Vanadium series products popular in the metallurgical, aerospace, and aviation markets
The vanadium nitrogen alloy and vanadium aluminum alloy production lines operated at full capacity in the Hunan Zhongxin New Material Technology Co., Ltd. of Luxi High-tech Industrial Development Zone on December 3.
Vanadium nitrogen alloy, a new type of alloy additive, can significantly improve the strength and toughness of steel and reduce steelmaking production costs. “420,000 tons of high-quality vanadium containing steel used in the construction of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge includes elements from our company. Baowu and Hunan Iron & Steel Group are our long-term partners. It’s Xiangxi’ s honor to participate in major national engineering construction,” said the head of the company.
The development of vanadium nitrogen alloys is a cutting-edge technology in the metallurgical industry. Vanadium nitrogen alloy is a high value-added product that gradually replaces vanadium iron, with a wide range of applications and broad market prospects.
In 2012, the 42-meter double push plate kiln 1,000 ton/year vanadium nitrogen alloy production line of the company was put into operation, which was also the first vanadium nitrogen alloy production line in the country.
In 2018, with the introduction of relevant national policies, vanadium alloys saw the increasing market demands, leading to a rise in price. In 2023, the company achieved large-scale production of 9,000 tons of vanadium nitrogen alloy annually.
The company has established the Hunan Vanadium Alloy Engineering Technology Research Center with universities in Hunan. With the support of technology from universities, it has significantly improved its research and development capabilities, with continuous launch of new products.
In March 2023, the vanadium aluminum alloy project with an annual production capacity of 1,000 tons was put into operation. Vanadium aluminum alloy is a strategic emerging basic material in the 21st century and is applied in fields such as aerospace.
This year, the high-purity vanadium pentoxide project with an annual production capacity of 200 tons has entered the pilot stage. This product is applied in the field of new energy storage.
The vanadium nitrogen alloy, vanadium aluminum alloy and other vanadium series products developed and produced by the company are favored by domestic and foreign enterprises. The company has become a leading enterprise in the national vanadium nitrogen alloy industry chain and a leader in the production and export of vanadium series deep products.
Luxi High-tech Industrial Development Zone has introduced seven major new material production enterprises, which produce vanadium-based high-end alloy materials, micro spherical aluminum powder, and aluminum-based silicon carbide composite materials. The high-performance aluminum-based composite materials industry cluster has been included in cultivation targets for characteristic industrial clusters of small and medium-sized enterprises in Hunan Province. The national and industry standards for vanadium trioxide, nitrogen atomized aluminum powder, regenerated zinc, and zinc alloy ingots are formulated by enterprises in the park.
Transformation of traditional manufacturing through technological innovation
Three companies from Luxi High-tech Industrial Development Zone were included among the top ten aluminum powder brands in 2024.
The micro spherical aluminum powder in the park accounts for 76.8% of the national market share, and Luxi County has 5 large-scale micro spherical aluminum powder enterprises.
In the 1980s, the Chinese Academy of Sciences micro spherical aluminum powder pilot project built the first production line with an annual output of 200 tons in Luxi County, but it was once in trouble because of the outdated production process.
Hunan Jinhao New Materials Technology Co., Ltd. allocates 5% of its profits annually for technological innovation. It has established long-term industry-university-research cooperation relationships with universities. Its products are exported to more than 20 countries and regions, such as the United States and Canada. It has become a key export enterprise and one of the first new material enterprises in Hunan Province.
Luxi Xinxing Metallurgical Co., Ltd., established in 1998, is a well-established enterprise in the smelting industry. In recent years, it has made efforts to promote industrial transformation and upgrading and developed a high-purity electrolytic chromium production line with an annual output of 1,000 tons. Its products won the gold medal at the 3rd China International New Materials Industry Expo. The company is one of only two domestic enterprises producing selenium-free electrolytic manganese and has the only trivalent chromium production process for chromium alloys in China.
“Luxi County promotes the manufacturing industry with innovation and accelerates the transformation from traditional manufacturing to modern manufacturing,” said Fu Jiabo, county mayor of Luxi County.
Luxi Lantian Gaoke Co., Ltd. has an independent intellectual property right of a method for recycling second zinc oxide, which is in the domestic leading position. Hunan Xiangtou Lightweight Material Technology Co., Ltd. led the drafting of the Chinese non-ferrous metal industry standard “Nitrogen Atomized Aluminum Powder” and developed globally leading aluminum-based composite brake discs for rail transit vehicles and new energy passenger vehicles. Hunan Hengyu New Material Technology Development Co., Ltd. has first developed silicon carbide aluminum-based composite material in the world. Hunan Rongxing Technology Development Co., Ltd. holds over 40% of the national market share in terms of food heating bags.
New material enterprises in Luxi County, such as Jinhao and Hunan Goldhorse Aluminum Industry Co., Ltd., have grasped the discourse power in the market through scientific research and innovation. In the first three quarters of this year, the high-performance aluminum-based composite materials industry cluster in Luxi County achieved an output value of 3.82 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 18.8%.
Luxi’s efforts to attract domestic and foreign enterprises
At present, the aluminum pigment and zinc pigment production lines of Xiangxi Zuxing Technology Co., Ltd. are operating at full capacity, with production and sales of products such as powder coatings, high-end inks, and aerosols thriving.
The company is an investment promotion project in Luxi County.
“It usually takes at least a week to go through all the formalities for starting up a company, but it took less than two hours for our company,” said Zhao Shouyuan, general manager of the company.
At present, Luxi High-tech Industrial Development Zone has 37 high-tech enterprises, 16 provincial-level new material enterprises, 3 national “little giant” enterprises, and 14 provincial-level “little giant” enterprises.
It’s because Luxi has made efforts to promote innovation, consolidate technology research and development platforms, apply innovative achievements, and build enterprise service platforms that it has a remarkable new materials industry cluster.
Luxi County annually provides financial funds for industrial enterprise technological transformation and specialized, refined, characteristic and innovative enterprises, single champion, intelligent manufacturing, technological innovation, and green manufacturing enterprise and projects.
In 2023, the local government’s science and technology expenditure reached 25.23 million yuan, an increase of 40.95%, ranking among the top in Xiangxi Prefecture. The county has implemented more than 150 strategic cooperation projects with universities and research institutes, developed 16 new processes, achieved a technology conversion rate of over 78%, and ranked first in the growth rate of talent invention patents and international patent ownership in Xiangxi Prefecture.
The enterprise service center of the county has provided more than 4,000 full life-cycle agency services for enterprises.
In the first three quarters of this year, the added value of industrial enterprises above designated size in Luxi County increased by 11.5% year on year, 4.5% higher than the provincial average, with fixed assets investment increasing by 8.3%. The new materials industry cluster in Luxi County has been rated as a county-level foreign trade characteristic industry cluster in Hunan. Luxi County has been awarded as an innovative county in the province.
Chinese source: hunantoday
