On April 17, a day after China’s Shenzhou 13 crew returned to earth, dairy giant Yili Group announced at a press conference to collaborate with the China Center for Aerospace Science and Technology International Communications (CCASTIC), which is an affiliation of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC). The collaboration will include establishing a Space Lab for Future Dairy, which will aim to leverage space technology to bring new transformative innovations to the health sector.
Yu Dengyun, Deputy Director of the Science and Technology Committee of CASC and Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, noted that the two sides will focus on boosting the dairy industry through space technology. He said that research on space biology and new space materials will introduce new solutions to upgrade the dairy industry.
Yili will strive to develop more healthy dairy products that fulfill consumers’ nutritional demands and meet strict quality standards. We will drive and contribute to the upgrading of the dairy industry through space technology , said Zhang Jianqiu, CEO of Yili Group.
The two sides will work closely with related space institutes on scientific research, technology transfers and product development. Through joint efforts in packaging using new space materials, bacterial strains in space, TanSat-based pasture monitoring, and health and nutritional care, they are committed to upgrading dairy products to a higher level.
The Lab marks a step forward towards further empowering industries with space technology and improving consumers’ health and nutritional status. Dr. Situ Wenyou, a scientific research expert of the Innovation Center of Yili, expressed his hope that this inter-disciplinary cooperation will bring about lighter, safer and more environmentally friendly food packaging materials, as well as nutrition and health products tailored for special segments of the population, with the aim of enabling consumers to enjoy advanced technologies and products in their daily lives. Yili aspires to participate in future space experiments by applying cutting-edge research to dairy products under special conditions such as long-term microgravity, strong radiation and extreme temperatures. These efforts will contribute to improving consumers’ health and nutrition by leveraging state-of-the-art technology.
Yili has always pursued the philosophy of “no innovation, no future”. To date, the company has built 15 innovation centers across the globe and actively engages in innovation-focused collaborations across its supply chain. By early December 2021, Yili had become one of the leading dairy players in terms of its total number of patent applications and invention applications.
Yili is also stepping up its efforts to build the Future Intelligence and Health Valley in Hohhot, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, a landmark project for the dairy industry. The Valley includes a RMB 5 billion (equivalent to approximately US $785 million) demonstration program focused on the 5G- and AI-based green production of liquid milk, the largest and most highly automated such initiative of its kind.