Numerous Chinese companies are silently working hard on R&D and innovation, transforming scientific research results into industrial applications, gradually replacing imported products, and reaching the forefront of global niche industries.

https://www.lieyunwang.com/archives/476361

 

【Lieyun Wang (WeChat: ileyun) Shanghai】July 5 Report (By Sun Yuan)

 

In recent years, the public and investors have paid much attention to technological innovation industries that have been "stuck", but in a wider range of fields, there are still many Chinese companies silently working hard on R&D and innovation, transforming scientific research results into industrial applications, gradually replacing imported products, and reaching the forefront of global niche industries.

Humidity management is a niche sector with low attention but affects the improvement of product processes in various industries. In China, the research and development of polymer materials science is rapidly advancing, and it has become a global top student in terms of technology research and development and industrialization.

Shanghai Hengyuan Polymer Materials Co., Ltd. is a domestic company focusing on the research and development of humidity control materials. Founded in 2002 and relying on the Department of Polymer Science of Fudan University for technology, this entrepreneurial company, under the leadership of founder Shen Yuehua, has embarked on a path of entrepreneurship for scientific researchers combining production, education, and research.

 

From desiccants to two-way humidity control materials, Hengyuan products are widely used in three major fields.

Any product in various industries that requires packaging or storage in such a micro-environment has certain humidity requirements. Shen Yuehua said that in addition to common desiccants, Hengyuan's innovation focuses on humidity control products that can both absorb and release moisture.

“Currently, most industries are mainly focused on moisture prevention, the most common being food, pharmaceuticals, electronic products, and container transportation. These require moisture prevention during packaging and transportation. With the improvement of the needs of some industries, precise requirements for the humidity range have begun to emerge.”

Shen Yuehua said that many niche industries have a rigid need for humidity, and Hengyuan's two-way humidity control products are used in many fields: cultural relics, 4G/5G base stations, new energy vehicle charging piles, tobacco, laboratories, and manufacturing, etc. During the 2010 World Expo, Hengyuan provided humidity protection for the bronze ware in the China Pavilion and the oil paintings in the Mexico Pavilion. “In the past, these were all imported products, but after research and development, from the Eleventh Five-Year Plan to the Thirteenth Five-Year Plan, domestic humidity control products began to be slowly used in the display cabinets and warehouses of cultural relics.”

Hengyuan's products can also provide better solutions to the dew condensation problem of base stations. Temperature differences cause dew condensation to form inside the metal box, and a large amount of dew condensation damages electrical equipment and causes safety hazards. The current common solution is to prevent dew condensation by heating.

After using Hengyuan polymer humidity control sheets, moisture is absorbed at low temperatures and moisture is slowly released into the air at high temperatures. It does not require electric heating, which meets the urgent need to save energy and reduce carbon emissions.

 

 

 

Hengyuan started developing products for base stations in 2017 and has entered the standardized product production stage. “5G base stations consume more energy and have a larger temperature difference, so humidity control has become a standard configuration in 5G.”

The same demand also exists in power cabinets and charging piles for new energy vehicles. If the humidity is too high, dew condensation can easily cause tripping, or even major accidents such as leakage. This increases the demand for desiccants or humidity control materials, and the difference between desiccants and humidity control agents is revealed.

“Desiccants are not easy to release humidity and mainly absorb moisture in one direction, while humidity control materials can not only achieve precise humidity values but also easily achieve two-way humidity regulation of moisture absorption and release in air with a certain temperature or humidity. This is why desiccants cannot replace humidity control agents.”

Another vast market comes from the legalization of cannabis products in European and American countries. Cannabis products have very high requirements for maintaining precise humidity, and some components in cannabis will change with changes in humidity. In this industry, different forms of two-way humidity control materials are needed from farm production, storage, to finished product processing.

 

Replacing imports with domestic products, what are the advantages of Hengyuan?

In the past, both domestic cultural relics industries and foreign tobacco industries used overseas brands, but Hengyuan's scientific research results have demonstrated the competitiveness of domestic products.

Taking cultural relics as an example, in the past, the products of Japanese Artsorb and German Prosorb were granular silica gel products, which needed to be packed in a bag or box and placed in a display cabinet, which would also appear out of place with the exhibits. Hengyuan humidity control sheets are in the form of paper sheets, do not occupy extra space, and can be hidden in the display cabinet partitions.

Secondly, it is cost-effective. Although cultural relics are invaluable, the large-scale use of foreign products will result in huge cost inputs, and replacing imports with domestic products will save museums a lot of budget.

In terms of environmental protection, Hengyuan's products are based on plant fibers and are environmentally friendly and biodegradable, without causing pollution to the environment. Foreign products are mainly silica gel materials, and silica dioxide cannot be degraded after use, which will also burden the environment.

In the application scenario of cultural relics warehouses, Hengyuan has even made humidity control products into the form of tiles, which are used on the walls or ceilings.

In the past, warehouse humidity control was mainly Japanese brands. As the industry's veteran with 40 years of research, Japan was the first to use humidity control building materials to reduce warehouse energy consumption and keep the humidity fluctuation range of cultural relics small.

However, it should not be ignored that, according to the warehouse standards of Japanese museums, not only are the construction requirements for humidity control panels strict, but the airtightness of the warehouse itself is also very high. However, old warehouses in Chinese museums usually do not have such good airtightness. In this case, the moisture capacity of Japanese humidity control panels is relatively low and cannot achieve the ideal effect. The advantages of Hengyuan products are highlighted, with not only large moisture capacity but also simple construction requirements, making them more suitable for the current conditions of Chinese museum warehouses.

Shen Yuehua said that for humidity control materials, the most important performance is moisture capacity. Japanese products are composed of natural inorganic substances, so their moisture absorption and release capacity is very limited, while Hengyuan's products add functional composite materials to the natural porous structure, so the moisture capacity reaches nearly 4 times that of natural materials. Of course, Shen Yuehua also said that for porous structural substrates of the same material, the moisture capacity should be controlled within a certain range, not the higher the better, mainly depending on the water locking capacity of the porous structure. Therefore, the combination of functional composite materials and substrates is also Shen Yuehua's core patented technology.

At the same time, in terms of performance, Hengyuan humidity control materials, due to the addition of functional composite materials, have a fast moisture absorption and release speed. Whether it is the initial "pre-adjustment" or the "dynamic equilibrium" process, Hengyuan products respond to humidity much faster than Japanese products and can quickly adjust the humidity in the warehouse to the target value.

Japan's natural mineral materials require air conditioning for pre-conditioning. For example, if a warehouse needs to reach 50% humidity, an air conditioner must first be installed and run for 7 days. After that, the air conditioner can intermittently pause its work, maintaining humidity within a certain range, unless a door opens or there's air exchange, which would break this balance. However, Hengyuan's products themselves can provide precise humidity, and with their fast moisture absorption and release, the air conditioning runtime is significantly reduced when the warehouse temperature and humidity meet standards, saving museums a large amount on electricity bills.

Finally, in terms of construction and installation, Hengyuan's materials are even more "adapted to local conditions."

Shen Yuehua stated that Hengyuan customizes different products for different scenarios. "We are in a relatively vertical and niche industry, so professionalism is highly required. Products vary for different application scenarios, and the benchmark products also differ."

In museum display cases, Hengyuan provides sheet-type humidity control products that can be placed in display case drawers, while in warehouses, humidity control products can be applied like tiles.

As Hengyuan's humidity control products became increasingly known in the market, in 2015, overseas businesses even found Shen Yuehua online, requesting custom precise humidity control formulas for cigar and cannabis preservation, which opened up the overseas market for Hengyuan.

However, humidity control materials differ significantly between the cultural heritage industry and the tobacco industry; a new market means new challenges. Cultural heritage requires humidity control materials to be free of volatile ions, so non-ionic composite formulas must be used. Tobacco, while having similar humidity needs, demands a high moisture capacity and fast humidity response, making ionic composite formulas preferred. Therefore, the selection of composite formulas based on market applications is also one of Shen Yuehua's core patented technologies.

In the cannabis industry, after cultivators harvest cannabis flowers, they first dry them and then place them in a relatively sealed bag or other container for humidity control. Currently used products are all bagged liquid humidity agents, such as Boveda and Boost, both of which have two pain points: 1) Regardless of how many packs are used, the contact area with the cannabis flowers is limited, leading to poor humidity uniformity, which affects the quality of the cannabis flowers. 2) The safety hazard of liquid leakage from the bag; once leaked, it contaminates the tobacco product, causing losses for cultivators.

Therefore, Hengyuan designed a compartment in the cannabis storage bag, covering the entire inner wall of the bag with precisely humidity-controlling paper sheets. This not only makes it very safe but also ensures excellent humidity control within such a flexible bag.

Shen Yuehua stated that after thoroughly researching the mechanism of humidity control, Hengyuan selects the most suitable formula for customer needs each time it applies to a new industry. "Our technological achievement lies in studying the humidity control mechanisms of various substances, and then combining different humidity control mechanisms to meet different needs, i.e., using functional composite materials to create various humidity formulas to achieve precise humidity. These composite materials include inorganic substances and polymer materials."

 

From not being recognized to having over 300 enterprise users, humidity control will become an essential need in the future.

Hengyuan has been developing for over 20 years, and Shen Yuehua has always been on the path of research and development. For the first decade, Shen Yuehua focused on fiber desiccants, but for the desiccant industry, which uses silica gel, calcium chloride, and mineral clay as materials, sheet-like desiccants were difficult to gain acceptance.

"At first, many people didn't accept it, saying: 'How can a paper sheet be a desiccant?'" Shen Yuehua chuckled, "At that time, there happened to be a niche field, blood glucose test strips in biochemical reagents, which themselves have very small packaging. However, traditional granular desiccants would make the packaging very large, whereas Hengyuan's sheet-like desiccants could be cut arbitrarily. It was precisely this slight morphological differentiation advantage that made the biochemical reagent niche one of Hengyuan's main markets."

Shen Yuehua admitted that they have done relatively little in market development and proactive sales. Currently, humidity control products are in the second decade of their venture, and this time, humidity management has become an essential need in many industries.

As quality standards for product packaging increase across various industries, enterprises are gradually realizing that moisture protection alone is not enough; humidity levels also need to be controlled, ensuring it's neither too dry nor too humid. Therefore, the rising market demand is the main reason Hengyuan has the opportunity for rapid growth.

Hengyuan has never stopped in R&D, and the market has gradually begun to release demand. "Twenty years ago, talking about biodegradability might not have been understood by the market, but now, biodegradable humidity control materials have become an essential need in many industries."

Shen Yuehua stated that the value innovation of Hengyuan's products has brought direct and indirect cost reduction and efficiency improvement to customers, which is the main reason for continuous customer cooperation over the years.

"We once served an art warehouse whose services included storing collection items for clients. To maintain the warehouse's temperature and humidity within standards 24 hours a day, it previously required 24 hours of air conditioning. However, with Hengyuan's warehouse building materials, a cyclical model of running the air conditioner for only 4 hours a day can achieve electricity savings, while still meeting both humidity and temperature standards."

Hengyuan's products are simple to install, have slightly lower material prices than imported products, and offer an excellent service experience, making them a preferred alternative for many museums and art galleries in the industry. "Japanese warehouse building materials are expensive and not widely used by museums; instead, air conditioners are used frequently. By using our products, the air conditioner's operating frequency can be reduced, thereby achieving energy saving and cost reduction."

 

The next innovation, a leap in cognition.

It is reported that Hengyuan is currently also developing a service-oriented intelligent humidity management system. For scenarios such as warehouses, laboratories, and manufacturing workshops, IoT technology is used to detect humidity, enabling real-time monitoring, warning, and regulation in the cloud, thereby continuously improving intelligence and energy-saving effects.

Shen Yuehua revealed that Hengyuan's intelligent system allows customers to intuitively view data anytime, anywhere. The intelligent temperature and humidity service system will be used more in industrial warehouses and factories. With the upgrading of the manufacturing industry, the demand for temperature and humidity control in workshops is increasing, and in the future, intelligent management systems for industrial workshops, warehouses, and laboratory markets will see more applications implemented. For the intelligent management platform, Hengyuan charges service fees based on the SaaS model.

Currently, Hengyuan has over 300 enterprise clients. Shen Yuehua told Lieyun.com that as dehumidification products become an essential need across various industries, demand is growing by double digits annually. However, over 90% of current dehumidification products are still mainly traditional granular silica gel and calcium chloride. Although competition is fierce, the market for thousands of suppliers is very fragmented. Both manage "humidity," but Hengyuan's humidity control products can be seen as an upgrade to dehumidification products; the one-character difference between 'dehumidification' (除湿) and 'humidity control' (调湿) reflects a cognitive distinction.

In Shen Yuehua's view, dehumidification and humidity control represent different stages of product demand for humidity. The future trend in the industry will definitely see a larger proportion of two-way humidity control.

 

To enable Chinese humidity control brands to go global, Hengyuan aims to forge a path of industry-academia-research integration through practice.

In the R&D process, Shen Yuehua always starts from the actual application scenarios of the industry, and based on research into different humidity control mechanisms, proposes various "cross-disciplinary" combination solutions, including various combined innovations in formulations, adsorbent substrates, packaging materials, and processes. In Shen Yuehua's view, since starting the business, she has been leading the team to tackle various industry application challenges.

In 2008, Shen Yuehua applied for the 863 project "Research and Industrialization of New Type Degradable Fiber Humidity Control Materials". Hengyuan Polymer became an industry-university-research base of Fudan University, and developed the first generation of products.

During the collaboration with research institutions to upgrade the second-generation formulation, Shen Yuehua also pursued a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering. At the same time, she also sent key employees of the company for further education, which, in her opinion, is Hengyuan's unique path of industry-university-research collaboration.

In 2010, Shen Yuehua launched the first generation of humidity control materials in the cultural heritage protection field, which served as an import substitute for Japanese and German products. As a scientific research achievement at the time, it was used in the protection of bronze artifacts in the China Pavilion and oil paintings in the Mexico Pavilion at the 2010 World Expo.

The humidity-controlling building materials project initiated in 2015 replaced Japanese products. Now there is an opportunity to participate in setting industry standards and enter more new construction or renovation projects for museum storage facilities.

As a researcher starting a business, Shen Yuehua is fortunate. In 2019, Hengyuan and Fudan Zhangjiang Research Institute jointly established a joint research center for humidity control materials. Meanwhile, collaborating institutions can also industrialize their scientific achievements through Hengyuan's mature production and application chain. Shen Yuehua stated that R&D has always involved cooperation with external resources through industry-university-research collaboration; currently, a core sales team of 9 people has also been assembled.

From R&D to commercialization, Shen Yuehua believes Hengyuan is ready.

Hengyuan's factory, located in Chongming Fusheng Development Zone, spans three floors with a total area of over 7000 square meters, integrating R&D and production.

According to Lieyunwang, the 5S and visualization practices at Hengyuan's factory site reflect its lean production management level. Shen Yuehua stated that these equipment are independently developed and customized, not a complete assembly line, but rather exist as independent processes that produce various products through combination, thus belonging to "flexible manufacturing processes". Of course, such a process requires higher demands on workshop employees; essentially all employees are "multi-skilled workers" who are trained in every process before starting work. Currently, there are 28 workers.

Shen Yuehua stated that Hengyuan's vision is to become a world-leading humidity management expert, allowing Chinese brands to lead the world. At the same time, she also wants to prove that even without substantial start-up capital, researchers can embark on a path of industrialization.

Shen Yuehua hopes that in the future, Hengyuan's materials can be combined with intelligent acquisition terminals to achieve linkage with various power systems.