The nuclear-pure grade graphite products have been certified by China National Nuclear Corporation. "Guorui New Materials", a national-level specialized, refined, distinctive, and innovative "little giant" enterprise, has completed a Series B financing of hundreds of millions of yuan | Exclusive report by 36Kr
Text | Zhang Bingbing
Editor | A Zhi
36Kr learned that Liaoning Guorui New Materials Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Guorui New Materials") recently announced the completion of a Series B financing of hundreds of millions of yuan. This financing was jointly invested by Shenzhen Capital Group, Huaying Capital, Guotai Junan Innovation Investment, Zhongxing Capital, Zhongtian Liaochuang, Dehong Capital, Shenzhicheng Industrial Investment, and Wutongshu Capital. The funds will be mainly used to expand production capacity to meet market demand, while increasing R & D investment and consolidating technological advantages.
"Guorui New Materials" was established in 2008. It is a national high - tech enterprise that produces special graphite and provides supporting products for high - temperature gas - cooled reactor nuclear fuels. In 2024, it was recognized as a national key specialized and sophisticated "little giant" enterprise. The company's main products are isostatic graphite and nuclear - grade pure graphite, which are mainly applied in three major fields: photovoltaics, semiconductors, and high - temperature gas - cooled reactors.
In 2016, the nuclear - grade pure graphite of "Guorui New Materials" passed the product verification of China National Nuclear Corporation and has now become its core supplier. The graphite products related to the third - generation semiconductor material silicon carbide have passed the trial use of leading key customers and entered the stage of bulk contract orders.
I. Independently Breakthrough the Core "One Baking and One Graphitization" Process, and Products are Widely Used in Leading Photovoltaic Enterprises
There are usually three molding methods for special graphite: compression molding, vibration molding, and isostatic pressing molding. Graphite materials prepared by different molding methods have great differences in physical and chemical performance indicators. Among them, the isostatic pressing molding process can apply uniform pressure from three - dimensional directions during material molding to avoid the preferred orientation of particles, so that graphite particles with anisotropic crystal structures are evenly distributed.
Therefore, isostatic graphite has the characteristic of isotropy. Coupled with high molding pressure and high - quality products, it belongs to "three - high" graphite with high strength, high purity, and high thermal conductivity. It shows excellent high - temperature resistance, radiation resistance, and corrosion resistance in terminal application scenarios, and has become a strategic new material in fields such as photovoltaics, semiconductors, optical fiber electrodes, nuclear power, and aerospace.
In the early days of its establishment, based on the prospect of new energy industries such as photovoltaics, "Guorui New Materials" chose isostatic graphite as the R & D direction. Guo Ce, the general manager of "Guorui New Materials", admitted that at that time, the production technology of isostatic graphite was in the hands of German, French, Japanese, and a few American enterprises. The first piece of isostatic graphite in China was a small - sized test product produced by Shanghai Carbon Plant in 2006, and there was great R & D pressure for domestic substitution.
"In the early days, the mainstream domestic process was multiple baking and impregnation processes, and the production cycle was more than 12 months. When the founder inspected in early 2015, he found that there was a large technological gap between the domestic isostatic graphite industry and overseas leading manufacturers. Therefore, the company was determined to carry out technological R & D upgrades." Guo Ce said that in the early stage of R & D in 2016, the yield rate of the company's isostatic graphite was close to 0%. In 2020, the yield rate increased to 70%. Now the company's production process is becoming mature, and the yield rate can reach over 90%.
The machining workshop of "Guorui New Materials"
The preparation process of isostatic graphite is complex. At present, the mainstream domestic processes are "two bakings and one graphitization" and "three bakings and one graphitization", that is, to increase the density through asphalt re - impregnation and then conduct baking again, repeating the process to improve product performance through post - reinforcement. The key point of the technological breakthrough of "Guorui New Materials" lies in the rapid production with lower cost and higher quality through the "one baking and one graphitization" process.
It is reported that if the number of graphitization firings is simply reduced mechanically on the basis of the multi - baking technology, the product performance will be greatly reduced. The "one baking and one graphitization" process starts from the microscopic product structure and conducts process optimization design. Guo Ce introduced: "The development of the 'one baking and one graphitization' production process is systematic. The core difficulty lies in fully understanding the impact of each process change on performance and the adjustment method during the design stage, and also fully mastering the laws of the baking and graphitization curves during the implementation stage. Every small factor will have a greater impact on product performance."
The technical personnel of "Guorui New Materials" combined the process concepts of Germany and Japan and finally achieved a technological breakthrough in the "one baking and one graphitization" of isostatic graphite after years of R & D. The production cycle is 2 - 3 months shorter than the mainstream domestic process, and the production cost is also reduced.
As an important consumable in the photovoltaic industry, isostatic graphite is mainly used in single - crystal growth, PECVD coating for battery production, and polysilicon production. At present, the technology of graphite materials for photovoltaics of "Guorui New Materials" is mature. The company has sold products to more than a hundred photovoltaic customers in total, and the products are directly or indirectly used by leading domestic photovoltaic enterprises such as LONGi, Zhonghuan, JA Solar, and GCL.
II. The Output of Nuclear - Grade Pure Graphite Products is Growing Rapidly, and the Introduction of Semiconductor Graphite Products is Accelerating
Beyond the photovoltaic scenario, the fourth - generation advanced nuclear power system represented by the high - temperature gas - cooled reactor also puts forward higher technical requirements for the graphite materials used. "Guorui New Materials" undertakes the national major science and technology project 06 project "Research on the Production Technology of Graphite Powder for High - Temperature Gas - Cooled Reactor Nuclear Fuel Elements" and cooperates with the Institute of Nuclear and New Energy Technology of Tsinghua University to achieve a technological breakthrough in the "neck - choking" material, nuclear - grade pure graphite.
In early 2016, the products of "Guorui New Materials" passed the review of four parties, including Tsinghua University, the designer of the high - temperature gas - cooled reactor, and Huaneng Shandong Shidao Bay, the end - customer, and officially obtained the qualification of a qualified supplier of nuclear fuel elements from China National Nuclear Corporation. In 2017, the nuclear graphite powder project passed the acceptance review of the post - subsidy project of the major project of the Nuclear Power Department of the National Energy Administration.
On this basis, the Institute of Nuclear and New Energy Technology of Tsinghua University continued to cooperate with "Guorui New Materials" to develop nuclear graphite ball products. During the pilot - scale delivery from 2018 to 2023, all the samples of 10,000 graphite balls produced by "Guorui New Materials" met the design standards. Since then, "Guorui New Materials" has completed all the production links of nuclear graphite balls and formed a mass - supply capacity. With the steady progress of the commercialization of high - temperature gas - cooled reactors, the products of nuclear - grade pure graphite and nuclear graphite balls will enter the stage of market expansion.
The impregnation workshop of "Guorui New Materials"
Guo Ce summarized that compared with international competitors, "Guorui New Materials" has three major differential advantages: First, the production line is completely domestically controllable, providing a reliable guarantee for the commercial promotion of the fourth - generation reactor type; Second, the cost advantage, especially the localization of production technology has broken the high premium caused by foreign technology monopoly; Third, the performance advantage. The products have passed the strict nuclear quality assurance system testing and the certification of China National Nuclear Corporation, and have reached the international advanced level.
In addition, the development of AI has accelerated the chip and semiconductor industry chain. Guo Ce analyzed that the demand for isostatic graphite in the fields of ion etching, powder synthesis, and substrate epitaxy will account for 40% in the future. "Guorui New Materials" will focus on the graphite demand of the third - generation semiconductor materials and expand the relevant market. "At present, we are mainly focusing on the semiconductor and nuclear power fields. At the same time, due to the advantages in process and cost, we will also maintain a stable supply to the photovoltaic industry."
In 2024, the photovoltaic business of "Guorui New Materials" still accounted for a large share of the operating income, and the proportion of the nuclear graphite business increased significantly. Guo Ce predicted that in 2025, the company's revenue structure will be further optimized, the nuclear power business will occupy an important position, the proportion of the photovoltaic business will decline accordingly, and the semiconductor business will further expand and become an important business segment.
"Guorui New Materials" has formulated a clear production capacity expansion plan. It will start implementing a 10,000 - ton expansion plan in 2025 and is expected to form a large - scale production capacity of about 15,000 tons in 2027. At the same time, the company will carry out strategic transformation and upgrading, directly connect with terminal enterprises in channels such as nuclear energy, semiconductors, and photovoltaics, strengthen its technical position in the field of isostatic graphite, and accelerate the R & D and market launch of ultra - high - purity graphite for semiconductors.
Views of Investors
Huaying Capital: As a key strategic material, special graphite has broad market application prospects. Guorui New Materials has outstanding performance in this field. The breakthrough of its "one baking and one graphitization" process has greatly improved the production efficiency and quality of isostatic graphite. While reducing costs, the product performance has reached the international advanced level, breaking the foreign technology monopoly. Against the background of the reform of the new power system and the domestic substitution of semiconductors, we continue to be optimistic about the application and innovation of isostatic graphite in the fourth - generation high - temperature gas - cooled reactor nuclear power technology and new - type semiconductors. With its technological, cost, and performance advantages, Guorui New Materials is expected to continuously expand its share in the special graphite market. Huaying Capital is willing to help it move forward and create greater value.
Guotai Junan Innovation Investment: As investors, we firmly believe in the industrial transformation opportunities of the localization of new materials in this round. Isostatic graphite materials have important strategic value and are used in high - performance thermal field systems such as pan - semiconductors and fourth - generation nuclear reactors, which are the key to production yield and safety. Guorui New Materials is a leading enterprise in isostatic and nuclear - grade pure graphite technology and one of the earliest domestic enterprises to promote the localization of graphite materials. It has the ability of material and component integration. The team has innovatively developed a one - baking and one - graphitization production process comparable to international standards and formulated the domestic industry standard for nuclear - grade pure graphite, with significant quality and cost advantages. Against the background of the autonomy and controllability of core materials, Guorui New Materials will continue to serve leading customers in the pan - semiconductor and nuclear power fields and develop into a first - class graphite material platform enterprise.
Zhongxing Capital: Special graphite is a key material in multiple fields such as pan - semiconductors and nuclear power. After years of continuous iteration, the company has formed a leading technological process in the industry. Especially in the nuclear power field, the company has realized the localization and stable mass production of nuclear - grade pure graphite materials, promoting the autonomy and controllability of the high - temperature gas - cooled reactor industrial chain and supply chain. Currently, the company is making efforts in multiple fields such as nuclear power, semiconductors, and photovoltaics, and its development will reach a new level. Zhongxing Capital highly recognizes the entrepreneurial determination and problem - solving spirit of the company's team and will continue to accompany the company's growth and empower the extension of the company's business fields. We believe that Guorui New Materials will lead the development of the Chinese special graphite industry and become a benchmark enterprise with global competitiveness.
Wutongshu Capital: As one of the investors in this round, Wutongshu Capital is optimistic about the continuous development of Guorui New Materials in the field of isostatic graphite. Huo Yongjie, the investment director of Wutongshu Capital, said that isostatic graphite is a "neck - choking" material for strategic industries such as nuclear power, semiconductors, and photovoltaics. The technological breakthroughs of Guorui New Materials in nuclear - grade pure graphite and semiconductor graphite are in line with the national strategy of self - reliance and self - improvement in science and technology. This investment in Guorui New Materials is not only another important layout of Wutongshu Capital in the new materials track but also a high recognition of the company's future development potential. We firmly believe that the company can occupy an advantageous position in the wave of domestic substitution.
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This article is from the WeChat public account "36Kr Future Industries". Author: Zhang Bingbing, A Zhi. Published by 36Kr with authorization.