The only domestic commercial manufacturer of low-temperature superconducting wire, and is currently the world’s only full-process manufacturer of niobium-titanium ingots, superconducting wire, and superconducting magnets, supplying high-end titanium alloy material structural parts for new domestic fighters … XBCD superconducting The Material Technology Group has many auras.
XBCD is a typical enterprise derived from the transformation of scientific and technological achievements in scientific research institutes.
The controlling shareholder of XBCD Superconductor is the Nonferrous Metals Research Institute, which was established in 1965 and is a research base of rare metal materials that the state invested and constructed in the 1960s.
The birth of XBCD superconductivity dates back to the eighth intergovernmental negotiation meeting of ITER (International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor) in 2003. At this meeting, China announced that it would join the ITER program as a fully independent member. The ITER project is currently one of the largest and most far-reaching international scientific research cooperation projects in the world. The purpose is to build a fusion experimental reactor that can realize large-scale fusion reactions.
According to the plan, ITER plans to use NbTi and Nb3Sn superconducting wires to manufacture superconducting magnets, but China does not yet have the production capacity of these two wires. This technical task was handed over to the Nonferrous Metal Research Institute. On February 28, 2003, XBCD Superconducting Co., Ltd. was formally established and began the industrialization of ITER plans to use NbTi and Nb3Sn superconducting wire.
After 7 years, the XBCD superconducting NbTi and Nb3Sn superconducting wires passed the comprehensive evaluation organized by ITER. In 2012, XBCD superconductors began to supply the ITER project in batches. At present, all superconducting wires have been delivered.
The technology accumulation of XBCD superconductors in the ITER program has filled the domestic gap, fully realized the import substitution, complemented the “short board”, and possessed world advanced levels in multiple technologies. At present, XBCD superconductor is currently the only domestic commercial manufacturer of low-temperature superconducting wire, and is currently the world’s only full-process manufacturer of niobium-titanium ingots, superconducting wire, and superconducting magnets.
However, the technology from scientific research institutes often faces difficulties in commercialization. XBCD superconducting low-temperature superconducting wires have a very narrow application direction, and the civilian market is almost zero. XBCD superconductors claim to be the world’s leading niobium-titanium ingots and other superconducting products. In 2018, they only contributed 35.74 million revenues, and the gross profit was even negative.
Successful commercialization of high-end titanium alloy
Ultimately, what makes XBCD superconductors commercially successful is not low-temperature superconducting technology, but high-end titanium alloy technology.
On the basis of the mastered NbTi alloy preparation technology, XBCD superconductor has developed and made breakthroughs in high-performance structural titanium alloys. XBCD superconductor is currently the only domestic company and the only company in the world with mass production of Ti45Nb titanium alloy materials, which solves the problem of “supply bottleneck” of materials for riveting special materials in China.
In fighter jets, high-end titanium alloys are an irreplaceable key material. At present, the amount of titanium alloy in various advanced fighters and bombers designed by Europe and the United States has been stabilized at more than 20%, and the proportion of titanium alloy structure on the F-22, the most advanced stealth fighter in the United States, is as high as 41%. The application level of titanium alloy has become an important indicator to measure the advanced degree of aircraft structural material selection, which directly affects the military aircraft combat technology performance.
Before XBCD superconductivity, this type of titanium alloy material is still a blank domestic product. XBCD superconductors took the lead in successfully developing many key titanium alloy materials that meet the requirements of key model development in China, and promoted the upgrading of a number of titanium alloy material technical standards. The performance level is in the international lead.
With high-end titanium alloy materials, XBCD superconductors won orders for China’s new pioneer aircraft, bombers and other military aircraft, and successfully entered the field of military industry.
70% products military C919 large aircraft supplier
XBCD superconducting customers are mainly major military industrial enterprises and large scientific projects. The famous C919 domestic large aircraft uses titanium alloy from XBCD superconductor. China’s Fusion Engineering Experimental Reactor (CFETR), Lanzhou Heavy Ion Accelerator and other national key engineering projects use XBCD superconducting low-temperature superconducting wire.
XBCD superconducting top five customers
At present, XBCD superconductor has two main products, namely high-end titanium alloy and superconducting material. Among them, high-end titanium alloys have great market value due to China’s vigorous investment in new fighters, large aircraft, deep submersible vehicles and other fields. With the gradual delivery of the ITER program, sales of superconducting materials have declined year by year. In 2018, 86% of XBCD’s revenue came from high-end titanium alloys. In contrast, superconducting materials contributed only 10% of revenue.