As the Milan Winter Olympics opens, China's winter sports enthusiasts are enjoying the season's activities. Yet, thanks to Professor Zhang Kai's team from Beijing Institute of Technology's (BIT), the winter sports joy can extend beyond the season.

The team has developed a revolutionary gel ice and snow technology that defies temperature, creating "everlasting ice and snow".

This innovative material, composed of over 90 percent of water, utilizes a polymer network to "lock" water molecules, maintaining the look and feel of natural ice without melting even as temperatures rise. This advancement overcomes the brittleness typical of conventional ice, offering superior mechanical properties.

The technology has been commercialized through BIT's Beijing Ningji New Material Technology Company, with comprehensive intellectual property protection in place.

The gel ice and snow technology addresses three major industry challenges: reducing ice rink construction time from 21 days to just 3 days, reducing energy consumption by over 50 percent, and decreasing operational costs by 10 percent. It has been used to construct Beijing's largest outdoor mobile ice rink and the gel curling facilities in Shanghai and Tangshan in Hebei province, with a 1,000-square-meter indoor ice rink set to open in Jinan, Shandong province.

Beyond sports, the technology's applications extend into various fields. In cold chain logistics, the "gel ice blanket" developed for Mengniu Group maintains a constant -18°C for up to 15 hours during power outages, ensuring uninterrupted freshness of food. Collaborations with companies like JD.com and Beijing Capital Agribusiness and Food Group further enhance cold chain reliability.

In green energy storage, the gel ice technology shows significant potential. By leveraging phase change energy storage, it enables innovative energy-saving solutions in buildings. Integrating gel materials into building energy systems allows storing cold energy during low-demand periods and releasing it during peak times. This reduces air conditioning energy consumption and alleviates grid pressure, supporting China's "dual carbon" goals.

From consumer products to industrial applications and urban infrastructure, gel ice technology is redefining the value of "ice and snow". This evolution from consumer goods to industrial products and infrastructure showcases the powerful momentum of technological innovation driving industry growth. As its application scenarios expand, gel ice technology will inject new vitality into the high-quality development of the ice and snow economy, positioning China as an innovative leader in the ice and snow industry.