Recently, it was learned from CCTEG Taiyuan Research Institute that the project "Key Technologies and Applications for Green and Intelligent Development of Scarce High-Quality Residual Coal and Coalbed Methane," in which the institute participated, won the second prize of the National Science and Technology Progress Award.

For a long time, longwall fully mechanized mining has been the mainstay of coal mining in China. However, due to geological conditions and economic constraints, approximately 40% of the country's coal resources cannot be arranged for longwall fully mechanized mining faces due to irregular block shapes and numerous residual coal pillars. In particular, after high-intensity mining and the consolidation of small coal mines in some mining areas, a large amount of hard-to-mine coal resources has become "dead coal," making recovery difficult. At the same time, the severe surface subsidence and gangue pile accumulation problems caused by traditional mining also urgently require green and intelligent development solutions.

To address these challenges, CCTEG Taiyuan Research Institute has implemented a comprehensive strategy, achieving systematic innovations in three dimensions: process systems, core technologies, and complete equipment sets, resulting in multiple "from 0 to 1" breakthroughs in the field of shortwall backfill mining.

First, the team pioneered a process system, overcoming full negative pressure ventilation and rapid backfill technology for shortwall backfill mining, forming an integrated process of excavation, mining, and backfilling. This allows gangue to be "digested" directly underground while recovering coal, eliminating the generation of gangue piles at the source.

Second, the team conquered the intelligent core, enabling "fewer personnel and unmanned operations." To address the persistent issues of shortwall backfill mining equipment losing orientation and having uncoordinated movements, researchers overcame key technologies such as high-precision integrated navigation, adaptive cutting, and transport trajectory control, equipping the machinery with a "smart brain" to achieve precise positioning and remote centralized control in complex environments.

Third, the team developed domestic heavy equipment, breaking free from "import dependence." In response to the long-standing reliance on imported core equipment, the project team independently developed China's first complete set of shortwall backfill mining equipment centered on a continuous miner. This "steel legion" includes roof bolters, crawler-mounted hydraulic supports, continuous haulage systems, and shuttle cars, integrating intelligent collaborative control technology to truly achieve full-process domestic substitution covering excavation, mining, transport, backfilling, ventilation and dust removal, and roof control.

The application of these results has significantly improved China's coal resource recovery rate, effectively alleviated ecological pressure in mining areas, and promoted the transformation of the coal industry from "high yield and high efficiency" to "ecological and environmental protection." Currently, this technology has been successfully applied in multiple mining areas, marking China's position at the forefront of the world in the field of shortwall intelligent mining.