keeps the cabins it protects at 22 °C inside.
In October 2026 the work won a First Prize in the Chinese Society for Composite Materials Science and Technology Progress Award (23 October, led by NUAA) and contributed to a Special Prize from the China Steel Structure Association (22 October, led by China Construction Third Engineering Bureau). It has also earned a gold medal at the 51st International Exhibition of Inventions of Geneva.