On 24th June, the 2023 National Science and Technology Awards were announced, and two scientific research achievements led by the Institute of Process Engineering of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and participated by Huayou - "Development of new equipment for lithium precursor reaction crystallisation and intelligent manufacturing of high-end anode materials", "Efficient and low-carbon treatment technology and application of lithium solid waste with whole-process optimisation" won the second prize of National Science and Technology Progress in 2023, marking that Huayou's innovative achievements in the fields of green refining of non-ferrous metals, lithium materials development, and resource recycling and regeneration have climbed to a new peak, and highlighting Huayou's leading position in the technological innovation and sustainable development of new energy materials. The leading position of Huayou in new energy material technology innovation and sustainable development.

To grasp innovation is to grasp development, and to seek innovation is to seek the future. As a national high-tech enterprise, Huayou attaches importance to innovation and development, and insists on science and technology leadership.

Since 2018, Huayou has increased its investment in R&D year by year, and in the past five years, it has invested more than 5 billion yuan in scientific and technological innovation. It has built a world-leading R&D centre with a R&D site of more than 210,000 square meters, gathering more than 4,600 technological research and development personnel, and has set up a number of national advanced science and innovation platforms such as a national enterprise technology centre and a national post-doctoral workstation, which support the company's development in the fields of efficient extraction of nickel cobalt and lithium resources and development of high-performance battery materials, and so on. It supports the company's core technology development in the fields of efficient extraction of nickel, cobalt and lithium resources and development of high-performance battery materials.

Thanks to the continuous scientific and technological innovation, Huayou has made a lot of achievements in scientific research, with 459 nationally authorised patents and 218 drafted standards. Meanwhile, Huayou has won many awards and prizes, such as the Second Prize of National Scientific and Technological Progress, the First Prize of Zhejiang Scientific and Technological Progress, the First Prize of Tianjin Scientific and Technological Progress, the First Prize of Science and Technology Progress in the China Nonferrous Metals Industry and other important scientific and technological rewards, and it has become a real science and technology-oriented enterprise.

As a global leader in the production of ternary precursors for power batteries, Huayou New Material Industry Group strengthens industrial synergy, deepens the innovation-driven development strategy, carries out the competitive strategy of "leading in products and leading in costs", takes scientific and technological innovation as the cornerstone, and continues to improve scientific and technological insight, research and application, and has built up a world-class R&D centre of precursors, and has taken the lead in overcoming the problem of ultra-narrow distribution large particle precursor preparation technology, multi-element spray pyrolysis oxide green preparation technology, and high-nickel precursor crystalline orientation control technology, and have continuously optimised and upgraded precursor synthesis technology and process equipment, and have improved the R&D, production organisation capability and product quality control level, and broken through the medium and high-grade precursors, etc., and the output, quality and development speed of new products are at the leading level in the industry. Our ternary precursor series products have been rated as the single champion products of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), the green design products of MIIT, and the high-quality products of Zhejiang Province, and have entered into the global high-end customer base of power batteries, and are widely used in the electric vehicle industry chain of internationally renowned brands.

Huayou attaches great importance to sustainable low-carbon development, adheres to the development concept of "innovation, coordination, openness, greenness, and sharing", formulates eight "carbon neutral" actions, and uses the green manufacturing concept into every process of lithium new materials production. Through the innovation of process technology, the application of advanced equipment, and the creation of industrial chain circular innovation mode, the company has achieved the harmonious symbiosesis between production and ecology, and the synergy between development and environment, and comprehensively realised the green manufacturing of nickel and cobalt smelting and lithium-ion new material preparation in the whole life cycle, and reduced the intensity of carbon emission per unit of product year by year, and has become the first factory with zero-carbon in the industry in the fields of precursor, cathode material, resource regeneration, and the gradient utilisation of decommissioned batteries. Huayou has been awarded the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology's Green Manufacturing Demonstration Factory, Green Design Demonstration Enterprise for Industrial Products, and Green Designed Products, etc., which sets up industry benchmarks of resource conservation, environmental friendliness, leading products and leading benefits.

Looking ahead, Huayou will continue to adhere to the development strategy of scientific and technological innovation, base on the development strategy of globalisation, further increase the investment in scientific research, build a more open R&D system, strengthen the technological exchanges and co-operation with global scientific research institutes and leading enterprises in the industry, introduce and cultivate more high-precision scientific and technological talents. We will continue to drive development with innovation, lead the development direction of new energy industry with more innovative achievements, and contribute to the realisation of a greener and more sustainable human future!