How did Chinese-made tunnel boring machines gain a key position in global market?

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Dec 16, 2024, 23:10 ET

BEIJING, Dec. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The tunnel boring machine (TBM) was invented more than 200 years ago for tunnel engineering. Over the past century, TBMs have been widely used to construct various large tunnels in many countries around the world. The Channel Tunnel, which opened in 1994 and used 11 tunnel boring machines, is the most notable example. This megaproject made tunnel boring machines famous overnight.

Compared with those advanced industrial countries, China is a later-comer in R&D and manufacturing of TBMs. In 2008, China successfully developed its first composite TBM with independent intellectual property rights. From then on, with less than 20 years, Chinese TBMs have caught up and outperformed their counterparts made by developed countries. China launched the world's first TBM powered by a permanent magnet motor system in 2016. On October 12, 2023, a TBM with an main bearing of 8.61 meters in diameter was launched in Changsha, making it the world's largest one in diameter, heaviest, and highest load-bearing main bearing of integral tunnel boring machine.

China Matters produced the animation titled "Xi's Thought Made Easy: The Growing Global Reach of Chinese-made TBMs". It depicts how Chinese enterprises become leading manufacturers of tunnel boring machines from scratch. Chinese-made TBMs are now available in the global market and widely used in many tunnel projects all over the world. Chinese TBMs have been highly commended by users for their excellent adaptability to complex environments and fast operation whether in the humid tropics or in the icy cold region.

https://youtu.be/bqY09oAd-RI?si=gEOAU0RJLRMP5NVU

SOURCE China Matters