The annual conference of R&D institute directors in the nonferrous metals industry has a long history and is a flagship event of the China Nonferrous Metals Industry Association (CNIA). Having been held for 39 sessions so far, it has established a communication platform for scientific and technological professionals in the industry to analyze technology trends, pool innovation resources, and share intellectual achievements. I am pleased to see that, in addition to R&D institutes and traditional universities in the nonferrous metals industry, the range of participating institutions has expanded year by year. This reflects the strong scientific and technological atmosphere in the industry, its significantly enhanced role and status, and the growing attention and participation from various sectors of society. It also demonstrates the high recognition of the conference's value.
Since the "14th Five-Year Plan" period, the scientific and technological contributions of R&D design institutes and universities in the nonferrous metals industry
As the core of the innovation system in the nonferrous metals industry, R&D design institutes and universities undertake the missions of basic research, key technology breakthroughs, achievement transformation, and talent cultivation. They are crucial supports for the industry to achieve high-level self-reliance and strength in science and technology. In recent years, R&D design institutes and universities in the nonferrous metals industry have continuously deepened reforms and transformed their development, achieving remarkable results in various aspects and making outstanding contributions to technological innovation, achievement transformation, talent cultivation, and international cooperation in the industry.
First, they actively implemented major national R&D projects. Since the "14th Five-Year Plan" period, relevant R&D design institutes and universities in the industry have actively undertaken national major science and technology projects and key research programs. The association alone recommended 58 projects across 7 key special areas, such as rare earth new materials, strategic mineral resources, and advanced structures and composite materials, to relevant national authorities. Among these, projects led by R&D design institutes and universities in the industry accounted for as high as 90%, providing strong technical support for the industry to break through high-end development bottlenecks and address resource and environmental constraints.
Second, a number of major scientific and technological achievements and innovative talents received awards and recognition. In the 2023 National Science and Technology Awards, the nonferrous metals industry achieved a new breakthrough, with 15 major scientific and technological achievements winning National Science and Technology Awards, setting a record for the highest number of annual awards. The National Office for Science and Technology Awards initiated the nomination process for the 2025 National Science and Technology Awards in May this year and announced the preliminary evaluation results in September. According to preliminary statistics, the industry has 12 projects that passed the preliminary evaluation, among which 3 were nominated by the association. R&D institutes and universities in the industry, such as China Nonferrous Metal Industry Group, China Nerin Engineering Co., Ltd., Changsha Research Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, Hunan Nonferrous Metals Research Institute, Central South University, Northeastern University, University of Science and Technology Beijing, and Jiangxi University of Science and Technology, were honored on the list. Additionally, Zhan Kai from the BGRIMM Technology Group, Liu Xianghong from the Northwest Institute for Nonferrous Metals, and Li Hongying from Central South University were honored with the Outstanding Engineer Award.
Third, the comprehensive strength of scientific research and design institutes in the industry continues to grow. Through deepening reforms and innovating institutional mechanisms, nonferrous metals industry research institutes have significantly enhanced their overall capabilities, steadily increased comprehensive revenues, with some institutes reaching new highs. The GRINM Group and BGRIMM Technology Group strengthened the industry's "technological foundation" by establishing the GRINM Generic Technology Research Institute and the BGRIMM Generic Technology Research Institute, respectively, to enhance the supply of key generic technologies for the industry. The GRINM Group was consecutively rated as an Outstanding Scientific and Technological Innovation Enterprise among Central State-Owned Enterprises in 2023 and 2024, with comprehensive revenue exceeding 14 billion yuan in 2024, and R&D investment up 10.7% YoY. BGRIMM Technology Group achieved total revenue of 11.7 billion yuan in 2024, with an R&D intensity exceeding 8%. Yunnan Precious Metals Group deepened efforts to supplement, strengthen, and extend industrial chains, accelerating industrial layout, achieving operating revenue of 47.5 billion yuan in 2024, ranking first among Yunnan's Top 100 High-Tech Enterprises. The Northwest Institute for Nonferrous Metals reached a new level of high-quality development, with comprehensive revenue of 23.8 billion yuan in 2024, R&D intensity of 7.4%, and approval from the Ministry of Science and Technology to lead the construction of the National Innovation Center for Advanced Rare Metal Materials.
Fourth, the comprehensive strength of design and research units in the industry continues to improve. Nonferrous metals industry design and research units persistently deepened reforms and innovation, continuously enhancing engineering design and technological development capabilities. Preliminary statistics show that the eight directly managed design and research institutes in the nonferrous metals industry achieved comprehensive revenue exceeding 15 billion yuan in 2024. China ENFI Engineering focused on developing energy conservation and environmental protection, infrastructure, digital industry, intelligent equipment, and operational businesses, with comprehensive revenue up 39.9% YoY, profits exceeding 400 million yuan, and successful application for three provincial/ministerial key laboratories. China Nerin successfully listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, with overseas business growing rapidly in 2024, overseas revenue reaching 1.016 billion yuan, up 94.87% YoY.
Fifth, industry universities highlight talent cultivation and innovation vitality. Industry universities continuously leverage their unique advantages in disciplinary characteristics, basic research, and talent cultivation, making outstanding contributions to generic technology R&D, achievement transformation, and innovative talent cultivation. Central South University undertook 13 national major scientific and technological projects in 2024, secured 591 projects including those from the National Natural Science Foundation, successfully reorganized the National Key Laboratory of Powder Metallurgy, and co-established three national key laboratories including Mineral Processing Science and Technology. Kunming University of Science and Technology received 230 grants from the National Natural Science Foundation, and the "Yunnan Sanjiang Metallogenic System and Evaluation Innovation Team" led by it was awarded the title of "National Outstanding Engineer Team." Jiangxi University of Science and Technology undertook 67 national-level and 118 provincial/ministerial-level scientific research projects, participated in co-establishing the "Nonferrous Metal Structural Materials" National Key Laboratory, and led the application for the Jiangxi Provincial Laboratory of Advanced Metal Materials. While traditional non-ferrous universities continue to deepen and expand in the non-ferrous field, institutions such as Shanghai Jiao Tong University and Xi'an University of Architecture and Technology are increasingly integrating with strategic emerging areas of the non-ferrous metals industry, strongly promoting an integrated virtuous cycle of industry education, science and technology, and talent.
Suggestions for the scientific and technological development of non-ferrous metals during the 15th Five-Year Plan
While summarizing the contributions of non-ferrous research and design institutes and universities since the 14th Five-Year Plan, we must also clearly see that the non-ferrous metals industry still faces issues such as low overall efficiency of the innovation system, insufficient integration of scientific and technological resources, low cost-effectiveness of scientific and technological inputs and outputs, and a low rate of commercialization. These aspects require continued efforts from industry research institutes and universities to resolve.
First, adhere to supporting and serving the national strategic orientation. Industry research institutes and universities should focus on major national strategic needs, adhere to innovation-driven leadership, and accelerate the creation of original technology sources, focusing on unblocking the chain of innovative activities from basic research, applied research, to commercialization and industrial application. Efforts should be concentrated on key areas such as strategic mineral exploration and efficient development, green and low-carbon metallurgy, ultra-high purity metal preparation, high-end alloy materials, rare earth functional materials, advanced material preparation, and high-end equipment manufacturing, to break through a number of key core technologies, cutting-edge leading technologies, and even disruptive technologies. It is necessary to build high-level innovation platforms, promote deep integration of industry, academia, research, and application, strengthen upstream and downstream collaboration in the industry chain, and enhance the self-control capability of key materials and core equipment, making scientific and technological innovation truly the first driving force for industry development.
Second, adhere to consolidating the foundation of critical mineral resource security. Currently, the global landscape is undergoing profound adjustments, with geopolitical conflicts and competition over critical mineral resources intensifying. The non-ferrous metals industry should regard "mineral exploration breakthroughs" as a core strategic task, focusing on strategic mineral resources such as copper, nickel, cobalt, and rare earths, adhering to innovation-driven approaches, achieving significant breakthroughs in exploration and development, and elevating the enhancement of resource security capabilities to the strategic height of safeguarding national industry and supply chain security and strengthening strategic bargaining power, providing solid mineral resource support for building a new development pattern.
Third, adhere to fully implementing green, low-carbon, and circular development. Efforts should be made to continuously deepen the green and low-carbon transformation, vigorously develop advanced and applicable technologies and disruptive technologies for energy conservation, carbon reduction, clean production, and deep pollution control, focusing on disruptive process innovations and process reengineering; promote the optimization of energy structure and the application of energy-saving and carbon-reduction technologies, and build a green and low-carbon industrial system covering the entire life cycle from mine to material; improve the comprehensive utilization efficiency of complex resources, accelerate the development of the recycled non-ferrous metals industry, and construct a more complete circular economy industry chain, achieving a win-win situation for economic and ecological benefits in the non-ferrous metals industry.
Fourth, strengthen digital and intelligent empowerment in the nonferrous metals industry. It is essential to further promote the deep integration of new-generation information technologies such as artificial intelligence, big data, the Internet of Things, and 5G across the entire industry chain, including mining, smelting and processing, materials R&D, quality control, and supply chain management. Efforts should be made to advance the construction of digital mines, intelligent factories, and smart enterprises, and to cultivate and establish a group of exemplary enterprises in digital transformation and typical application scenarios. Digital means should be utilized to optimize resource allocation, achieve precise control and flexible manufacturing, meet personalized and diverse market demands, and create new business formats and models for the development of the nonferrous metals industry.
Fifth, adhere to all-round international exchanges and cooperation. It is necessary to deeply integrate into the national "Belt and Road" Initiative, strengthen exchanges and cooperation with international peers in areas such as resource development, cutting-edge technologies, and standard formulation; actively deploy overseas high-quality resources to build a diversified, stable, and reliable resource supply guarantee system; and cultivate leading enterprises and brands with international influence, accelerating the enhancement of the nonferrous metals industry's voice and influence internationally.
Sixth, strengthen the cultivation of innovative talent in the industry. At present, international competition for high-quality talent and technological supremacy is unprecedentedly intense, creating an urgent need for more high-level scientific research achievements and high-caliber talent as support. It is hoped that industry research institutes and universities will fully leverage their roles as the main force in basic research and the source of major technological breakthroughs, focus on cultivating first-class scientific and technological leaders and innovative teams, strive to nurture outstanding engineers, master craftsmen, and highly skilled personnel, promote the synchronization of talent cultivation with technological innovation and industrial upgrading, facilitate a virtuous cycle of industry education, science and technology, and talent, and gather more talent resources for cultivating and developing new quality productive forces in the industry.
