Targeting the bottleneck problems that engineering materials are prone to cracking and difficult to maintain in extreme environments such as extreme cold, dry heat, intense radiation and high salt spray, as well as the demand for emergency repair and durability enhancement of damaged existing concrete structures, we are committed to developing multi-functional anti-corrosion coatings with ultra-high corrosion resistance for extreme environments, together with self-sensing and self-healing maintenance-free intelligent materials. Based on atomic layer deposition and molecular self-assembly technologies, we develop multi-functional intelligent anti-corrosion coatings that integrate a synergistic mechanism of superhydrophobicity, self-healing, barrier effect and corrosion inhibition. We also develop self-sensing materials with embedded sensor networks and microcapsule/vascular-network-based self-healing materials, thereby constructing an intelligent response system of “damage sensing – autonomous healing – performance recovery”. On this basis, and guided by the Materials Genome concept, we design and develop low-shrinkage, high-crack-resistance and ultra-high-corrosion-resistance maintenance-free engineering materials, providing key material and technical support for major national projects in special environments such as the western plateaus and the deep ocean, as well as for extending the service life of existing infrastructure.