Hong Zhiyong, chief scientist of Lianchuang Superconductivity: High-temperature superconductivity will usher in an industrial explosion

Reporter Cao Qi

On January 24, the "Securities Daily" reporter learned from Lianchuang Superconductor that the megawatt-level high-temperature superconducting induction heating equipment for high-end aviation aluminum forging developed by the company has been installed and debugged at the production site of Chinalco, and the current high-temperature superconducting induction heating equipment is operating normally, fully achieving the expected goal, and successfully forging the world's first 5 series aluminum alloy workpiece based on superconducting induction heating for aviation.

It is understood that Lianchuang Superconductor is jointly invested and established by Jiangxi Electronics Group and Lianchuang Optoelectronics, and the company is committed to helping the development of high-end core components of the national military and aerospace grade through high-temperature superconducting induction heating equipment.

"Globally, high-temperature superconductivity will usher in an industrial explosion from materials to applications. In the next 10 years, high-temperature superconducting induction heating technology will produce subversive changes and immeasurable application prospects in various industries such as new energy, energy conservation and environmental protection, and high-end equipment manufacturing. On January 24, in an exclusive interview with the reporter of Securities Daily, Hong Zhiyong, chief scientist of Lianchuang Superconductivity and professor of Shanghai Jiaotong University, said.

Superconducting induction heating equipment and technology, with subversive quality improvement and consumption reduction advantages, can replace the old generation of gas furnaces, resistance wire furnaces and power frequency induction furnaces, widely used in aluminum, copper, titanium and other metal processing and forming fields (including extrusion, forging, rolling, smelting, etc.).

"Superconducting induction heaters adapt to the needs of the mainland's green development strategy, implement global green transformation of traditional industries, and reduce the burden on the ecological environment from the source, which is the only way to promote the transformation and upgrading of the energy structure of the metal processing industry." Hong Zhiyong said.

Hong Zhiyong told reporters, "After the formation of the industrialization of the superconducting induction heating device series products, one of the market directions of the focus is large-scale aluminum extrusion and forging equipment, in this field, the superconducting induction heater will seize the market with its high efficiency and energy savings for customers." ”

According to him, the number of aluminum extruders in the world is relatively large in China, the United States, Japan, Germany, South Korea, Russia, of which China's extruders account for about 65% of the global total. The excellent heating cost performance of high-temperature superconducting heating equipment has significant advantages in the extruded aluminum rod diameter of 160mm ~ 480mm large and medium-sized extruder market.

The average number of large and medium-sized extruders put into production in mainland China is close to 100 large and medium-sized extruder production lines above 3000T level. On the other hand, foreign industrial developed countries such as Europe, the United States and Japan, as well as emerging market countries such as Russia and Brazil, also have a huge demand for aluminum profiles. Including Europe's Hydro Group, it has begun to pay attention to the replacement of traditional induction heating equipment by superconducting induction heating equipment, and will gradually replace it.

In summary, based on the calculation of 1 high-temperature superconducting induction heating equipment supporting each extruder, the domestic high-temperature superconducting induction heating equipment market capacity is about 4500 units, and the annual new market demand is 200 units. If the heating furnace of the existing 40% large and medium-sized aluminum extruder is transformed into a megawatt-level high-temperature superconducting induction heating equipment, the market demand for large and medium-sized aluminum extrusion equipment is about 2,000 units, and the market capacity of this alone is about 20 billion yuan.

In the field of heat treatment of various alloys in the military and aerospace industry, superconducting induction heaters also have outstanding advantages. Professor Hong Zhiyong said that at present, many titanium alloy manufacturers are still using gas furnaces to heat titanium rods (which requires a long heating time). The magnetic field of the superconducting induction heater can reach 0.5-1T, which is more than an order of magnitude higher than the traditional induction heater, so it can achieve high-power heating for weak conductive metals such as titanium alloys, and can achieve the advantages of fast heating speed, uniform heating, and deep heat penetration, etc., which are used for high-end non-magnetic metal materials such as titanium and titanium alloys, which can improve material plasticity, optimize mechanical properties, and improve material quality.

At the same time, in the field of semiconductor melting, superconducting induction heating technology will also play a huge role. "The crystal pulling furnace is a kind of crystalline silicon growth equipment, and the energy consumption of the equipment is mainly concentrated in the electric heating of the graphite container, and during the production process, the heating temperature is high and the high temperature is maintained for a long time. Superconducting induction heating technology can skillfully use the good conductivity of graphite to place the graphite container under a rotating strong magnetic field, generate eddy current heating, and realize the energy-saving transformation of the crystalline silicon growth process, and the energy-saving effect can reach more than 50%. In 2021, the global market size of crystalline silicon growth furnaces has reached 80 billion yuan. In this field, superconducting induction heating will be gradually replaced, and the market size will reach 20-30 billion yuan per year. Hong Zhiyong added.

As for the high-temperature superconducting magnet technology, what other areas can be applied? Hong Zhiyong said that in addition to supporting high-temperature superconducting induction heaters, it can also be used for high-temperature superconducting sewage magnetic separation, magnetic beneficiation, controllable nuclear fusion, naval minesweeper, magnetic levitation and other military and civilian fields, and the future will also be a market application scale of 100 billion yuan.

(Edited by Qiao Chuanchuan)