Zhenye New Materials Completes A-round Financing of Over 100 Million Yuan, Led by China Merchants Zhiyuan, Yuchai Co., Ltd. and Haifu Industrial Fund | 36Kr Exclusive
36Kr learned that Zhenye New Materials, an ADI metal material enterprise, has recently completed a Series A financing of over 100 million yuan.
This financing round was led by China Merchants Zhiyuan Capital, Yuchai Co., Ltd., and Haifu Industrial Fund, with follow-on investments from CICC Capital, Jiangsu Coastal Group, and Huanghai Financial Holding. The raised funds will be mainly used for expanding ADI material production lines, conducting R&D on core process iteration, and advancing commercial implementation in downstream scenarios such as passenger vehicles, commercial vehicles, and construction machinery.
Zhenye New Materials told 36Kr: "In the ADI industry, a tensile strength of 1200MPa and an elongation of 4% are the commonly accepted performance standards. A material can be regarded as a true high-toughness structural material only when its elongation reaches 5% to 6% or higher, which also marks the key technological watershed in the industry. High strength and toughness can meet the impact resistance, fatigue resistance, and non-fracture requirements of core safety components such as gears, chassis parts, and heavy-duty transmission components."
However, the technological level of mainstream manufacturers in the industry generally remains at QTD 900-8 (900MPa tensile strength, 8% elongation), QTD 1200-3 (1200MPa tensile strength, 3% elongation), QTD 1400-1 (1400MPa tensile strength, 1% elongation), and QTD 1600-1 (1600MPa tensile strength, 1% elongation). In other words, the elongation is extremely low under high strength, making it impossible to adapt to the core working conditions of high-end heavy-duty and precision gears.
Zhenye New Materials achieved a key technological breakthrough in 2024, acquiring the capability to mass-produce high-performance ADI materials including QTD 1200-10 (1200MPa tensile strength, 10% elongation), QTD 1400-7 (1400MPa tensile strength, 7% elongation), and QTD 1700-4 (1700MPa tensile strength, 4% elongation)."
"Among them, QTD1200-10 (1200MPa tensile strength, 10% elongation) is currently the first domestically developed ADI material that reaches the mass-production level. Its strength and toughness exceed existing domestic standards, filling the gap in domestic high-strength and high-toughness ADI materials."
Zhenye New Materials explained the significance of ADI materials to the automotive industry: the structural characteristics of ADI can absorb vibrations, reducing the operating noise of the complete machine by 5 decibels compared with alloy steel, thus making it better suited to meet the noise reduction requirements of the entire vehicle. At the same time, the basic weight of ADI materials is 10% lighter than that of alloy steel, which can help reduce the weight of the entire vehicle and improve its range and load capacity.
More importantly, "the comprehensive cost of components made with ADI materials will be significantly lower than that of traditional alloy steel. Therefore, ADI materials are more attractive in application scenarios that are highly price-sensitive."
At present, Zhenye New Materials has established partnerships with multiple automakers to carry out joint R&D on core components such as gears, transmission parts, and chassis structural components.
Gao Shuhai, the founder of Zhenye New Materials, predicted that due to mature technologies, the penetration rate of ADI in the U.S. ductile iron sector exceeds 15%, while the current penetration rate in China is less than 2%. As the world's largest producer and consumer of ductile iron, China has an annual ductile iron market size reaching the 10-million-ton level. With the maturation of domestic high-end ADI technologies, the continuous release of cost advantages, and the superimposed demand for high-end upgrading in the automotive, construction machinery, and wind power equipment sectors, the penetration rate of high-strength and high-toughness ADI in China is expected to follow the development path of the U.S. market. Zhenye New Materials will accelerate technological iteration and production capacity expansion to seize market penetration opportunities and capture more market dividends.