Baotou rare Earth High-tech Zone: "sparse" leads to Innovation and "chain" into tens of billions of Industries

Published: Aug 25, 2021 10:27

Rare earth is an indispensable raw material for advanced equipment manufacturing, new energy, emerging industries and other high-tech industries, and it is also a valuable and key strategic resource. In recent years, the rare earth industry in Baotou rare Earth High-tech Zone in Inner Mongolia has actively changed the traditional mode of relying on resource development, and promoted the continuous agglomeration and improvement of the rare earth new material industry. It has formed a whole industrial chain from "rare earth mining-mineral processing-smelting-smelting-separation-functional materials-terminal application" and a complete industrial system from mining, processing to application, research and development, and trade. We will constantly enhance the development level and core competitiveness of the rare earth industry, vigorously create a development environment in which the industrial chain, innovation chain, talent chain and policy chain are connected, and actively promote the high-quality development of the rare earth industry.

N "rare earth +"

Boost the industry to coruscate new vitality

Copper wire can be divided into large drawing, medium drawing and micro drawing according to its thickness. Drawing a copper rod with a diameter of 8 mm into 3 mm is a big pull, and pulling to 0.016 mm is a micro-pull, and the diameter of the copper wire after micro-drawing is only 1 inch 10 of the diameter of a hair wire. Walking into the tinning workshop of micro-drawing copper wire in Baotou Zhenxiong Copper Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Zhenxiong Copper"), from a distance, the machines seemed to be idling, and the copper wires seemed to be transparent and invisible.

"the reason why the copper wire can be drawn to 0.016 mm is mainly due to the addition of rare earth elements to the liquid copper, which can remove impurities in the liquid copper and improve the electrical conductivity and drawing effect of the copper wire. Copper wire is getting thinner and thinner, not only saving space, but also reducing weight, thanks to the fact that smartphones are getting lighter and thinner and high-end aviation devices such as drones are able to fly freely in the air. " Wang Qiang, director of Zhenxiong Copper Research and Development Center, said.

As one of the top 500 private enterprises in China, Zhenxiong Copper chose to build a factory in Baotou because of its rich rare earth resources. Through the addition of rare earths, Zhenxiong Copper has reached the domestic leading level in the field of alloy ultra-fine line R & D and production.

Innovation is not only the first driving force, but also the soul of the development of rare earth industry. This year, the rare earth high-tech zone revolves around the development idea of "2cm 2n", focuses on the advantages of resources, gives priority to the development of two major industries of rare earth permanent magnets and hydrogen storage materials, relying on the advantage of surplus lanthanum and cerium resources, by increasing the stock and introducing increments, focus on the development of two major industries of rare earth polishing and rare earth luminous materials. We will actively develop N "rare earth +" industries, such as rare earth catalytic materials, rare earth alloys, rare earth glass, rare earth ceramics and rare earth pigments, and promote the development of rare earths in the direction of wide range, long chain and high quality. The development ideas of products such as "rare earth + steel, aluminum-magnesium alloy, copper alloy" are clarified. As the most important promotion direction of new rare earth materials, rare earth steel has made a number of industrialization achievements, and has been widely used in Daxing International Airport, China-Russia East Line and Shaanxi-Beijing fourth Line Gas Transmission Pipeline, "China Sky Eye" FAST Radio Telescope sightseeing Bridge, Tibet's first electrified railway-Lalin Railway and other national key projects, laying a solid foundation for rare earth steel products to enter the domestic and foreign medium and high-end steel market in an all-round way.

At present, the total number of rare earth enterprises in the rare earth high-tech zone has reached 115, with new materials enterprises and terminal application enterprises accounting for 63.2% and 29.5% respectively, and the output value of new rare earth materials accounts for nearly 50% of the total output value of the rare earth industry. In the first half of this year, 38 rare earth enterprises of large scale and above achieved a cumulative industrial output value of more than 10 billion yuan.

Policy dividend

Build the "strongest brain" of industrial transformation

Over the past few months, under the active guidance of the Science, Technology and Information Technology Bureau of the rare Earth High-tech Zone, Inner Mongolia Seagate Environmental Protection Science and Technology Co., Ltd. has continuously improved its ability of independent innovation and developed a 60-hole clean and efficient rare earth-based flue gas denitrification catalyst. 3600 holes can be distributed on a cross section of 0.02m2, the effective contact area of flue gas catalysis has increased eight times, and the denitrification capacity has been greatly improved, reaching the industry-leading level.

"at present, we have received a total of 16.225 million yuan in science and technology funds from our superiors and developed a number of new products such as 35 holes, 40 holes and 60 holes, realizing the extension and green transformation of the rare earth industry chain. This year, on the basis of doing a good job in the transfer and transformation of mature technology, we continue to increase the research and development of new products with higher scientific and technological content and wider application fields. " Wang Zhimin, general manager of Seagate Environmental Technology Co., Ltd., said.

In recent years, the rare earth industry in the rare earth high-tech zone has gone all out to strengthen the refined rare earth new materials industry around the "five major industrial chains". Relying on more than 10 rare earth research institutions, 3 professional rare earth scientific research institutes, 6 rare earth related academician workstations and more than 8000 rare earth R & D personnel, and more than 8000 national rare earth industry standards in Baotou, form the "strongest brain" to promote industrial development and accelerate rare earth transformation.

Relying on its unique resource advantages, in recent years, rare earth high-tech zones have actively implemented the relevant industrial policies of the state, autonomous region and Baotou City. we will increase support for the rare earth industry from 10 aspects, such as raw material supply, land use policy, infrastructure construction, electricity price concessions, industrial funds, sales incentives and loan discounts. We have formulated and promulgated the "eight New policies for talents", focusing on the introduction and cultivation of high-level innovative and entrepreneurial talents to create a series of incentive policies with high gold content, strong attractiveness and wide range of radiation, so as to build a solid "Phoenix nest" to attract talents.

Around the relevant policies, rare earth high-tech zones actively do a good job in science and technology declaration services. Organize enterprises to declare high-tech enterprises, science and technology award funds in high-tech zones, and small giants of science and technology; organize enterprises in the park to participate in training courses on the identification and management of high-tech enterprises, special training sessions on the identification of science and technology-based small and medium-sized enterprises, standardization management training of science and technology projects, recognition and registration of technology contracts and subsidy policies after technology transactions, etc Organize rare earth enterprises stationed in the district to collect information on senior talents, and establish a database of high-level talents with professional titles and master's degrees and above, to achieve peer-to-peer services for high-end talents, to carry out the declaration of young innovative talents at the autonomous district level, to provide financial subsidies to the reserve units, and to encourage small and medium-sized enterprises to select and reserve college graduates.

At present, the rare earth high-tech zone has 1606 talents in rare earth, equipment manufacturing, new energy and other fields, and the blessing of talents and policies has strongly promoted the development of rare earth industry to high-end, intelligent and green.

Data Source Statement: Except for publicly available information, all other data are processed by SMM based on publicly available information, market communication, and relying on SMM‘s internal database model. They are for reference only and do not constitute decision-making recommendations.

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