Zhiqing Bocai a low-key practitioner of localization of AEM anion membrane

At a time when the global energy supply side is undergoing structural restructuring and both domestic and foreign countries are laying out core technologies for the new energy industry, a new material company has come into our view in the Suzhou Wujiang Taihu New City Science and Technology Innovation Park - Suzhou Zhiqing Bocai Technology Co., Ltd. The company has developed a series of AEM anion exchange membrane products, including homogeneous membranes, enhanced membranes, and hydrogen removal membranes, covering a thickness range of 20 to 100 μm and a maximum width of 80 cm, and has the ability to deliver on a large scale.

Why has this new materials company, founded in 2023, developed so rapidly in such a short period of time? We were fortunate to meet with Dr. Peng Hanqing, co-founder and general manager of Zhiqing Bocai, and had an in-depth exchange with him. Dr. Peng Hanqing is one of the few expert entrepreneurs in China who has been deeply engaged in the research and development of anion exchange membrane materials for more than ten years. He graduated from Wuhan University with a degree in physical chemistry and studied under Professor Zhuang Lin, a distinguished professor of the Yangtze River Scholars Program. During his doctoral studies, he made important breakthroughs in the research of anion exchange membranes. The new generation of anion exchange membranes he developed has significantly accelerated the technical progress of the research group in alkaline fuel cells, alkaline carbon dioxide electroreduction and water electrolysis. His scientific research results have not only been published in many high-level international journals, but he has also applied for two core patents as the first inventor, and participated in many national scientific research projects as a core member, including the national key research and development plan "Alkaline Ion Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell Research".

In the early days of Zhiqing Bocai's entrepreneurship, it was inseparable from the high attention and strong support of Wujiang East Taihu Resort (Taihu New City). East Taihu Resort actively responded to the national strategic deployment, focused on the "neck-stuck" core technology research, and provided the company with solid industrial support through multi-dimensional empowerment such as policy support and resource docking. At the same time, important industrial capitals such as Kerun New Materials and Rongtuo Capital participated deeply, and the company successfully completed a tens of millions of angel rounds of financing. Under the collaborative model of "policy + capital + technology", the company was able to efficiently promote the transformation process from technological achievements to large-scale applications.

Thanks to the team's years of scientific research accumulation and perfect engineering system, Zhiqing Bocai's products have shown significant advantages in performance. The company's independently developed AEM series products are based on original high-efficiency polymer synthesis processes and modification solutions. The homogeneous membrane has achieved breakthroughs in key performance indicators: tensile strength up to 50MPa, swelling rate controlled within 8%, and ion conductivity exceeding 150mS/cm. At present, the product has passed the performance verification of many leading electrolyzer companies and obtained purchase orders. The upgraded version of the AEM enhanced membrane and AEM hydrogen removal membrane are also being sent to many customers and have entered the testing and introduction stage.

While steadily promoting the implementation of core products, Zhiqing Bocai is also actively planning the layout of cutting-edge technologies. The company has completed the industrialization research and development layout of multiple main chain structures, covering the new "rigid chain" structure and "flexible chain" structure of the anion exchange membrane series, forming a multi-level product system covering different working conditions and performance requirements, and further building core competitive barriers. Especially in the field of liquid flow batteries, the company is working with strategic partners to jointly develop anion exchange membranes for liquid flow batteries. Aiming at the needs of energy storage scenarios, the electrochemical performance and cycle life of the membrane are significantly improved through special structural design and thickness optimization, seizing the opportunity of the future trillion-level energy storage market.

Dr. Peng Hanqing believes that in the future AEM anion exchange membrane market, membrane cost and durability will be the two most important indicators. The current mainstream AEM structure on the market is definitely not the final solution in terms of stability. Zhiqing Bocai has been determined to explore new AEM structural designs since the company was founded. Now the company's three doctors are leading teams that are steadily advancing on their respective technical routes, with the goal of increasing the AEM life to 50,000 hours and reducing the cost to one-third of the perfluorosulfonic acid membrane, promoting the maturity and reliability of the AEM water electrolysis market.

On the market side, the company is simultaneously exploring new tracks, expanding AEM to application scenarios such as carbon dioxide electroreduction and seawater desalination, promoting anion exchange membranes to become core materials in multiple fields, and ultimately moving towards the capital market to create a global leading new energy materials brand.

"Define industry standards with technological breakthroughs and empower the future of green hydrogen with domestic substitution." Dr. Peng Hanqing said that Zhiqing Bocai will always adhere to technological innovation as the core driving force, deepen the collaborative development mechanism of industry, academia and research, and unite the scientific research strength of universities and upstream and downstream industry partners to continuously overcome the "bottleneck" problem of hydrogen energy core materials and accelerate the localization of hydrogen energy materials. Facing the era proposition of global energy structure transformation, Zhiqing Bocai is committed to becoming the backbone of the new generation of clean energy material innovation with firm steps and cutting-edge technology, and contributing surging innovative momentum to the green and low-carbon development of China and even the world

https://min.news/en/tech/938c3fedfa1c0a7e84c2473cee77e261.html