Generally, the higher the average concentration of lithium in the brine and the lower the "Mg-Li ratio", the more conducive to the extraction of lithium.

　　Not long ago, Zhao Zhongwei, deputy dean of the School of Metallurgy and Environment of Central South University, and his team "packed" a container full of "black technology" equipment, and "towed with a mouth" from Shenzhen, Hunan, "settled" in Golmud, Qinghai.

　　The huge "black box" container is connected with several water pipes that can "turn decay into magic". From one end of the pipe into the "black box" the local salt lake brine with a high "magnesium-lithium ratio", when it flows out, it is purified into a high-quality "South American salt lake brine." No chemical reagents are added throughout the process, and no harmful chemicals are produced.

　　Such on-site "magic" made the salt lake lithium companies who came to observe it, and they were delighted to see it. The original disruptive technology involved in "Magic" that will rewrite the production capacity of lithium products in my country and the world is "transferred" from Central South University at a high price of 104.8 million yuan.

　　brine drop "ratio" becomes a bottleneck in lithium resource development

　　When it comes to lithium, people are familiar with it. Lithium is the main raw material for batteries ranging from new energy vehicles to cell phone batteries.

　　Lithium is "reused" because of its extremely abundant reserves in the world. According to data from the US Geological Survey, global lithium reserves are 13 million tons and lithium resources are 39.5 million tons. Among them, 76% of lithium resources exist in salt lake brine. 85% of my country's proven reserves of lithium resources also exist in salt lake brines.

　　Salt lake brine is mainly distributed in the Andes Plateau of South America and the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau of my country. Generally, the higher the average concentration of lithium in the brine and the lower the "Mg-Li ratio", the more conducive to the extraction of lithium.

　　The "magnesium-lithium ratio" of most salt lake brines in my country is dozens or even hundreds of times higher than that of foreign high-quality salt lake brines. With the existing technology, it is difficult to achieve large-scale, high-efficiency, clean, and clean lithium resources of salt lakes with high "magnesium-lithium ratio". Economic development and production. It is also difficult to reduce the "Mg-Li ratio" of brine, and the development of high "Mg-Li ratio" brine resources in my country and even the world cannot substantially release its production capacity. Therefore, even though my country is a big country with lithium resources, its external dependence on lithium resources is still as high as 70%. Importing high-quality brines from South America to extract lithium is the norm.

　　How to reduce the "Mg-Li ratio" has become a key technical bottleneck in the development of salt lake high-Mg-Li ratio brine lithium resources, and it is also a world-class problem facing industry experts.

　　New technology is expected to bring unprecedented release of lithium production capacity

　　The School of Metallurgy and Environment, Central South University where Zhao Zhongwei is located, is one of the best housekeeping skills to prepare lithium battery cathode materials by metallurgical methods. "The metallurgical method can be used to prepare lithium battery cathode materials, and in turn, using lithium battery cathode materials as a'tool' should be able to extract lithium." Such a disruptive salt pond brine lithium extraction technology, Zhao Zhongwei on May 14 In the story to the reporter of the Science and Technology Daily, the principle is as simple as a layer of "window paper" that can be broken by a poke.

　　However, it took more than ten years to "pierce" this layer of "window paper". Over the past ten years, Zhao Zhongwei’s team has conducted a lot of research, and finally proposed an electrochemical deintercalation method, and developed related equipment and processes, which can achieve efficient and selective extraction and enrichment of lithium from salt lake brines with a high “magnesium-to-lithium ratio” .

　　Although the technology has just been born in the laboratory and has not yet been “exposed” to industrialization, it does not affect the interest of lithium companies in the slightest. Technology is expected to help my country and the world develop lithium resources and bring unprecedented release of lithium production capacity.

　　Central South University just spread this news among the "circle of friends" of companies that are concerned about the technology of lithium extraction from brine, and it immediately attracted many companies to extend the olive branch of "seeking cooperation".

　　Finally, this achievement was "seckilled" by Shanghai Danhua Technology Development Co., Ltd. last year. The transfer license implementation fee totals 104.8 million yuan, of which 24.8 million yuan is monetary capital and 80 million yuan is equity. In order to effectively implement this patented technology, the two parties jointly established a platform company Jiangsu Zhongnan Lithium Industry Co., Ltd., which is responsible for the industrialization and production of the patented technology.

　　On May 15, Wei Hua, chairman and general manager of Shanghai Danhua Technology Development Co., Ltd., said: “Our company is a new technology enterprise specializing in the development of non-ferrous minerals and the transformation of patented scientific and technological achievements. The patented technology of extracting lithium from salt lake brine has just solved the worldwide problem of extracting lithium from salt lake brine with high magnesium lithium ratio. We believe this technology has a bright future."

　　"Negotiation Expert" Provides "Fool-like" Service for Conversion

　　Looking back at the transfer process, Zhao Zhongwei, who is a "technology control", still feels "dizzy". He only remembered that after he succeeded in the laboratory, he was very excited and couldn't wait to go to the Research Department of Central South University to "seek transformation". However, when he heard about the complicated process of transformation of results and the "crisis-ridden" of business negotiations, Zhao Zhongwei felt that the "brain circuit" was not smooth and retreated.

　　The negotiation team of the Research Department of Central South University with rich experience in the transformation of results will certainly not miss the opportunity to promote the transformation of disruptive technological achievements. The school actively connects with relevant companies and dispatched Li Changyou, director of the Technology Transfer Office of Central South University's Research Department, as a "negotiation expert" to provide "fool-like" services for Zhao Zhongwei's achievement transformation.

　　Li Changyou recalled that the most important reason for Zhao Zhongwei's retreat was not only the complexity of the transfer procedure, but also his unwillingness to "sell" the ownership of the technological invention patents he obtained after more than ten years of hard work.

　　"According to national regulations, intangible assets must be used to purchase shares, and the transfer of property rights must be handled, and the rights to use may not be used to purchase shares." Li Changyou said. Therefore, only the "patent right change" can realize the "technical shareholding" in the enterprise.

　　In order to balance the interests of both parties, under the mediation of "negotiation experts" such as Li Changyou, only one of the three invention patents in Zhao Zhongwei's hands has undergone the procedure for changing the patentee. At the same time, the contract stipulates that although the patent is sold to the enterprise in form, when the Zhao Zhongwei team and the school declare the national award for this technology, the other unit must cooperate free of charge. The result of such consultations gave Zhao Zhongwei no worries.

　　Have a lot of money to buy before the pilot enterprise

　　There is another "embarrassment" in the negotiation. When negotiating the issue of transformation of results, Zhao Zhongwei's results have just been "freshly released" from the laboratory, and no costly pilot test has been carried out. "The pilot test cannot be guaranteed to be foolproof. The high costs incurred in the process are not borne by universities. If the pilot test fails, the school will find it difficult to reimburse the funds invested by the enterprise in the pilot test." Wei Hua said, "although this patented technology is only The results of the laboratory stage, but we believe that Professor Zhao’s scientific research strength, if there is a problem in the follow-up pilot and industrial production, will be resolved accordingly. We are willing to spend a huge amount of money to purchase this patented technology, even if the last one The results cannot be industrialized, and we are also ready to accept the results." Wei Hua has the courage and courage of an entrepreneur, so he didn't hesitate to make a move.

　　However, the process is not smooth. Li Changyou said: "In the process of transfer negotiations, companies initially had different views on the school’s requirements for risk-taking, intellectual property rights, etc., and felt that they were'unequal' transactions. However, companies are not fools, even if the risks are high. Buy it too, naturally because once the technology is industrialized, the benefits it brings are worthy of their'gamble'. Facts have proved that they won the gamble."

　　After the technology transaction, the pilot test conducted in Shenzhen has been very satisfactory. "Enterprises now "regret", and regret should not give the school 80 million equity, but should directly pay 80 million currency funds." Li Changyou said.

　　"In fact, after the patent transfer was completed, we spent a huge amount of pilot experiment costs. After the hard work and joint research of the Shanghai Danhua expert technical team and Professor Zhao’s scientific research team, we have solved one technical problem after another. The technology and complete set of process equipment have basically met the requirements of industrialization, and have been well received by Qinghai and Tibetan salt lake manufacturers. "Wei Hua is deeply impressed by every step of the transformation process, and she is very pleased with the progress now.