"Fuyuan New Materials" completed tens of millions of yuan in Series A financing, accelerating the R & D and innovation process of high-performance fluorine-containing materials | 36Kr exclusive.

Written by Zhang Bingbing

Edited by A Zhi 

36Kr has learned that Fuyuan New Materials (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Fuyuan New Materials") recently announced the completion of a tens of millions of yuan Series A financing. This round of financing is led by Guangkai Linghui Fund under the Guangzhou Development District Fund Group, with the existing shareholder Kaifeng Ventures following the investment. The funds raised will be focused on key aspects such as capacity expansion, the R&D process of innovative products, and the promotion of commercial development.

"Fuyuan New Materials" was established in May 2019 and is registered in Jinshan District, Shanghai. It is a provider of high-performance fluorine-containing film solutions. Its designed and developed green building membrane materials, medicinal packaging materials, photovoltaic front panel films, and semiconductor release films have all achieved mass production.

The CEO of "Fuyuan New Materials", Tian Qiuhong, introduced that from the perspective of product strategy, the company's products are divided into two major sections. One is to achieve the domestic substitution of imported products for existing application fields, mainly applied in multiple advanced manufacturing fields such as construction, new energy, medicine, semiconductor packaging, and aerospace composite materials. The second is the original R&D of new fluorine-containing materials, with application scenarios concentrated in fields such as high-frequency communication, electronic information, and intelligent terminals.

High-performance fluorine-containing membrane products of Fuyuan New Materials

Engineering technology to accelerate the application of high-performance fluorine-containing materials from R&D

Currently, communication has entered the high-frequency and ultra-high-speed transmission stage. The demand of application scenarios has brought about an increase in a series of requirements for material transmission frequency, signal loss, etc. Fluorine-containing materials are expected to be the best solution among them.

Fluorine-containing materials have the characteristics of low dielectric constant, low loss factor, high heat resistance, and excellent insulation, which can significantly improve the efficiency and stability of signal transmission.

However, in practical applications, it is not easy to truly apply fluorine-containing materials in the field of high-frequency communication. Xiao Xianjiang, the CTO of "Fuyuan New Materials", introduced that the application difficulties of fluorine-containing materials are mainly reflected in three points: large deformation, difficult bonding, and low modulus.

The problem that "Fuyuan New Materials" has taken the lead in solving through original R&D is the optimization of raw materials. The surface treatment technology of fluorine-containing materials is one of the company's core barriers. Special treatment at the nanoscale is carried out on the material surface to solve problems such as bonding. Combined with polymerization and modification technologies, fluorine-containing materials that meet the application requirements are independently developed, breaking through the limitations of the existing supply market materials, thereby supporting the R&D of various new membrane material products.

On the other hand, through the team's engineering technology capabilities, the problems from new materials from technology to application are solved.

As a typical process-oriented manufacturing, the new material industry is characterized by large upfront investment, multiple intermediate links, long conversion cycles, and high failure risks, making the transformation and industrial application of scientific and technological achievements more difficult.

Pilot testing is a key link in the transformation of scientific and technological achievements into production applications. The core task is to verify and solve the engineering problems that may be encountered in the mass production process, including process development, equipment engineering, quality control, application development, and supply chain management. If the engineering application and development capabilities are insufficient, it may lead to problems such as unstable material quality and unmatched technical standards, making it difficult for new materials to cross the "valley of death" from development to application.

Xiao Xianjiang introduced that many innovative technologies remain at the patent level. To be implemented at the product level, what is needed is to quickly solve engineering problems. The current team of "Fuyuan New Materials" is mainly composed of R&D and production personnel, and the core members include senior experts who have been engaged in special plastics for many years, specializing in the polymerization modification, molding of fluorine-containing materials, and the development of related equipment. The engineering technology capability is the outstanding advantage of the team.

According to Tian Qiuhong, the pilot testing of the original R&D products such as fluorine-containing high-frequency antenna films and flexible piezoelectric films is about to end, and the next step will be to enter the mass production stage. In the planning of the second-phase factory after this round of financing, capacity reserves for the mass production of core original projects have been reserved. "Our future goal is to meet the downstream application scenarios' demands for high performance, reliability, lightweight, and miniaturization of fluorine-containing materials. In addition to high-frequency communication, it is also applicable to thin, light, and portable intelligent terminal devices such as smartphones, smartwatches, and AR/VR glasses."

High-performance fluorine-containing membrane products of Fuyuan New Materials

The "Technology Platform" mechanism to promote the realization of commercialization goals

Original R&D is the common goal of many new material startup companies, but in the process of moving towards the goal, they still need to properly deal with the survival challenges of daily operations.

The solution of "Fuyuan New Materials" is to form a "Technology Platform" mechanism based on the core engineering capabilities and apply the R&D technical capabilities to the demand products in the mature market.

The "Technology Platform" is the operating mechanism of "Fuyuan New Materials" based on the team's talents and technologies. Several core capabilities that support this platform include: fluorine-containing material modification technology, surface micro-treatment technology, and engineering technology.

From the perspective of the industrial chain, the downstream customers of the new material industry are scattered and involve many fields. The flexible "Technology Platform" mechanism can make the products more in line with market demands.

The growth of new material enterprises depends on the collaborative development of the upstream and downstream of the industrial chain. Previously, with the support of Jinshan District, Shanghai, "Fuyuan New Materials" explored a series of industrial collaborations of fluorine-containing materials in multiple application fields. In addition to financial support, after obtaining the investment from Guangkai Linghui, "Fuyuan New Materials" will also carry out strategic cooperation with the new material leading enterprise Tianci Materials to achieve resource sharing and complementary advantages, and jointly explore a broader market space.

When it comes to future plans, Tian Qiuhong said that after this round of financing, the primary goal of "Fuyuan New Materials" is to complete the capacity release construction of the second-phase factory to ensure the steady growth of the existing business segments. On this basis, it will continue to promote the industrialization of core original R&D projects such as high-frequency communication and flexible sensing, and invest resources and energy in the development and exploration of new energy-related projects.