On January 30th, Zhongzi Environmental Protection Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Zhongzi Technology") located in the Gaoxin West District of Chengdu started production on the first day after the holiday, and the production workshop was already bustling with activity. The automatic robotic arm keeps running, and each production line is busy with production at full capacity. On both sides of the factory road, piles of exhaust purification catalyst products are piled up.

The production workshop is running at full capacity for production

Since the beginning of January, the company's orders have significantly increased, and the production department has adjusted its shifts, starting a 24-hour three shift system. Even during the Spring Festival, everyone is working overtime, "said Wang Yun, Vice General Manager of Zhongzi Technology.

Founded in 2005, Zhongzi Technology has been dedicated to the research and development, production, and sales of environmentally friendly catalysts. In this market that has long been monopolized by overseas giants, after more than 17 years of technological innovation, the company has achieved a transformation from "following" to "running in parallel", and has reached a "leading" state in some segmented fields. In 2021, the company was selected as a national level specialized and innovative "little giant" enterprise.

Focus on differentiated competition

'Little Giant' breaks foreign monopoly

Automobile exhaust catalyst is the most important external purification device installed in the automobile exhaust system, which can convert harmful gases emitted from automobile exhaust into non-toxic carbon dioxide, water, and nitrogen through chemical reactions.

For a considerable period of time in the past, the global automotive exhaust catalyst market has been monopolized by foreign companies. Since we entered this market, we have been in a state of following suit, "Wang Yun mentioned. It was not until recent years that domestic companies finally had the opportunity to overtake on the bend.

On the one hand, through more than a decade of continuous catching up, the overall technological level of domestic enterprises has been basically equivalent to that of foreign enterprises; On the other hand, the latest implementation of the National VI emission standards for motor vehicles no longer directly follows EU standards, but rather incorporates more emission standard systems independently formulated based on China's own development reality. It is in this context that differentiated product development, combined with China's national conditions, has become a breakthrough for Zhongzi Technology to break foreign monopolies.

The staff is inspecting the finished product

How to create differentiation? Wang Yun introduced that firstly, the implementation of the National VI standard has led to a significant increase in the cost of exhaust treatment, and domestic consumers are generally sensitive to prices. Therefore, reducing product costs through technological innovation is a major core. Secondly, there are different standards for the quality of domestic oil products compared to foreign ones. For example, domestic fuel has a relatively high sulfur content, and to address this characteristic, it is necessary to improve the sulfur resistance of catalysts.

In addition, in European and American countries, due to their vast land and sparse population, the overall speed of motor vehicles is much higher, while in many first tier cities in China, there are dense populations and numerous vehicles, leading to traffic congestion on urban roads during peak hours. Therefore, catalysts suitable for low-speed driving environments can better meet the demand of the domestic market.

Based on sufficient research on the domestic market, Zhongzi Technology has successively developed a series of motor vehicle exhaust catalyst products that are suitable for specific usage scenarios and have achieved good market response. Although foreign giants still dominate the market share, we have gradually entered the mainstream market and are expected to increase our market share in the passenger car sector to around 5% this year, "said Wang Yun.

Zhongzi Technology Catalytic Converter

From 'following' to 'leading'

The next goal is to achieve near zero emissions

In June 2016, Zhongzi Technology officially launched the development of National VI standard exhaust gas purification catalysts. After multiple stages such as laboratory trials, pilot tests, and mass production verification, the research and development has been basically completed by 2022, and the products are gradually being introduced to the market.

From National V to National VI products, the purification efficiency of motor vehicle exhaust pollutants has increased from 95% to over 99%, "said Wang Yun. Although there is only a 4% difference, the team has made tremendous efforts for this.

It is understood that the main raw materials for exhaust gas treatment catalysts are precious metals such as palladium, platinum, and rhodium, which also account for more than 70% of the catalyst cost. Improving the utilization rate of precious metals in catalysts is crucial for enhancing purification efficiency and reducing costs.

Every catalyst is covered with nanoscale pores, and the larger the inner wall of the pores, the more dispersed precious metals can be, improving their utilization efficiency. "Wang Yun recalled that for about a year, the team spent their days in the laboratory working on this technological breakthrough. Nowadays, compared to the first generation products, the use of precious metals in National VI products has decreased by 50%.

In May 2022, the National Key R&D Program "Development and Industrialization of Key Technologies for Pollution Emission Control of Alternative Fuel Vehicles" led by Zhongzi Technology completed its achievement evaluation, achieving independent and controllable core technology of natural gas vehicle catalysts.

We have always said that we need to move from following and running to ultimately achieving a leading position, and this goal should be quickly achieved in the natural gas vehicle catalyst sector, "said Wang Yun. At the same time, the company is actively promoting the application of its catalytic technology in the field of key materials for hydrogen fuel cells, and completed the construction of a kilogram level hydrogen fuel cell electrocatalyst production line in July last year.

At the beginning of the new year, new plans have also been put on the agenda.

Wang Yun revealed that with the completion of the research and development work for National VI products, the team has been tirelessly laying out the development of new products. The goal this time is to achieve "near zero emissions" of exhaust pollutants, and to increase the purification efficiency from 99% to 99.9%, even to more decimal places. It is expected that China will implement the National Emission Standard 7 around 2027. At that time, we must prepare for mass production, so technology development needs to be advanced

Self Cover News | Reporter Xiong Yingying

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