Visiting the "little giants" in central China to decode the "new variables" of innovation
2024-08-14
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Specialized, refined, and innovative "little giant" enterprises are the "vanguard" in cultivating and developing new quality productivity. At present, my country's central region is accelerating the creation of an "innovation hotbed", and "little giant" enterprises are growing rapidly. Data show that 2,681 "little giant" enterprises from six central provinces have entered the fifth batch of specialized, refined, and innovative enterprises of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, accounting for 21% of the national total. A group of enterprises have demonstrated "new responsibility" in cutting-edge innovation fields such as Beidou, new materials, and quantum technology, injecting surging momentum into the transformation of scientific and technological achievements and industrial development. The reporter recently visited the factory workshops and R&D laboratories of many "little giant" enterprises to decode the "new variables" of the innovation and creativity of "little giant" enterprises.
Targeting the “new track” of cutting-edge industries
Beidou is the "new name card" of scientific and technological innovation in the central region. In Changsha, Hunan, the core source of Beidou technology innovation, many companies have made advance arrangements in this fast-growing track and gradually grown into the "new force" in the Beidou industrial chain.
In Changsha High-tech Zone, Zhang Yonghu, chief engineer of Hunan Satellite Navigation Information Technology Co., Ltd., introduced the company's newly developed test equipment to reporters. "This satellite navigation constellation simulator NSS8900 can provide navigation performance test and verification support for chips, modules, terminals and other products that use navigation signals, and accurately test the positioning accuracy, timing accuracy, navigation sensitivity, anti-interference performance and other indicators of the product." Zhang Yonghu said.
Satellite signal simulation testing is an important step in realizing Beidou's transition from "the horizon" to "your side". Weidao Information has grasped the trend of Beidou's large-scale application, and has laid out its upstream and downstream in the Beidou industry chain, including satellite signal simulation, testing, and space-time information security, becoming a technology supplier for more than 500 research institutions and enterprises.
"With the vigorous development of the low-orbit satellite Internet industry, the diversified integration of low-orbit satellite + navigation technology has become a new layout direction. We have taken the lead in starting the research and development of low-orbit navigation signal sources." Zhang Yonghu told reporters.
Beidou, new materials, quantum technology, biomedicine... In the wave of development of advantageous emerging industries in the central region, "little giant" enterprises are bravely "riding the waves" and showing their prowess.
Data from the Changsha Municipal Bureau of Industry and Information Technology shows that in the industrial distribution of "little giant" enterprises, cutting-edge industries such as new materials, new energy, integrated circuits, industrial robots, artificial intelligence, and biomedicine dominate the mainstream, showing the enthusiasm of these companies to compete for the "new track."
"Through continuous research and development, we have formed a platform-based production capability for intermediates and raw materials related to oral hypoglycemic drugs such as levofloxacin (SGLT-2 target) and autoimmune diseases (JAK target)." Ge Depei, chairman of Anhui Lianchuang Biotechnology Co., Ltd., said that biomedicine is the innovation engine of future medical care and a typical industry that relies on innovation-driven development. Only by long-term deep cultivation and even willingness to "sit on the bench" can one gain core competitiveness.
In Loudi, Hunan, the local government is focusing on building a "material valley" in the central region, and the new materials industry is developing rapidly. "We have found new development opportunities for electronic ceramics in the wave of new energy vehicles." Kang Dinghua, head of Loudi Andeas Electronic Ceramics Co., Ltd., said that the company has continued to invest in the ceramic components of new energy vehicle relays, with an annual production capacity growth of more than 30%, and has become a supplier to many leading automakers.
Yichang Xincheng Graphite Co., Ltd., located in Dangyang, Yichang City, Hubei Province, has made great efforts in the field of flexible graphite paper, providing new options for the use of materials in thermal fields in the semiconductor photovoltaic industry, breaking the dependence on foreign high-purity flexible graphite production technology. "We independently developed new graphite specialty products such as nuclear-grade flexible graphite rolls and high-rate expandable graphite, and more than 80% of our core products are sold overseas, with sales revenue reaching 350 million yuan in 2023," said Fan Yue, deputy general manager of the company.
Cultivating advanced technology "new strength"
Walking into the R&D laboratory of Anhui Youdan Technology Co., Ltd. located in Hefei Tus-Tech Park, R&D personnel are conducting high and low temperature alternating damp heat tests on batteries. This company, which is engaged in the R&D, sales and service of lithium battery management intelligent hardware and full life cycle online management platform, has core members from universities and research institutes such as the University of Science and Technology of China and Hefei University of Technology.
"Based on iBMS/iEMS smart hardware, battery PaaS platform and SaaS applications, we can achieve data-driven cloud-based collaborative management, active safety management and full life cycle intelligent operation management of lithium batteries." Shi Buyuan, marketing director of Youdan Technology, said that the independently built battery data cloud platform has effectively improved the battery system management efficiency and status estimation accuracy, providing a solid guarantee for the safety of lithium battery applications.
Technical strength is the basis for the development of "small giant" enterprises. The reporter noticed that increasing R&D investment, forming top teams, and focusing on cutting-edge technology research have become the "standard configuration" of many enterprises.
Wu Jianbin, director of the Small and Medium Enterprises and Private Economy Development Division of the Hefei Municipal Bureau of Industry and Information Technology, said that among Hefei's "little giants", high-tech enterprises accounted for 99.5%, with an average of more than 25 invention patents per household, an average of more than 7% of research and development investment per household, and more than 80% of them have established provincial-level or higher research and development institutions. Nearly 70% of the city's scientific and technological research projects were launched by "little giants".
"This is our newly developed remote cockpit, which can realize remote operation of unmanned mining trucks and other intelligent equipment under 5G conditions." In the exhibition hall of Xidi Intelligent Driving (Hunan) Co., Ltd. in Xiangjiang New District, Hunan, a high-tech remote cockpit is very eye-catching. "Driving" in it, the on-site operation scenes of the mining area thousands of miles away and the operating status parameters of the unmanned mining trucks are clearly visible.
Visitors experience the remote cockpit product of Xidi Zhijia at the exhibition hall of the first China International Supply Chain Promotion Expo. Photo by Xiang Yiying
Ma Wei, the head of the company, told reporters that the unmanned mining truck products and solutions developed by the company have the advantages of safety, low carbon and high efficiency, and have been put into use in mining areas in Jinchuan, Gansu and Jurong, Jiangsu.
Founded in 2017, Xidi Intelligent Driving has made its mark in the field of autonomous driving with its innovative advantages in algorithm research and development. The company continues to increase its R&D investment, with R&D personnel accounting for more than 75% of the team of more than 500 people. It has accumulated algorithms, software, hardware modules and subsystems in many aspects, from perception, decision-making, planning to control, positioning, communication, OTA, etc.
"When starting a business in the 'no man's land' of cutting-edge fields, technological innovation is the 'lifeline'." Ma Wei said that the company will also actively target emerging markets in the field of unmanned heavy-duty vehicles.
Technological breakthroughs have driven the rapid improvement of the production efficiency of "little giant" enterprises. In the Xincheng Graphite plant, workers are stepping up construction. The company's hydrogen fuel cell bipolar plate project has entered the equipment installation stage and will be put into production at the end of this year. This year, Xincheng Graphite has made a "big investment" to build a new 10,000-ton expandable graphite and 7,000-ton hydrogen fuel cell bipolar plate project. "The adoption of new equipment and new technologies can not only enrich the product variety, but also increase the added value of similar industries by 20%." Fan Yue said.
Create a "new hotbed" for innovation and entrepreneurship
In order to push "small giant" enterprises to move towards the "top stream" and sprint towards the "championship", the central region has taken active measures in building an industrial ecology, promoting the transformation of results, strengthening financial support, and creating a hot atmosphere for innovation and creation.
Yunfei Road in Hefei Hi-Tech Industrial Development Zone is known as the "Quantum Street". Dozens of quantum technology industry chain companies are gathered here, and many cutting-edge scientific and technological achievements in the quantum field have been born here.
On the north side of Yunfei Road, in the laboratory of Hefei Benyuan Quantum Computing Technology Co., Ltd., technicians are carefully debugging quantum chips. China's fourth-generation autonomous superconducting quantum computer "Benyuan Wukong 2" has entered the final stage of attack. And just recently, the global visits to China's third-generation autonomous superconducting quantum computer "Benyuan Wukong" exceeded 10 million.
In order to accelerate the development of quantum technology companies such as Benyuan Quantum, the Anhui Investment Group and the provincial "Three-One-Creation" Fund established the Anhui Quantum Science and Industry Development Fund as representatives of investors to plan ahead for the quantum industry and accelerate the industrialization of quantum technology achievements.
The central region actively promotes collaborative innovation of industrial chain clusters and builds an innovative ecology that is conducive to the growth of "small giant" enterprises. Hefei focuses on deploying "scenario innovation" to build a scenario application bridge for "small giant" enterprises and promote "finding scenarios for products and finding products for scenarios". Changsha actively organizes large, medium and small enterprises to connect and carry out docking activities and industrial chain chief engineer forums, builds a docking platform for specialized and new enterprises and leading enterprises in the industrial chain, and promotes the integration of "small giant" enterprises into the industrial chain and innovation chain of large enterprises.
Many places have innovated financial support policies to support the growth of "small giants". "We are integrating and expanding the scale of Changsha Municipal Government Guidance Fund, guiding social capital to gather in key industrial fields such as intelligent manufacturing, new energy materials, and artificial intelligence, and fully supporting "small giants" to obtain equity financing." A relevant person in charge of the Changsha Municipal Bureau of Industry and Information Technology said that the local area will also accelerate the development of "small giants" through financial empowerment by introducing means such as the National Small and Medium Enterprise Development Fund.
In order to promote "little giant" enterprises to continue to occupy the technological high ground, universities and research institutions also play the role of "booster".
"HIDI Intelligent Driving is conducting in-depth technical cooperation with institutions such as Central South University to allow technological achievements to more fully demonstrate their commercial value." In Ma Wei's view, the central region is home to many of the country's top universities and research institutions, and has outstanding advantages and huge potential in the integration of industry, academia and research.
In June this year, the Hunan Provincial Government issued the "Several Measures for Hunan Province to Accelerate the Transformation of Scientific and Technological Achievements of Colleges and Universities", proposing to accelerate the cultivation of science and technology-based small and medium-sized enterprises, specialized and innovative small and medium-sized enterprises, etc., to enhance the ability of enterprises to undertake the transformation of scientific and technological achievements, support the joint order-based targeted research and development transformation between schools and enterprises, and implement the "first set, first batch, first edition, first round, first set of products" innovative product support policy and other hard measures. "Promote the high-quality scientific and technological achievements of universities from campus to enterprises, from laboratories to production lines, and accelerate the flow and transformation of scientific research resources and scientific and technological achievements to "small giant" enterprises." A relevant person in charge of the Hunan Provincial Department of Science and Technology said. (Reporter Xie Benbai Tiantian Wu Huijun Li Siyuan)
