Institute of Engineering Thermophysics

Official Chinese name	中国科学院工程热物理研究所
Official English name	Institute of Engineering Thermophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Chinese aliases	中国科学院直属科研机构动力研究室
English aliases	Power Research Laboratory
Acronyms	IET
Research fields	Efficient and low-carbon conversion, distributed energy systems and energy storage, advanced power equipment, high-altitude long-endurance unmanned aerial vehicle technology and applications, hydrogen-energy conversion and utilisation, supercritical carbon dioxide Brayton cycle thermo-work conversion, highly adaptable thermal-functional materials and devices, intelligent networked loitering systems, space systems, microgravity combustion
Total employee count	528 (as of the end of 2024)

Summary

Institute of Engineering Thermophysics is categorised as a Regular Defence Partner based on the following indicators:

Defence advisor

0 indicators

Defence award

2 indicators

Defence funding

3 indicators

Defence laboratory

1 indicators

Military-technology patent

3 indicators

Research collaboration with defence entities

3 indicators

Defence advisory roles

Members of the leadership of the Institute of Engineering Thermophysics have possibly not served on defence-related expert committees. However, because the underlying data are outdated and lack sufficient detail, this assessment is made with low confidence, and such service by any member of the leadership cannot be fully ruled out.

Defence awards

Available information indicates that researchers and projects linked to the Institute of Engineering Thermophysics have received at least three separate defence awards over time, namely three separate instances of the National Defence Science and Technology Award.^[1]

The dates of two of the awards are known, allowing our analysis to confirm that they were connected to work conducted at the Institute of Engineering Thermophysics.^[2] The date of the third award is not known, and while the recipient has spent the vast majority of their career at the Institute of Engineering Thermophysics, the first part of their career was spent at a different CAS institute.^[3] We cannot therefore confidently connect this award to work conducted at the Institute of Engineering Thermophysics.

The identified awards were granted in 2000 and 2006, indicating that while historically the institute's work has been recognised in defence science and technology circles, its recent work has not received the same recognition.

While the Institute of Engineering Thermophysics' researchers and projects received at least two defence awards prior to 2021, it is unlikely that such awards have been granted in recent years. However, available sources containing references to defence awards lack sufficient detail to confirm whether they were directly linked to work conducted at the institute. The assessment is therefore made with medium confidence. Additional awards, whether granted to the institute, to researchers prior to their affiliation or awarded more recently, cannot be fully ruled out due to missing or incomplete date information.

Defence funding

Between 2021 and 2025, researchers from the Institute of Engineering Thermophysics authored 38 publications funded by Chinese defence entities, placing the institute in the 59th percentile among the CAS institutes included in this analysis. Of the 1,234 authors affiliated with the Institute of Engineering Thermophysics who published during this period, 27 (2 per cent) had at least one defence-funded publication. However, it is not possible to attribute specific funding to individual researchers based solely on publication data.

Defence laboratories

No publicly available information suggests that this institute hosts or is affiliated with any known defence laboratories. The Chinese language laboratory websites do not mention any links or references to defence-related activities.

Military-technology patents

Between 2021 and 2025, the Institute of Engineering Thermophysics was granted five military-technology patents, placing it in the 61st percentile among the CAS institutes included in this analysis. A total of 28 inventors affiliated with the Institute of Engineering Thermophysics were listed on these patents.

Research collaboration with defence entities

Between 2021 and 2025, researchers from the Institute of Engineering Thermophysics co-authored 331 publications with at least one Chinese defence entity, placing the institute in the 49th percentile among the CAS institutes included in this analysis.

These collaborations include 4 publications with PLA academic institutions, 181 with defence laboratories, 2 with military hospitals, 140 with members of the Seven Sons of National Defence, 55 with members of the Seven Sons of Ordnance Industry and 22 with defence conglomerates.

Of the 1,234 authors affiliated with the Institute of Engineering Thermophysics who published during this period, 412 (33 per cent) had at least one defence-related collaboration. 

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