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Cables Have “Neurons” Too: 120-Kilometer New Sensing Cable Goes Into Service!
Release time :
Nov 12,2025
Source :
Source: Power Grid Headlines
On January 29, China First Heavy Industries organized a product appraisal meeting for the “300MW-class F-series gas turbine rotor forging” in Qiqihar. Zhang Hao, Member of the Party Committee Standing Committee and Deputy General Manager of the Group Corporation; Wu Zhiquan, Party Secretary and Chairman of China United Heavy Gas Turbine Technology Co., Ltd.; and Gao Yuzhong, Member of the Party Committee and Deputy General Manager, attended the meeting.
Recently, under the coordinated planning of the State Grid Materials Department, the “new-generation sensing cable” jointly developed by Zhixin Company and State Grid Jiangsu Electric Power has been deployed across 120 kilometers in Jiangsu Province. This deployment enables dual-dimensional online monitoring of underground cables, tracking both cable identity and temperature.
As the “lifeline” of the power grid, the health of cables directly impacts grid safety. For years, traditional underground cable management has grappled with four persistent challenges: difficult quality oversight, complex construction control, challenging fault localization, and demanding operational monitoring.
To tackle this “tough nut,” in 2021, Zhixin Company partnered with State Grid Jiangsu Electric Power to form a dedicated team. They overcame key technical hurdles and successfully developed a new sensing cable integrating “identity authentication” and “temperature sensing” functions in June 2022. The cable incorporates RFID temperature-sensing electronic tags, effectively embedding “nerve cells” within the cable's “blood vessels.” This innovation fundamentally resolves the pain points of traditional manual inspections—low efficiency and the inability to capture real-time temperature changes. |  |  |
Cross-Section of New Perceptual Cable | Implantable RFID Temperature Monitoring Electronic Tag |
Four Innovations
Enabling the Construction of Cable Digital Twins
How can we achieve dual control over the “identity and temperature” of underground cables? The new smart cable offers a solution through four technological innovations:
1. High-Precision “Body Temperature Monitoring Core”
Zhixin's self-developed passive UHF RFID tag chip integrates a high-precision temperature sensor, achieving ±1℃ measurement accuracy across a wide temperature range of -40℃ to 150℃. This outperforms the ±1.5℃ accuracy typical for domestic and international sensors operating between -40℃ and 125℃. This precision breakthrough enables the chip to detect minute temperature anomalies in cables more accurately, effectively preventing the misdiagnosis of early-stage hazards due to measurement deviations. It provides more reliable temperature monitoring assurance for the safe and stable operation of cables.
2-Highly Resilient “Identity Tag Core”
The electronic tag embedded within the cable integrates a temperature-sensing chip. Its microstrip structure with anti-metal design, combined with a Teflon flexible antenna substrate, endows the tag with exceptional resistance to metal interference and stress damage. Capable of withstanding temperatures up to 250°C, the tag remains detectable from 3 meters away, meeting complex requirements across all cable scenarios—from production and installation to operation and maintenance.
3-National-Grade Security Protection
Employing the SM7 algorithm-based secure interaction storage method, the electronic tag effectively prevents cloning and data decryption. Its “one chip, one key” approach safeguards both cable identity information and operational data security.
4-End-to-End Management System
Zhixin's dedicated team developed a lean management system for the entire cable lifecycle, featuring “one code for seamless integration and full traceability.” This system enables digital management across all stages—from manufacturing and construction to operation, maintenance, and decommissioning.
“We have embedded our proprietary RFID temperature-sensing chips and electronic tags with globally unique identifiers inside the cables. These not only enable precise identification of each cable's ‘identity’ but also monitor its operating temperature in real time, providing the technological foundation for building a digital twin of the cable's entire lifecycle,” stated the project lead for Zhixin Company's research and application of embedded identification chips for power cables.
Internationally Leading
Powering the New Power System with “Core” Innovation
Currently, the new sensing cable has been included in the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology's “Guidance Catalog for the Promotion and Application of First-of-a-Kind Major Technical Equipment (2024 Edition)” and the “Beijing 2024 Third Batch Catalog of First-of-a-Kind Major Technical Equipment.”
The relevant achievements have also passed testing by authoritative third-party institutions such as the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology (CAICT) China Telecommunication Engineering Laboratory, the Commercial Cryptography Testing Center of the State Cryptography Administration, and the Testing Laboratory of the Shanghai Integrated Circuit Technology and Industry Promotion Center. They have been appraised by expert panels as “internationally leading.”
The new sensing cable has been deployed over 120 kilometers in Jiangsu Province, further validating its reliability and stability in large-scale applications. This deployment has achieved true end-to-end digital management, effectively addressing challenges in quality supervision and operational monitoring of underground cables.
In terms of industrialization, the new sensing cable has entered mass production at several renowned domestic cable manufacturers, demonstrating scalable delivery capabilities. Its widespread adoption will significantly advance the digital transformation of power grid infrastructure and enhance grid operational safety.
Moving forward, Zhixin will accelerate the development of next-generation cable products integrating multi-parameter sensing capabilities such as temperature, pressure, and partial discharge. The company aims to establish a digital twin system covering the entire cable lifecycle, providing robust technical support for the construction of new power systems.
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