Approved in 1998, the National Engineering Research Center for Novel Polymer Processing Equipment (NERC-NPPE) was among the first cohort of national engineering centers established in China. In 2010, it received continued support through the 'Program on Innovation Capacity Building' of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC). In 2012, it was honored with the 'Great Achievement Award of National Engineering Research Centers'. And in 2021, it was officially re-certified as part of the first batch of research centers under the restructured National Engineering Research Center management system.

The center is hosted by South China University of Technology (SCUT) and builds on three top-tier disciplines of SCUT—Mechanical Engineering, Materials Science & Engineering, and Chemical Engineering & Technology—while integrating complementary strengths from Control Science, Computer Science, Environmental Science and other relevant fields. The center has assembled a strong interdisciplinary team through collaboration. Through interdisciplinary synergy and technology convergence, NERC-NPPE tackles generic and addresses critical technical challenges in advanced polymer manufacturing, with a particular focus on developing green processing technologies and equipment with high potential for rapid commercialization.

Led by Professor Jinping Qu, an academician of Chinese Academy of Engineering, the Center proposed and developed the novel processing technologies through vibration shear deformation and volume dynamic tensile deformation, and achieved the transformation of plastic processing from “steady state” to “dynamic state” as well as from “shear-rheology-based” to “tension-rheology-based”, delivering a portfolio of original and industrially proven innovations.

Technologies developed by NERC-NPPE have been transferred to major plastics-machinery manufacturers, applied to nearly 30 domestic provinces and municipalities, and exported worldwide. Retrofit projects implemented based on these technologies have modernized and unpgraded numerous existing plastics plants, generating remarkable economic and social benefits. Research outcomes have earned 2 State Technology Invention Awards (2nd prize), 1 State Science and Technology Progress Award (2nd prize), and 2 China Patent Gold Awards.

• Mission: Advancing fundamental and key technologies in polymer manufacturing and catalyzing deep collaboration across industry, academia, and research institutes.

• Core Tasks: Accelerating technology innovation, incubating start-ups, facilitating industrial deployment, and serving the upgrading needs of the polymer sector.

• Five Functions: research & development, technology transfer, talent cultivation, pilot-scale production, and testing and evaluation.

• Innovation Model: Bridging the gap between research and industry by fostering strong university-enterprise collaboration and leveraging platform resources to facilitate the “last mile” of technology commercialization.

• Industrial Service Arm: Guangzhou Huaxinke Intelligent Manufacturing Technology Co., Ltd. (HUAXINKE).