On July 8, the 2025 National Supreme Science and Technology Award was presented to Chen Liquan and Ben De – two academicians recognized for foundational contributions in energy storage and radar sensing.

Chen Liquan (born 1940), from the Institute of Physics at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, is widely regarded as the founding figure of China’s lithium battery industry. He built the nation’s R&D and industrialization framework for energy storage materials, underpinning the EV, consumer electronics, and grid-storage supply chains.

Ben De (born 1938), from China Electronics Technology Group, is a core architect of airborne pulse-Doppler radar and phased-array systems, and also pioneered space-based surveillance radar technologies. His work supports defense detection, automotive sensing, and China’s independent radar perception industry.

The 2025 awards recognized 258 projects and 11 individuals across categories: 51 Natural Science awards, 58 Technological Invention awards, 149 Progress awards, and 9 international cooperation honorees.

Established in 2000, the Supreme Science Award is China’s highest scientific honor, granted to no more than two recipients per year – and has been vacant in 2004 and 2015 – reserved exclusively for breakthroughs with global impact and strategic national significance.

From ICgoodFind: Batteries and radars share one thing: sensing and storing energy define the physical world. These two laureates built the backbone industries of electrification and perception – and that’s exactly where silicon demand accelerates next.