(Original title: The pattern of composite materials is about to be rewritten, and the top European research institutes will enter China for the first time)
China Hengrui Co., Ltd. and the Fraunhofer Institute of Chemical Technology of Germany signed a domestic cooperation framework agreement for exclusive high-performance composite materials and process development
On June 6, 2017, Mr. Gu Yongtao, President of China Hengrui Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as China Hengrui), Mr. Jordi Ar nega, Vice President of Europe, and the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Research Promotion, the largest applied scientific research institution in Europe Associate Dean of the Fraunhofer ICT (Fraunhofer Institute for Chemical Technology), Dr. Frank Henning, Head of Polymers, Dr. Timo Hueber, Deputy Director of Polymer Engineering, in Karlsruhe, Germany Signed an exclusive high-performance composite product and process development cooperation framework agreement in China and formally formed a strategic partnership. The agreement covers all aspects of technical cooperation between the two parties, from the cooperative development of products and production processes, to the research of new topics based on the specific development projects of China Hengrui and the research on the application of existing technologies in China with Hengrui. , from initial development of joint development products, product development-oriented process development to comprehensive issues and evaluation of special issues and expert advice. In addition, the framework agreement also covers specially designed training for Chinese Hengrui technicians in products and production procedures, as well as finding suitable professional positions to enhance the value of China Hengrui's professionals.
In addition, in order to better practice the cooperation between the two parties and also based on great confidence in China's composite materials industry, China Hengrui Co., Ltd. and Fraunhofer Institute of Chemistry will jointly establish the largest composite material research and development in Asia in China. center. The establishment of the R&D center will actively promote the rapid development of China's composite materials application. At the same time, the research and application of automotive lightweight industry will be the main research direction, which is of great significance to the optimization of the automotive industry and new materials industry in China and Germany.
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(To the left, Dr. Timo Hueber, deputy director of the Fraunhofer Institute for Polymerization Engineering, deputy dean of the Fraunhofer Institute for Chemical Technology, Dr. Frank Henning, head of the polymer field, China Hengrui Co., Ltd. Mr. Gu Yongtao, President, Mr. Jordi Ar nega, Vice President, China Hengrui Co., Ltd.)
Strong and strong to join hands to expand the territory, the first opportunity to get the world
In recent years, the development of China's composite materials market has received more and more international attention, especially in the middle and lower reaches of the industry, where the product field is soaring and turbulent. The application of composite materials not only shows a leap in the amount of blowout, but with the gradual maturity and improvement of the forming technology, there is a breakthrough in the use of explosive types in the industry. At the JEC exhibition in Paris, France, the most prestigious global composite event held every year, many composite materials experts expressed optimism about the marketization and scale of China's carbon fiber products.
When asked what contributed to this collaboration with Hengrui, Dr. Frank Henning, Associate Dean of the Fraunhofer Institute for Chemical Technology, said that the Fraunhofer Association is a public, public, non-profit Scientific research institutions are committed to developing new technologies, new products, and new processes for enterprises to help enterprises solve organizational and management problems in their own innovation and development. At the same time, the Fraunhofer Association has been actively engaged in international cooperation to apply economic research to drive economic development and serve the broad social industry and fields. As a direct affiliate, the Fraunhofer Institute for Chemical Technology has been closely watching the rise and development of China's composites industry, and has been looking for suitable partners to participate in this stormy transformation. As a shining star in the composites industry, China Hengrui has a clear and firm planning direction. The company's style is steady and steady, and it is in line with the seriousness and rigor of German style. Both parties are dedicated to the pursuit of composite materials, especially carbon fiber materials. The concept of excellence makes China Hengrui the best choice for the Fraunhofer Institute for Chemical Technology in China.
In signing the cooperation agreement, Dr. Frank Henning pointed out that it is the consensus of both parties to turn knowledge into productivity. The Fraunhofer Institute for Chemical Technology is very optimistic about the application prospects of high-performance composite materials, and is forward-looking for China Hengrui in this field. The layout expressed full affirmation and believed that the cooperation between the two parties is a natural trend and is the best case for practicing the application of carbon fiber high-performance materials. The signing of the agreement will deepen Germany's understanding of China's composite materials industry chain, especially the close communication between Chinese technicians and German technicians, which will bring more localized perspectives and help enrich the data of the Institute of Chemical Technology. And the case, to enhance the research strength, and the latest research results of the Fraunhofer Institute for Chemical Technology will also be fully verified by the actual project development process in China Hengrui, which in turn will inspire new research topics and directions. . The joint research and development center jointly established in the plan will be the first research and development center of Fraunhofer. The Fraunhofer Institute for Chemical Technology has never established or participated in any research institution in China. It is a positive attempt from the Sino-German civil society to meet the urgent needs of the market and take the scientific research as the main practice and the commercial application as the ultimate goal.
From the sporadic niche super sports car, the professional-grade racing car to the small range of carbon fiber to the BMW i3, i8, the new 7 series for the revolutionary alternative application of the large proportion of the car body structural parts, marking the footsteps of the all-carbon era has been The more clear it is. Another highlight of the cooperation between the two parties is the development and application of mass-produced high-performance components in the automotive industry. The Fraunhofer Institute for Chemical Technology had previously participated in the lightweight research and development of all BMW models, and can be called absolute authority in terms of lightweight vehicles and mass production of composite parts. Through the formation of this strategic alliance, the blood of the German research results represented by Fraunhofer will be absorbed and carried forward by local Chinese enterprises, so that the spring of new energy vehicles will come soon.
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Dr. Frank Henning and Mr. Gu Yongtao
China Hengrui, a dark horse in the field of composite products
China Hengrui Co., Ltd. is one of the few companies in the global composite materials industry that can quickly produce mass-produced carbon fiber parts. The exclusive introduction of the latest international technology and equipment technology and equipment in Europe is greatly shortened. Some processing time has improved production efficiency and filled the domestic technical gap. At this stage, the products are mainly used in many industries and fields such as automobile manufacturing, rail transportation, industrial machinery, 3C electronic equipment, and high-end consumer goods. The company has an international team of top composite materials professionals from China, Germany and Spain. It has its own design and R&D centers in Jerez, Spain, Karlsruhe, Germany and Changshu, China. The company's first-phase production base covers an area of 10,000 square meters. It is located in the Changshu High-tech Industrial Development Zone with a good automotive industry base in the Yangtze River Delta. The second phase of the 130,000-square-meter automation plant is under planning.
In just a few years of exploring the domestic market, China Hengrui has successfully succeeded in “striking the city” in various industry sectors with its mission-oriented, customer-oriented service concept and professional technical solutions. With the supply of bulk project supply orders for the first new energy vehicle carbon fiber parts in China, it has become a technical strategic partner of many OEMs such as Future Motors, SAIC and General Motors, and reached a cooperation intention of specific projects. It is a sign that China Hengrui is officially recognized as a major customer group by the scarcity of professional automotive composite parts suppliers.
Mr. Gu Yongtao, President of China Hengrui, said that the state has deployed new materials as a key research project in the 13th Five-Year Strategic Plan and proposed to expand the development of new energy automobile industry. China Hengrui has taken advantage of this torrent. At this time, it has become a powerful partnership with the Fraunhofer Institute for Chemical Technology. In the next few years, in the aspects of material research, design optimization, preparation process, production, quality process control, automation, etc., both parties will conduct stable and efficient communication; strive to achieve new product joint research and development, further development of product development and production process. Standardization, optimization; draw on the reference to the German side in the formulation of industry standards and intellectual property rights, paving the way to fully adapt to the Chinese market, carbon fiber composite products research and application road with international strategic vision, realize the value of business and technology integration, and develop interconnection A new way of sharing resources in the field of new materials. China Hengrui is committed to becoming the most influential and powerful supplier of innovative composite products in Asia, and is steadily expanding in this field and gradually expanding into foreign markets.
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China Hengrui Changshu production base appearance
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European introduction of international patent rapid mass production equipment
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Professional and efficient service
The ultimate in professionalism is to foresee the future in a scientific way.
The Fraunhofer Association is the largest applied scientific research institution in Europe and the world's applied sciences. There are more than 80 research branches under the association, with a total of 24,000 R&D personnel worldwide. Approximately 10,000 research and development projects were completed for more than 3,000 corporate customers a year, with an annual funding of more than 1 billion euros. Two-thirds of them come from corporate and public research and commissioned projects, and another third are from the German federal and state governments for forward-looking research and development to ensure that their research level is at the leading edge. Its affiliated Institute of Chemical Technology was established in 1959. It is a benchmark in the field of international polymer materials research. It leads the development direction of polymer materials related industries. It has a unique and accurate analysis on the judgment of industry trends, and has always been committed to it. Technology can be practically applied to mature solution development. There are more than 540 in-service researchers, including about one-third of scientists and doctoral candidates. The main research directions include the formation of thermosetting materials and thermoplastic materials, and high-pressure RTM, wet molding, injection molding, SMC and other batch production processes. In terms of high-performance composite materials research, the company has always been at the forefront of international forefront and leading position, forming a unique raw material to look at Japan and the United States, forming an industrial pattern in Europe, and material analysis of lightweight components in automobiles. Process control, molding process, quality control and other aspects also have rich practical experience. At the same time, the institute has advanced laboratories and more than 20,000 square meters of test bases at the Pfinztal-Berghausen headquarters in Germany, which can directly convert academic research results into products and verify them.
According to research by Lucintel, a well-known market research company, from 2016 to 2021, China is expected to contribute 60% of global carbon fiber growth, becoming the world's largest market for carbon fiber high-performance materials. The cooperation between China Hengrui and Fraunhofer Institute for Chemistry is bound to be a strategically advanced deployment that will foresee the future of the composites industry.
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Fraunhofer Institute for Chemical Technology in Pfinztal-Berghausen, Germany