Academicians boost industrial upgrading in Nantong
A bird's-eye view of Nantong. [Photo provided by Xu Congjun to chinadaily.com.cn]
In recent years, academicians have become a major driver of technological innovation and industrial transformation of Nantong, which is currently home to four industry academician expert innovation centers and five enterprise academician expert innovation centers.
Academicians stand at the apex of the scientific research pyramid, serving as pioneers and navigators in various fields of scientific development. Leveraging the expertise of such individuals, a group of enterprises in Nantong has achieved significant results.
A decade ago, Jiangsu Longchang Chemical was a small, unknown company that dealt with industrial waste. With the assistance of Zheng Lansun, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and a professor at Xiamen University, the company delved deep into the field of soil remediation materials. It undertook series of national and provincial projects, successfully pioneering dozens of core technologies in efficient and stable remediation of heavy metal-polluted farmland and safe utilization, filing nearly 200 patents.
Yang Zhangpeng, assistant to the president of Longchang Chemical, stated that the company's main products currently hold a market share of over 65 percent in China, with annual sales approaching 300 million yuan ($41.17 million).
Around its six major industrial clusters, valued at 100 billion yuan, Nantong has established four provincial-level industry academician expert innovation centers focusing on hydrogen energy, textiles, green elastic materials, and magnetic materials, respectively.
Industrial and technological innovations are complex and systemic endeavors that require collaboration among various entities such as enterprises, talents, universities, and platforms. Unlike the academician workstations, the academician expert innovation centers not only integrate academician teams but also connect to various provincial societies, industrial parks, enterprises, and institutions.
The Jiangsu Textile Industry Academician Expert Innovation Center was jointly initiated by the Jiangsu Textile Engineering Society, the China Textile Engineering Society, the Nantong market supervision bureau, the Nantong Science Association, and the Nantong Textile Engineering Society.
Zhang Jinwu, deputy secretary-general of the Cotton Spinning Committee of the Jiangsu Textile Engineering Society, explained that since 2020, the center has formed an expert team to provide technical support, scientific evaluations, and talent assessments for the Tongzhou Bay Modern Textile Industry Park, conducting energy efficiency assessments for 22 enterprises and helping them set up operations in the park.