The three-day TASS2025 Sustainable Taiwan Expo successfully concluded at the Kaohsiung Exhibition Center. As one of Taiwan’s leading international exhibitions focused on sustainability and the circular economy, the Metal Industries Research & Development Centre (MIRDC) has participated for four consecutive years. This year, MIRDC presented under The Metal Future Field theme, focusing on green and digital twin-track transition. With low-carbon materials, energy-saving processes, and high-efficiency energy as the three main directions for promotion, MIRDC showcased 30 innovative achievements that sparked enthusiastic exchanges and partnership discussions among domestic and international industry representatives.

For green transition, the expo highlighted the Enduring-High-Efficiency Combustion System for Industrial Furnace (EHE Combustion System), recipient of the 2024 R&D 100 Awards. This technology tackles waste heat and carbon emissions generated by high-temperature combustion (550–950°C) during heat-treatment processes in the metal industry. By dynamically and precisely adjusting the air/fuel ratio and controlling heat-exchange efficiency, it maximizes energy savings in industrial furnaces, enabling an 80% recovery of waste heat and a 25% reduction in energy consumption, ensuring over 95% heat-exchange efficiency. Ying Chieh Foundry Industry has already introduced the technology in its annealing furnaces for high-end machine-tool structural components, and Taiwell Aluminum has adopted it for the heat treatment of 190-ton large aluminum slabs, providing significant solutions for the industry. In addition, the High-Efficiency Boiling Tube Manufacturing Process overcomes the limitations of traditional smooth tubes used in domestic heat exchangers. Utilizing powder-sintering to create porous structures significantly increases the metal surface area, enhancing heat-transfer efficiency by two to five times and significantly reducing energy loss.

For the digital transition, the EDM for Aerospace Applications Based on AI Optimization incorporates AI-driven adaptive parameter adjustment and cloud monitoring modules, revolutionizing traditional electrical discharge machining and ushering in a new era of smart manufacturing. It significantly reduces processing time and improves accuracy, and has been adopted by over ten companies, including OSCARMAX Enterprise and Yihawjet Enterprises, to enhance key processes in EV and aerospace supply chains. This technology was also honored with the 2025 Edison Awards. Another highlight, the Compact and High-Performance Welding Cobot, utilizes AI defect-detection technology that acts like a welder’s eyes, enabling real-time weld-path correction, significantly boosting welding efficiency and quality. It has already been successfully implemented in Taoyuan International Airport’s Terminal 3 and in large-scale shipbuilding production lines, showcasing the tangible benefits of smart manufacturing. This innovation also won a 2025 Edison Award.

This year’s expo demonstrated MIRDC’s strong research and development capabilities and featured participation from member companies. For example, Teamsworld Innovation showcased its advanced die-casting, sand-casting, and investment-casting technologies, emphasizing lightweight solutions for the automotive and ICT industries. Intelligent Cloud Plus emphasized its expertise in power and substation automation technologies, applicable to renewable energy industries such as energy storage, EV charging, solar power, and offshore wind power. MIRDC will continue to work with member companies to integrate R&D with industrial applications, steering industries towards low-carbon sustainability and smart transition.

Chia-Ju Liu, Chairman of MIRDC, highlighted that MIRDC has consistently focused on materials and process innovation while ensuring alignment with industry needs and applications. Thanks to the thoughtful planning of Yueh-Hsiu Lee, Director of MIRDC’s Planning & Promotion Department, and team, the expo successfully established a vital platform that bridges research and development with the market. This initiative promoted the connection between industry-academia-research collaboration and technology, integrated resources, and amplified impact, helping Taiwan’s metal and related industries accelerate toward low-carbon, smart, and global development, ultimately realizing the net-zero sustainability goal together.