Aluminum is the understated member of the non‑ferrous metals family, yet it shines brightly in Huaibei, Anhui Province. From iterations in ordinary new materials to high‑end metal materials and onward into automotive components, this resource‑based city has been composing an increasingly substantial and compelling story centered on aluminum.

The Provincial Research Institute for Aluminum‑Based New Materials has been officially approved; an academicians' team has successfully landed a high‑performance copper‑aluminum composite project; output value for aluminum‑based high‑end metal materials and automotive parts rose 9.3%... The striking achievements listed in this year's Huaibei government work report trace the solid steps of the aluminum industry's iterative upgrading and sketch the city's blueprint for pursuing a multi‑billion‑yuan future.

Industrial Upgrading

As the year draws to a close, Anhui Zhongji Battery Foil Sci & Tech Co., Ltd.'s Phase III project is in full swing in the Suixi Economic Development Zone. Elsewhere, in the Phase I and II workshops, thick aluminum coils pass through multiple complex processes and are transformed into battery foil as thin as a cicada's wing, destined for battery manufacturers across the country.

This battery foil—used for cathode materials in energy‑storage and new‑energy vehicle batteries—is Anhui Zhongji's flagship product. With advantages of ultra‑thinness, extra‑wide width and high elongation, it has successfully entered the supply chains of leading battery firms such as CATL, BYD and Gotion High‑Tech.

Beyond Zhongji, key aluminum‑based companies—Yinbang New Energy Materials, Xuanruida, Gotion Energy Storage, Shanghai A&I, Huayu Aluminum, and others—have rooted in Huaibei, gradually weaving a dense industrial chain network. Today Huaibei hosts 68 above designated size enterprises in aluminum‑based high‑end metal materials and automotive parts, with agglomeration effects increasingly evident.

As the new‑energy vehicle industry experiences explosive growth, Huaibei has seized the opportunity and acted accordingly. The city has accelerated cultivation of provincial specialized and sophisticated NEV parts firms that produce novel and unique products, built a key components technology supply system, and promoted the extension of aluminum‑based new materials into high‑end NEV components.

Over the past year Huaibei signed 32 aluminum‑based projects each exceeding 100 million yuan, with total investment of 10.76 billion yuan and annual processing capacity exceeding 1.1 million tonnes—demonstrating robust industry momentum.

Science & Technology at the Core

Industry moves toward new models only when science and technology sit at its core. Amid the wave of industrial upgrading, Huaibei recognizes that technological innovation is the decisive lever for high‑quality industrial development and a core element in cultivating new quality productive forces.

The establishment of the Anhui Provincial Research Institute for Aluminum‑Based New Materials has injected fresh momentum into the high‑quality development of Huaibei's aluminum industry.

"We collaborated with the University of Science and Technology Beijing and other universities to conduct in‑depth surveys of 10 local key enterprises, forming a list of critical technical needs to ensure projects 'come from the industry and serve the industry,'" said Song Xiaohui, director of the provincial aluminum‑based new materials research institute.

The successful landing of Academician Xie Jianxin's team project from the University of Science and Technology Beijing—the "high‑performance copper‑aluminum composite material"—is a vivid example of Huaibei achieving key technological breakthroughs in new materials and promoting results transformation.

To date the city has developed 33 innovation platforms including provincial enterprise R&D centers and digitalized workshops; built a 100,000‑square‑meter public service platform for new metal aluminum materials; operates 10 aluminum industry public service platforms—effectively promoting deep integration of the innovation chain and industrial chain and making technological innovation a powerful engine for high‑quality industrial development.

Full Support and Sincerity From Huaibei

Recently the "Huaibei Municipal Regulations on Promoting Scientific and Technological Innovation" were officially issued. This is Huaibei's first local regulation specifically focused on technological innovation. By further refining and supplementing higher‑level laws, the regulation optimizes top‑level institutional design and provides a solid legal guarantee for empowering industrial development through innovation.

Beyond legal safeguards, high‑quality services are another important support for the aluminum‑based industry's advance.

"Government services are great, and enterprise development is even better." To support aluminum‑based firms, Suixi County holds monthly forums where county departments, development‑zone leaders and entrepreneurs communicate face to face. Companies can give direct feedback; issues that can be resolved are handled on the spot, and those that cannot are recorded and assigned with deadlines—using efficient services to help enterprises overcome difficulties.

Grounded in aluminum, empowered by sci‑tech and earnestly escorted by public service, Huaibei's aluminum‑based industry is forging a distinctive path for a resource city to transition to a new model through deep integration across industrial, innovation and service chains. With relentless cultivation and resolute steps, Huaibei is sounding a powerful note for the era of high‑quality industrial development.

Source: anhuinews.com