Viewing the "Awakening" of Domestic Environmental Monitoring Instruments from the "Heihe Project"

 

In 2010, * launched an 8-year "Heihe Project" with my country's Heihe River Basin as a typical research area.
One of its core scientific goals is to establish an ecological and hydrological scientific observation system for inland river basins in China through experiments.

 

Home-made monitoring equipment helps "Heihe Project"
 

Since 2016, the "Heihe Project" team has developed 19 types of ecological monitoring and networking equipment in 5 categories through original and integrated innovation, including multi-scale monitoring equipment for hydrothermal parameters, a comprehensive observation system of carbon dioxide isotope for soil biochemical processes, and key vegetation Automatic parameter monitoring equipment, terrestrial vertebrate monitoring equipment, and key ecological IoT equipment.
At the same time, the newly developed monitoring equipment has also been adaptively applied and demonstrated in a number of typical ecologically fragile areas.

 

Among them, the vegetation leaf area index meter is an important indicator that reflects the growth status of plants, but the monitoring equipment* is monopolized by foreign countries, and the price is high, which restricts the progress of scientific research.
The Vegetation Leaf Area Index instrument can realize spatially dense and continuous automatic network observations, accurately capture the growth status of vegetation, and provide growth dynamic information at any time, completely changing the way of manual information collection with instruments in the past.
More importantly, the vegetation leaf area index instrument broke the monopoly of foreign instruments.
At present, experts have cooperated with enterprises to industrialize the vegetation leaf area index instrument to achieve greater value.

 

In addition, the "Soil Biochemical Process Carbon Dioxide Isotope Comprehensive Observation System" is also an instrument for monitoring soil respiration.
Isotopes are the fingerprints of the ecosystem, and soil carbon dioxide content is less than 0.
2%, which is difficult to monitor.
However, by understanding the characteristics of its production and transportation, as well as the exchange process of carbon dioxide at the soil-atmosphere interface, it is possible to evaluate the soil functional characteristics of fragile ecosystems and the role of soil carbon sequestration.

 

　　At present, most of the indicators of domestically-made instruments can meet the observation needs and can realize wireless network observation, which also has price advantages compared with foreign instruments.
The scientific researchers of the "Heihe Project" worked hard to create a "highlight moment" belonging to domestic equipment.
Although there are still many key technical difficulties that have not been broken through, there is still a long way to go for the industrialization of domestically-made equipment in the future.

 

　　Market share of domestic monitoring equipment expands
 

　　It is understood that from the second half of 2018, the market structure of my country's monitoring equipment has undergone a relatively large change.
After the country began to implement the new air quality standard monitoring implementation plan, there has been a relatively obvious import substitution of monitoring equipment.
In 2018, about 60% of the monitoring equipment was imported equipment, and in the second half of 2020, the market share of foreign monitoring equipment was already lower than that of domestic equipment.

 

　　There are three main reasons for the continuous expansion of the market share of domestic monitoring equipment.
The first factor is information security, which supports the localization of monitoring equipment.
Environmental data is transmitted wirelessly, and monitoring equipment is gradually moving towards an integrated model.
At the same time, sensitive information can be monitored.
From the perspective of information security, the government encourages the localization of monitoring equipment.
The second is that the local area has first-mover advantages for expansion, such as technical reserves and financial strength.
The market space for a single monitoring indicator for environmental monitoring is limited.
After the domestic listing and financing, the country has sufficient funds and a high proportion of R&D investment, which has established technical and financial advantages and has the potential for expansion.
Third, third-party operation and maintenance has become a blue ocean for domestic enterprises to compete.
Transition to third-party operation and maintenance is the development trend of environmental monitoring companies, and it is also an important link to increase differentiation in the industry.

 

　　The expansion of the market share of domestic monitoring equipment is also inseparable from the country's increased investment in scientific research in recent years, with the help of various national support policies to promote the industrialization and technological upgrading of environmental monitoring equipment .
At the same time, it promotes the integration of scientific research and production of monitoring instruments, encourages environmental monitoring equipment manufacturers, universities and scientific research institutions to adopt various methods to carry out technical cooperation, and accelerate the transformation of environmental monitoring technologies.

 

　　Shortcomings of domestic monitoring equipment
 

　　At present, China's instrumentation industry has formed an industrial system with a relatively complete range of varieties, a relatively reasonable layout, and a considerable technical foundation and production scale.
From the analysis of the technological level of products, most of the low-end products are basically complete in varieties, capable of batch production, and stable in quality.
However, in terms of technology, there is still a big gap with developed countries.

 

　　In recent years, although my country's environmental monitoring instrument industry has made some progress, it can basically meet actual needs in terms of variety and quantity, but there are problems such as low monitoring frequency, large sampling errors, and inaccurate monitoring data when used.
These problems not only affect the seriousness of scientific decision-making in environmental management, but also easily dampen the enthusiasm of enterprises to control pollution and protect the environment.
High-quality analyzers, *monitoring instruments and automatic monitoring systems are mostly imported from abroad, and domestic instruments account for a small share.
Although the current situation is changing, there is still a lot of work to be done in terms of product structure, research and development capabilities, etc.
.

 

　　my country's environmental monitoring equipment industry has many problems in the process of continuous progress.
For example, the enterprise operation system is not perfect, and the tendency of convergence is serious.
Numerous small and medium-sized enterprises flocked to it, lacking technology and capital, and there were many low-level repetitions.
The quality and performance of the instruments could not compete with imported instruments.
It should be said that there is still a big gap between the R&D capabilities of Chinese enterprises and foreign companies, and there is also a lack of close cooperation mechanisms between scientific research units and enterprises, and scientific research results cannot be quickly industrialized.
The government's investment in the development and development of environmental science instruments and venture capital is also insufficient.

 

　　In order to change the shortcomings, in the future, we should encourage the introduction of a complete set of foreign technology monitoring instruments, so as to digest and absorb foreign key technologies, joint production, and then gradually realize localization.
Improve the development plan and technical policies of environmental monitoring equipment in a timely manner, clarify the development direction of environmental monitoring equipment, guide and standardize the healthy development of environmental monitoring equipment, and avoid blind obedience by enterprises.

 

　　Original Title: Viewing the "Awakening" of Domestic Environmental Monitoring Instruments from the "Heihe Project"