On January 17, China’s leading nanotube material technology company JSTN Nano Technology issued a performance forecast. The company expects that the net profit attributable to shareholders of listed companies from January to December 2019 will be approximately 115 million, which will increase compared to the same period last year About 47,697,500 yuan, an increase of about 71% year-on-year.
At a time when the new energy vehicle market suffered a deep decline at an inflection point due to subsidy decline and the lithium battery industry suffered a severe setback, the financial report of JSTN undoubtedly strengthened its confidence in the long-waited market.
China has always relied on imports for conductive agents for power lithium batteries. With a new type of conductive agent product-carbon nanotubes, JSTN embarked on the road to challenge traditional conductive agent companies, not only breaking the monopoly of foreign companies on traditional conductive agents, but also sounding the "counterattack" clarion call to enter the world.
Before the emergence of new conductive agents such as carbon nanotubes, traditional conductive agents such as carbon black, conductive graphite and VGCF have been used in lithium batteries for many years and the technology is mature. However, the mainstream traditional conductive agents on the market, such as SP, acetylene black, Ketjen black, KS, etc., mainly come from companies such as Cabot, Switzerland, Lion King, and Japan Electrochemical. China has long been engaged in conductive agents for lithium batteries. In a state of dependence on imports.
As a nano-level basic material, carbon nanotubes have become a research hotspot in the fields of chemistry and materials science due to their excellent properties since they were discovered. However, due to the difficulty of continuous mass production, carbon nanotubes cannot be effectively commercialized for a long time.
Professor Wei Fei’s team from Tsinghua University, China, "basic research on batch preparation of high-purity carbon nanotubes based on the principle of nano-agglomerate fluidization", provided related methods for continuous macro-production of carbon nanotubes from a theoretical level, and in January 2006 Won the first prize of Natural Science of the Ministry of Education.
In 2007, JSTN's R&D team formally cooperated with Wei Fei's team from Tsinghua University in China to obtain the exclusive license to use the above-mentioned related invention patents. After nearly 5 years of research, the JSTN team finally developed and mastered the industrialization technology for the macro-production of carbon nanotubes in a nano-agglomerated fluidized bed, completely solving the worldwide problem of continuous macro-production of carbon nanotubes.
High-tech barriers, 8 years to grow into China's leading carbon nanotubes
In recent years, the market share of carbon nanotubes as a new type of conductive agent in the conductive agent of lithium batteries has increased year by year. In 2018, JSTN's domestic market share in China has reached 31.8%, which is more than twice as high as that in 2014. Upward trend.
Carbon nanotubes are tubular nano-scale graphite crystals, which are seamless nano-scale tubular structures formed by single or multilayer graphene layers curled around a central axis at a certain helix angle. Compared with traditional conductive agents, carbon nanotubes have better conductivity.
Under the same conductive effect, the amount of carbon nanotube conductive agent is only 1/6 to 1/2 of the traditional conductive agent, which greatly improves the energy density of lithium batteries. In addition, carbon nanotubes can maintain good electronic and ion conduction during the cycle of lithium batteries, thereby greatly improving the cycle life of lithium batteries.
As one of the first companies in the world to introduce carbon nanotubes into lithium batteries through conductive paste, JSTN has been committed to the promotion of carbon nanotube conductive agents in lithium batteries in recent years.
"In the process of R&D and promotion, we mainly solve the three major problems of cost, carbon nanotube dispersion, and downstream application problems." Zheng Tao, the technical director of JSTN, said that the advantages of carbon nanotubes are obvious, but only the reduction is achieved. Cost and mass production can truly enter the lithium battery market.
As we all know, the key factors that determine product performance (conductivity) are the aspect ratio of carbon nanotubes and carbon purity. The higher the carbon purity, the thinner the carbon nanotube diameter and the longer the length, the better the electrical conductivity.
Zheng Tao said that the relevant performance of JSTN's second-generation carbon nanotube products has been in a leading position in China, and the third-generation product has further improved the aspect ratio of carbon nanotubes and improved its electrical conductivity on the basis of the second generation. And in the process of upgrading, JSTN has mastered more independent research and development technology, and gradually got rid of its dependence on university technology authorization.
In the initial stage of the application of carbon nanotubes as a conductive agent to lithium batteries, materials companies generally supply carbon nanotubes in powder form directly to lithium battery manufacturers for trial, but the conductive effect is not ideal. Zheng Tao explained that this form of carbon nanotubes has not been effectively dispersed in the electrode materials of lithium batteries, and the carbon nanotubes in agglomerated state greatly reduce their electrical conductivity.
In order to solve the problem of carbon nanotube dispersion, JSTN researchers conducted a large number of research and development experiments, using a variety of dispersion equipment including high-speed disperser, colloid mill, homogenizer, ultrasonic equipment, etc., and finally successfully selected a suitable dispersant and dispersion The method and equipment introduce the carbon nanotubes into the lithium battery in the form of slurry, thereby realizing industrialized production.
"The rapid large-scale production of carbon nanotubes and the rapid opening of the market benefit from the right time and place," Zheng Tao said with emotion. An excellent R&D team and good products have met the rapid development of China's lithium battery industry. Since 2014, JSTN has begun to develop rapidly.
According to public data from the JSTN prospectus, JSTN has achieved year-on-year revenue growth for three consecutive years. From 2016 to 2017, it has achieved more than doubled revenue growth from 130 million yuan to 300 million yuan. From January to September 2019, JSTN's revenue was 300 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 27.6%. The annual revenue exceeded 2018's 328 million yuan in just around the corner.
Although in the second half of 2019, the new energy automobile industry was affected by the dual impact of subsidy decline and the "cold winter" of the auto market, and its performance was sluggish for five consecutive months, but from the second half of its public financial report, JSTN was not affected. In addition, carbon nanotubes still have much room for improvement in the new energy vehicle lithium battery market.
Zheng Tao said that JSTN currently has a number of high-quality customers such as BYD, CATL, ATL, Lishen, and Xinwangda, and the company is also stepping into the leading position in the domestic carbon nanotube conductive agent market.
On September 25, 2019, JSTN landed in the capital market and started a new journey in the capital market.
To be the technological innovation leader of new conductive agents worldwide
After taking the lead in China's domestic carbon nanotube conductive agent market, JSTN has not stopped its pace of development. The international high-end market is the next goal of JSTN.
From the perspective of the lithium battery itself, from the positive electrode to the negative electrode; from the industry perspective, from the development of the lithium battery to the conductive plastic market; from the geographical perspective, from domestic to foreign expansion. "JSTN's development path is clear and firm.
In addition to continuing to consolidate its advantages in the field of lithium batteries, JSTN is also actively deploying carbon nanotube products in other fields. The application of carbon nanotube conductive masterbatch products in the field of carbon-based filled conductive plastics is one of them.
Zheng Tao stated that JSTN has cooperated with well-known international chemical companies such as SABIC, Total, Clariant and Polyone. The carbon nanotube conductive masterbatch developed by it has been mass-produced and supplied in small quantities. In particular, the cooperation intention with SABIC has been Entering the stage of substantial supply quotation, it is expected to be applied to the field of conductive plastics on a large scale in the future.
In 2018, the global conductive plastic market output exceeded 240,000 tons, an increase of 9.3% year-on-year. Driven by the downstream market, the global output of carbon nanotube conductive masterbatch in 2018 exceeded 30,000 tons, a year-on-year increase of 7.4%, and the output value exceeded 4 billion yuan. If JSTN can "break through" the field of conductive plastics as a supplier, this will become a business growth point for JSTN.
In the field of chip manufacturing, carbon nanotubes are equally useful.
American Nantero company has successfully developed a new type of non-volatile nano memory (NRAM) based on carbon nanotubes for information storage. In September 2017, JSTN and Nantero began to cooperate, and its high-purity carbon nanotube products have begun to send samples for testing.
In addition to developing new areas, exploring overseas markets for existing products can also become a business growth point for JSTN.
At present, the main demand for carbon nanotube conductive paste for power lithium batteries comes from the Chinese domestic market, and the development of new energy vehicles is a global consensus.
Not long ago, Norway, Finland, Germany, the United Kingdom, and France respectively announced a total ban on the sale of fuel vehicles from 2025 to 2040. As countries around the world actively formulate timetables for traditional fuel vehicles, the overseas carbon nanotube slurry market for power lithium batteries is expected to rise with the growth of the new energy vehicle market.
As the JSTN carbon nanotube conductive tube paste that has achieved large-scale production and has been validated by the market, it has the opportunity to realize the "reverse export" of domestic cutting-edge new material products overseas.
In this sense, JSTN, which has a new material of carbon nanotubes, is expected to change the pattern of traditional conductive agents for lithium batteries in new energy vehicles and lead the global "trend" of conductive agents.