Ningbo scores record haul at China Patent Awards

Baby First showcases its products at the CBME China exhibition. [Photo/Yongpai app]

Ningbo companies have won a record four gold and silver awards at the 26th China Patent Awards, highlighting the city's growing strength in innovation and intellectual property.

The awards, announced by the China National Intellectual Property Administration on Sept 2, include one Design Gold Award, two Patent Silver Awards and one Design Silver Award, with the four awards accounting for one-third of Zhejiang province's total.

Ningbo's only gold-winning project was a smart child safety seat developed by Baby First that combines gesture control, vehicle connectivity, and remote management through a mobile app, allowing users to adjust its rotation, recline, headrest, and leg support.

Designed to grow with children, the seat can shift from a more enclosed configuration for newborns to a roomier setup for older children up to age eight. Related products are now sold in China and several European and US markets, serving more than 400,000 children over the past three years.

Ningbo Keta Magnet received a silver award for a new manufacturing process for neodymium-iron-boron magnets. The technology improves heat resistance while reducing the use of heavy rare earth elements by more than 70 percent. Its products are used in new-energy vehicles, energy-efficient air conditioners, and humanoid robot motors.

Of Ningbo's 10 winning projects this year, eight were developed through the city's municipal patent innovation competition.