A big country of aerospace with black technology

"Is the potential of this thing really as great as you say?"

After watching the slides, Sun Hongtao took off his reading glasses and looked at Zhang Xingyang with some confusion.

In the dim room, the screen played a picture of a huge high-altitude solar-powered drone flying over the Cape of Good Hope.

"What's the use of this thing?"

This problem is not limited to Mr. Sun.

Many people couldn't help but have this thought when they first saw this strange drone.

No matter how you look at this thing, you think it is a useless technical verification product.

It has verified high-altitude drone technology and high-efficiency solar energy technology.

"Mr. Sun, there is a job called power tower inspection, do you know?"

Zhang Xingyang said while looking at the colorless light reflected from the flexible solar panel on the back of the curtain.

As the leader in charge of industrial development, Sun Hongtao has also heard about this.

I don’t know them very well, but I also know that they are working very hard.

"Our country has built a lot of high-voltage transmission lines in recent years. These power lifelines that carry large-scale power transmission work will also experience failures."

Zhang Xingyang's face was cast a layer of warm white by the light from the curtain:

"Previously, line inspection work was all performed by electrical workers. They had to endure wind, frost, rain, snow and the risk of walking at high altitudes, sweating on overhead wires."

"And with solar-powered drones that can work 24 hours a day, their work intensity can be greatly reduced."

"The high-definition optical camera on the drone can monitor the status of high-voltage transmission lines at high altitudes day and night."

Sun Hongtao obviously didn't expect that drones could be used in this way.

However, after Zhang Xingyang's advice, he thought of more working scenarios for this kind of 24-hour solar drone.

For example, there are border snow-capped mountains that are deserted all year round, maritime patrols that are short of manpower, etc.

In these fields, there is room for high-altitude solar drones to play.

"Current cameras can't see the ground clearly from such a high altitude."

Sun Hongtao pointed out a problem that is easier to think of in Zhang Xingyang's imagination.

Today’s common consumer-grade cameras have no more than 10 million pixels.

It is somewhat difficult to directly detect the situation on the ground through optical cameras from an altitude of two to thirty thousand meters.

"The solar-powered drones used for line patrols will definitely not be designed like today." Zhang Xingyang said.

“Currently designed drones are mostly used for technical verification of solar power generation.”

"If it is a line patrol drone, the solar panels will be greatly reduced and the wingspan length will be reduced, allowing it to fly at low altitudes of thousands of meters."

After finishing speaking, Zhang Xingyang added:

"There are no technical problems with these!"

The high-altitude solar drone currently built has more technical indicators to prepare for future high-altitude power generation and transmission.

Enhanced high-altitude continuous flight capabilities, power generation, etc.

If it is a line patrol solar drone, there is no need to consider the issue of power generation, and it can be made smaller.

"It's indeed a good idea." Sun Hongtao nodded and said.

"Under some special circumstances, it can also play some special uses."

"For example, during emergency rescue and disaster relief, emergency communication support services can be provided."

During various disasters, communication is a big problem.

Even if there are communication satellites, it usually takes several hours for the satellite to change orbit.

For disaster relief, the few hours after a disaster occurs are the most important time.

If high-altitude drones can provide communication support during this time period, rescue and disaster relief can be carried out earlier.

"Actually, if our kilometer-level wireless power transmission can be developed," Zhang Xingyang said immediately following Mr. Sun's words:

"Then during emergency and disaster relief operations, high-altitude drones can even provide emergency power to the ground."

After a disaster, power supply is a difficult thing.

This is especially true when large-scale geological disasters occur.

Various tools that we usually rely on have lost their energy supply.

Many volunteers and soldiers involved in disaster relief can only use the most primitive shovels, pickaxes, or even their own hands to carry out disaster relief.

At this time, even an electric winch can speed up their disaster relief.

But the power towers have collapsed in disaster.

Emergency generators had to be thrown aside because they were damaged or lacked fuel.

At this time, if high-altitude solar drones can provide part of the power supply, it will definitely be exciting for people.

"How is the progress of your wireless power transmission now?" Sun Hongtao also asked with a little interest at this time.

He had heard about such a cooperation between the Rocket Research Institute and the local government before. After all, the investment amount reached tens of billions, so it was difficult not to attract attention.

"We hope to complete 100-meter-level wireless power transmission within two years." Zhang Xingyang said very rigorously.

“Within six years, kilometer-level wireless power transmission technology can be overcome.”

"How far is it from being put into practical use?" Sun Hongtao is not the first day to be exposed to technological development.

Naturally, we know that the gap between technological breakthroughs and putting them into practical use is probably greater than the creation of technology from scratch.

"It depends on where you are applying it?" Zhang Xingyang said.

"oh?"

"Tell me what application scenarios there are."

Zhang Xingyang thought for a moment about the application of wireless power transmission in later generations, and said: "Mr. Sun, new energy vehicles are now an important development direction of the automobile industry."

"The main ones are electric vehicles and hydrogen energy vehicles. We have relatively little development in hydrogen energy. So electric vehicles are more common."

"The biggest flaw of electric vehicles today is the problem of insufficient battery life. Compared with fuel vehicles, the battery life anxiety of electric vehicles that charge slowly is more serious."

"Imagine if wireless power transmission equipment is now covered on urban main roads, allowing trams to be charged while driving, this worry will no longer exist."

"It can take our electric vehicle development to a higher level."

Zhang Xingyang's words made Sun Hongtao fall into thinking.

Although the current annual sales of electric vehicles are still a fraction of those of fuel vehicles.

But anyone with a discerning eye can see that the future development direction of automobiles will definitely be various new energy vehicles.

This can be seen with a little bit of brainpower.

This is not only a requirement for environmental protection, but also a more realistic consideration.

From a hundred years ago to now, the oil fields underground in Dragon Kingdom have basically been surveyed.

Sun Hongtao knows very well that domestic oil production is very limited.

In recent years, large amounts of crude oil have been imported from abroad every year.

Last year, 120 million tons of crude oil were imported, costing more than 30 billion US dollars!

Especially last year, OPEC restricted production, causing oil prices to rise. Compared to the year before, the price per ton of crude oil was at least 15% higher!

A large part of the finished products after crude oil refining, including gasoline and diesel, are consumed by cars.

If the development of electric vehicles can reduce domestic oil imports, it will be a good thing no matter how you look at it.

"This thing sounds really good."

Sun Hongtao thought for a while and then said.

"In fact, most cities in China have just begun large-scale development. If we carry out large-scale development now, we will benefit tremendously in the future."

Urban planning is actually a very complicated matter.

But at this time, most people who make urban construction decisions have not yet formed such an awareness.

Most people today would never imagine that the city they will live in in the future will have a population of millions or tens of millions.

Looking at the whole world, this is an extremely complex problem.

This will cause various inconveniences in the city decades later.

Especially the traffic problem.

The seeds were planted at this time.

"In addition to electric vehicles, public lighting, etc., can use wireless power transmission to reduce various relays and transformers."

After Zhang Xingyang finished talking about electric cars, he continued.

"Of course, there are still many uses for wireless power transmission, and we need to slowly explore them in practice."

“These are applications for wireless power transmission at the 100-meter level.”

“If wireless power transmission can be achieved at the kilometer level, there will be more application scenarios.”

"But that will be at least ten years later."

Sun Hongtao asked curiously at this time: "When will your final plan be realized?"

The ultimate plan for the wireless power transmission project is to build a large-scale space power station above the geostationary orbit.

"The final plan involves many aspects, and the time for its implementation is not very clear." Zhang Xingyang said.

"Large-scale space power stations require us to have our own permanent space station, which we are currently at least five or six years away from."

“In addition to technical factors, other factors must be taken into consideration.”

Having said this, Zhang Xingyang raised his head and looked at Mr. Sun with twinkling eyes.

If you want to build a large space power station, you have to face more than just technical problems.

The more difficult part actually comes from other aspects.

Vested interests.

According to Zhang Xingyang's estimates, a large space power station with a solar panel area of ​​tens of square kilometers can generate more electricity in a year than the Three Gorges Dam in its heyday.

Even if the loss of microwave wireless transmission is subtracted, it is comparable to the annual power generation of the Three Gorges Dam.

The annual power generation exceeds 100 billion kilowatt-hours!

Although domestic electricity has almost always been insufficient, such a large amount of power suddenly appeared.

It will still affect many thermal power plants.

Especially many coal-fired power stations that emit heavy pollution.

It will definitely be destroyed.

These are all issues to consider.

Another point is that the cost of large-scale solar power stations is actually very low.

It’s even lower than water and electricity, which is almost free.

Because of the near-vacuum environment in space, solar panels are damaged very slowly.

All kinds of maintenance costs, except for the high cost of astronauts going up for maintenance, there are almost no other costs.

In other words, putting aside the initial construction costs, once it is put into operation, it will generate at least tens of billions of net profits every year.

"What do you mean?"

Sun Hongtao frowned and asked. He actually knew what Zhang Xingyang was worried about, but he couldn't say it.

"Domestic issues aside, if we build a space power station, will it cause opposition from other countries? Even to the extreme, what if they directly attack our space power station?"

Zhang Xingyang's concerns are not unreasonable.

This was indeed the case in several conflicts in later generations.

Solar power stations in space have been destroyed by missiles and even lasers.

So much so that the solar space power stations launched later were equipped with laser defense weapons as standard to prevent enemy missile attacks.

As well as the core cabin of the power station, it must be wrapped with high heat dissipation materials to prevent laser attacks.

However, such a method is not possible now.

Although the outer space development agreement is basically regarded as a piece of waste paper, no one has deployed weapons in space yet.

No matter what, Zhang Xingyang couldn't start this.

Otherwise, wouldn't it be the main culprit when space wars break out in the future?

This pot is too big to carry!

"Is it that serious?" Sun Hongtao has no future perspective and has not yet realized the seriousness of the problem.

"Mr. Sun, you have to know that this is not a simple technological update, but an energy revolution!" Zhang Xingyang said.

“The combination of space solar power generation and wireless power transmission is enough to overwhelm traditional energy giants.”

"Especially for those countries that rely on traditional fossil energy for power generation, it will be a disaster."

"Their mining, power, refining and other industries will go bankrupt because of this!"

“Under such circumstances, it’s not surprising that a desperate person or country would do anything!”

The situation in China is actually better. After all, everyone was not rich a few years ago.

The proportions in these aspects are not particularly high.

If we spend ten years and make adjustments slowly, we can still turn around.

However, those countries have developed in these aspects for hundreds of years since the first industrial revolution.

There is no way to turn around!

As the saying goes, it is easy for a small boat to turn around, but it is extremely difficult for a big boat to turn around.

Sun Hongtao also gradually understood what the influence Zhang Xingyang was talking about.

Those capital giants who own countless oil fields, refineries, and thousands of thermal power stations will not be able to complete the transformation in time.

In this energy revolution, I am afraid it is not just as simple as bankruptcy.

"This is a war without sight, but it can change the whole world!"

Zhang Xingyang said a famous saying.

"I can't make the decision alone on this matter." Sun Hongtao said after thinking for a while.

"The impact is really too great, we need to have a serious discussion."

Afterwards, Sun Hongtao laughed and said:

"In any case, we are already in a leading position in this regard."

"At least, I can have some advantages over others!"