Jiyuan Nano Startup Incubation Industrial Park

In the depths of winter, at the foot of Wangwu Mountain, the traditional industrial city of Jiyuan is focusing its efforts on the new nanotechnology frontier, turning what used to be a “winter of inactivity” into a “busy winter,” and accelerating its shift to take the lead.

On January 21, at the premises of Jiyuan Hongxin Rubber Composite Materials Technology Co., Ltd., located in the Jiyuan Nanomaterials Industrial Park, the master rubber compound production line in Phase I was running at high speed. Just across the road, in Phase II’s newly built facility, the rubber composite materials production line has entered the final stage of commissioning and is set to begin production by the end of January.

Li Fei, the company’s general manager, shuttled between the two factory buildings, his tone tinged with urgency and anticipation: “Our rubber products boast exceptional qualities such as high strength, excellent wear resistance, and outstanding aging resistance. They are widely used in areas like engineering tires and high-end seals. Right now, orders are pouring in, and our current production capacity simply can’t keep up with market demand. After the new production line goes online, our total capacity is expected to reach 20,000 tons, with an annual output value of 650 million yuan.”

Faced with continuously growing market demand, larger-scale expansion is underway. “We plan to build additional production bases in Hainan, Yunnan, and Shandong. Construction of the Hainan base will begin this year, and once completed, its rubber products output is expected to reach 200,000 tons,” said Li Fei.

Orders are urging us to speed up production, and the market is pushing us to expand our scale. The confidence behind this expansion stems from the solid support of cutting-edge technology.

“Using modified nano-silica developed at the Henan Province Nanomaterials Pilot Test Base (hereinafter referred to as the ‘Pilot Test Base’), we’ve reduced the demulsification time of natural rubber from 12 hours to just 10 seconds, achieving a groundbreaking breakthrough in continuous rubber production,” Li Fei explained. Currently, the company has completed the technological iteration, and the new product boasts significantly improved performance, better meeting customers’ subsequent requirements for vulcanization and molding.

With production and investment happening simultaneously, this “nano boom” is visible everywhere in Jiyuan.

Jiyuan Xinghan New Materials Technology Co., Ltd. has achieved a breakthrough in the domestic production of key materials such as silver-coated copper powder, thus establishing a complete industrial chain—from powder preparation to silver paste production. “Currently, the company is accelerating its scaled-up production and driving its capacity from the hundred-ton level to the thousand-ton level,” said Guo Shaozheng, Deputy General Manager of the company.

The workshop of Henan Haibo Rui Silicon Materials Technology Co., Ltd. is also bustling with intense production activity. “Our specialty functional silica products are in high demand in premium markets such as silicone rubber, special tires, and thermal insulation materials,” said Liu Peisong, the company’s deputy general manager for technology. “This year, we will continue to step up R&D investment, develop more new products, and strive to enter even higher-end application fields.”

Enterprises are enthusiastically casting “votes of confidence,” collectively demonstrating the strong appeal of this fertile industrial landscape.

How did the small nanotechnology industry manage to grow into an “industrial giant” in Jiyuan? The government’s long-term dedication and systematic cultivation have been key.

As early as 2003, Jiyuan identified the nanotechnology industry as a breakthrough for its transformation and development. Together with Henan University, it established the province’s first pilot-scale base for nanomaterials, planting the very first “nanoseed.”

Starting from this foundation, Jiyuan pioneered a “three-tier carrier gradient” cultivation model: the pilot-scale breeding stage, which leverages pilot bases to bridge the gap between laboratory research and production-line implementation; the incubation and seedling-raising stage, featuring the establishment of a startup incubator park that provides ready-to-use, standardized spaces; and the industrial-scale development stage, which includes a 3,000-mu industrial transformation park designed to offer industrialization space for mature projects. This has created China’s only end-to-end development model encompassing “R&D—pilot testing—incubation—mass production.”

By leveraging the "small" to outperform the "large," technological innovation serves as the pivotal lever. Jiyuan has deepened collaboration among government, industry, academia, and research institutions, jointly establishing R&D platforms with the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the National Center for Nanoscience and Technology, Harbin Institute of Technology, and other partners. Relying on pilot-scale testing facilities, Jiyuan has built a comprehensive, end-to-end system—from small-scale trials and pilot tests to engineering validation. Over the past three years, this approach has facilitated the industrialization of 25 core patents.

The growth of “a single grain of rice” is inseparable from precise drip irrigation. Jiyuan has established a special task force led by municipal-level officials under the “chain leader system” for the nanotechnology industrial chain, systematically addressing development challenges. It has set up a 1-billion-yuan industrial development fund specifically to support innovation, introduced the “33 New Measures for Talent,” and flexibly attracted high-end talent. Furthermore, it has invested 40 million yuan in building a shared platform for inspection and testing, reducing enterprises’ R&D costs by approximately 40%.

Today, the Jiyuan Nanomaterials Industrial Park has become the only production base in China located within a provincial-level chemical industrial park, attracting more than 20 enterprises to set up operations there. With its unique, end-to-end ecosystem, Jiyuan is emerging as an increasingly significant “central force” on the national nanotechnology landscape.

On this new journey, with the goal of building a nano-industry cluster worth hundreds of billions, Jiyuan is shedding its old ways and embracing new innovations, pressing forward with vigor and accelerating its transformation from a large materials market to a powerful materials hub.