Pioneering products show city's role in high-tech economy

By Wang Jinhui | China Daily | Updated: 2018-10-18 07:49

A variety of high-end products from local enterprises were displayed during the 2018 National Mass Innovation and Entrepreneurship Week held recently in Chengdu, demonstrating the city's role as a center for the new economy and innovation, according to local executives.

One example is a special waterproof socket developed by Chengdu ArGangle Technology.

Zhou Gang, founder and chairman of the company, said the socket uses an insulation connection technology that helps to solve the problems of leakage of electricity, short circuits and electric arc. The socket has a very high safety performance when used in kitchens, restrooms and outdoors.

Zhou said the technology could also be used in industrial products such as mobile phone charging ports and deep sea connectors.

To date, the socket has received a priority for patent application in 152 Patent Cooperation Treaty contracting countries. It has received patent authorization in countries such as China, the United States, Japan, South Korea and Australia.

Zhou said that the socket is expected to enter the market in December and will begin mass production soon.

The first phrase of the production plan will include a 30,000-square-meter electronic information factory and self-developed production line, with an annual production capacity of 20 million units.

Another highlight of the event was a 30-square-meter black glass wall produced by CNBM (Chengdu) Optoelectronic Materials.

The wall consists of 14 sheets of solar power glasses with cadmium telluride, which transform sunlight into electricity and provide electricity for power equipment inside a building.

In April, the production line of the electricity-generating glass with thin film cadmium telluride was put into operation after eight years' research and development. The perunit size of the company's electricity-generating glass sheet is the largest in the world so far, according to the company.

Jiang Meng, a technology inspector for the company, said the glass could maintain a high rate of conversion efficiency even under the low light conditions that occur on cloudy and rainy days.

The electricity-generating glass with cadmium telluride is recyclable and could replace bricks and ordinary constructive materials, he said.

"The glass is applied in the buildings of our headquarters, offering 20 to 30 percent of the overall power supply for the buildings."

The demand for the products exceeds the supply in the market, he said.

Chengdu has the only independent mineralization of joseite materials in the world and is rich in human resources, Jiang said.

"I have graduated from Sichuan University, which is famous for its tellurium major," he said. Jiang said that the company will build the world's largest production base of cadmium telluride in Chengdu, together with 10 production lines in the city. It plans to construct a total of 50 production lines nationwide.

Besides the waterproof socket and cadmium telluride solar power glasses, there were also a series of Chengdu-made high-tech products, cutting-edge technologies, innovative items and design schemes at a tech exhibition during the event.

The exhibition focused on areas such as artificial intelligence, robots, life and healthcare and provided visitors with interactive experiences.

Chengdu views innovation and entrepreneurship as a backbone to boosting its new economy and industries, according to a local official at the Chengdu science and technology bureau.

The city has developed at a fast pace in new industries and is home to a large number of unicorn enterprises including online healthcare company Medlinker and Xgimi.

In 2017, the newly registered market entities in Chengdu reached 464,000, up 42 percent year-on-year. The city added 20,000 high-tech enterprises and created some 300,000 new jobs.