The 29th National Exhibition of Inventions was held from October 17 to 19, 2025, at the Shijiazhuang International Convention and Exhibition Center (Zhengding). The project from Tsinghua University led by Researcher Ci Song, titled “Digital Energy Exchange Technology and Digital Energy Storage Applications Based on Dynamic Reconfigurable Battery Networks,” won the Gold Award. Researcher Ci Song is the primary inventor of the project, and Tsinghua University is the primary completing institution.

As a disruptive technology in the field of electrochemical energy storage, dynamic reconfigurable battery network technology overcomes the shortcomings of fixed series-parallel battery configurations and addresses long-standing challenges in battery storage systems, such as large-scale heterogeneous battery management, coordinated control, and safe operation. This technology changes the physical connections between batteries from traditional rigid series-parallel connections to program-controlled flexible connections. By controlling the timing of each battery’s participation in the charge-discharge circuit, it achieves a “best-effort” energy management mode, balancing working current levels, preventing overcharge, overdischarge, and overheating conditions that degrade battery life, thereby increasing cycle count and service life while reducing the average cost per unit of stored energy.

Moreover, the dynamic reconfigurable battery network technology can identify faulty or underperforming battery modules and automatically isolate them, reducing operational and maintenance costs. To date, the Ci Song team at Tsinghua University has published over 150 papers, filed over 150 patents, and led multiple national-level research projects including the National Key R&D Program and the National Natural Science Foundation of China. The team has won numerous international and national awards, including the Gold Award at the Geneva Invention Exhibition and the First Prize at the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology Advanced Energy Storage Technology Innovation Challenge. Related achievements have also been selected for the National Energy Administration’s list of first-of-a-kind major technical equipment.

The National Exhibition of Inventions is one of the highest-level and most influential exhibitions in the field of invention in China. Hosted by the China Invention Association, it is the country’s only large-scale technology exhibition focused on invention and innovation and has been successfully held 29 times. This year’s exhibition, themed “Invention and Innovation Leading the Development of the Digital Economy,” featured projects across multiple fields, including intelligent manufacturing, biomedicine, green technology, and public services.