After the meeting, the mayor also planned to ask his secretary to accompany Zhao Yi to the Cornerstone Materials Company, but Zhao Yi declined. He didn't have a car, so there was no need to bother others to accompany him on a special trip. Besides, he was not a big leader.
The headquarters of Cornerstone Materials Company is built in a completely different style from that of Hualong Clothing Company. There are not so many commercial facilities. The entire headquarters is composed of a large group of laboratories, and the scientific research style is very outstanding.
The fundamental reason for this difference is that the two types of companies have different business methods. Although Hualong Clothing Company has a production line with high technical content, these things were not developed by them.
They are mainly engaged in design work, which has a stronger artistic atmosphere and a much weaker science and engineering atmosphere. More importantly, Hualong Clothing Company's operations rely more on channel retail and are closer to consumers.
Although the scale of operations of Cornerstone Materials Company is also very large, it is mainly engaged in corporate business. There is no need to think too much about corporate image issues. Moreover, the scientific researchers inside are all from science and engineering backgrounds and pay more attention to practicality.
The scale of Cornerstone Materials Company is already very large, and there are also many factories in Nanjing. They are basically planned according to the types of material production and are distributed in various places in Nanjing.
The place where Zhao Yi drove was the base where Cornerstone Materials Company focuses on research and development and is also the headquarters of Cornerstone Materials Company. When he arrived, he saw Wen Sheng waiting at the gate from a distance.
Seeing Zhao Yi's car stopped, Wen Sheng immediately walked over, helped Zhao Yi open the car door, and said with a smile: "Finally, Mr. Zhao is here in person."
Hearing Wen Sheng's words, Zhao Yi also smiled and said: "You planned me as soon as we met, but this time you did give me a big surprise. If the price is right, it can significantly change our country." energy structure.”
"To be honest, the research and development of this material is not in the company's main research and development catalog. It is only included in the sub-catalog of photovoltaic material research and development tasks. Unexpectedly, they gave us a huge surprise." Wen Sheng also said.
"Then let's go over and have a look. I came here this time specifically to see this material. If it's suitable, the market size of this material will be very large in the future. You should know the reason." Zhao Yi said.
"Well, it was precisely because I was aware of this situation that I sent this news to you. Let's go there right away." Wen Sheng said with a smile, obviously in a very good mood.
Then the two of them took a car together and came to the Photovoltaic Materials Research Laboratory. This laboratory was originally established in cooperation with Xinhui Energy Company, mainly to study the material issues of photovoltaic power generation.
However, the previous main research direction was polycrystalline silicon and monocrystalline silicon photovoltaic materials. Although they used special technical methods to reduce the cost by a large margin, compared with the current electricity price, it is still too high.
Xinhui Energy Company has built an experimental photovoltaic power plant in China and has not built too much because the more it builds, the more it will lose.
If it weren't for the demand for photovoltaic power generation panels in countries such as Europe and the United States, otherwise, the costs of the joint research and development between the two of them might not be recovered.
Since they believe that it is difficult to achieve breakthroughs in traditional photovoltaic materials in the short term, it is even more difficult to reduce costs, because power consumption is a hard cost.
In addition to relatively high power consumption, the purity of silicon materials is also relatively high. If it is used to make semiconductor chips, it is okay. After all, their prices are very high, and there is still a lot of profit.
However, if the price of silicon crystal materials used in photovoltaics is too high, there will be no market. This is the current dilemma in the country. Moreover, judging from the ratio of power consumption to power production, they are generally believed to have no development potential.
So they turned their attention to research on other materials. This time, the photovoltaic ceramic product is one of their humble small projects.
However, when this project was successful, they themselves did not expect that the photoelectric conversion efficiency of the manufactured photovoltaic ceramics was much higher than that of silicon crystal materials, reaching 40% in the laboratory and 35% in practical applications. above.
Such a high photoelectric conversion rate has great practical value. If the cost price is much higher than that of photovoltaic silicon crystal materials, then the application prospects will be even broader and unlimited.
When Zhao Yi and Wen Sheng arrived at the Photovoltaic Materials Laboratory, a large number of scientific researchers had gathered inside. These people came from all over the world, but they are now employees of Cornerstone Materials Company.
This time the boss came to inspect, and they also got the news early. Since Zhao Yi has been busy in recent years, the number of times he has come here is even less.
They have also heard from old employees that the boss's research level on materials is very high, far exceeding that of the company's top material experts. Even the computational materials science used in the photovoltaic ceramics they developed this time was also technical information provided by the boss. Come.
And I heard that the intelligent material design and calculation simulation software they used was also independently developed by the boss, which showed them the image of a technically versatile boss.
So this time the boss came to inspect, they were excited all night. This was not because they wanted to show themselves in front of the boss, and then win the favor of the boss, so they could be promoted and make a fortune.
This situation is no longer possible in the already mature Cornerstone Materials Company. Even if you can win the favor of your boss, you still need to follow the company's process step by step. At most, the process will be much smoother.
Therefore, the main reason why they are so active this time is that they hope to learn some more advanced material science knowledge from their boss. This is the foundation for their livelihood.
As long as they become more capable and develop advanced materials for the company, promotion and wealth will no longer be a distant dream.
Especially those scientific researchers who have just joined the company not long ago. These people are seriously lacking in both technical accumulation and qualifications. If they want to slowly accumulate technology on their own, they don't know when they will be able to get ahead.
And if I learn a little bit from my boss this time, my future achievements may be much better than what I can do alone now. However, this idea is only obtained from the mouths of old employees.
Cornerstone Materials currently has two major strengths. One is that the computational materials science and technology level is very high, which allows Cornerstone Materials to deduct the preparation process backwards based on the target material in a designable and computable way.
You can also use preset parameters to analyze which molecular structure materials can achieve the preset parameter targets based on the molecular structure characteristics of the material, and then just conduct step-by-step experiments.
This kind of technology makes materials science no longer a science of chance, but becomes a real thing. Through scientific methods, everything from the determination of goals to the initial material preparation process can become well-founded. Can be followed.
This is also the fundamental reason why Zhao Yi rarely participated in the R&D process of Cornerstone Materials Company in the later period. They were also able to develop so many advanced materials based on the business needs of their brother companies.
The other is to use microorganisms to prepare production materials. If it is a general material, it can be produced and prepared through ordinary chemical methods and physical methods. This is also a commonly used material production technology.
However, for the preparation of very advanced materials, biological preparation methods often achieve good results. Especially for materials with special structures, commonly used physical and chemical preparation methods are insufficient.
Because special structures often require careful carving, it is more like using human hands to stack atoms one by one. Obviously, it is difficult to achieve this with physical and chemical preparation methods.
Moreover, materials with this special structure often require very high purity, which makes it very difficult to clean up impurities during the physical and chemical preparation process, especially for materials with particularly high purity requirements.
However, the preparation methods of microbial materials are not that complicated. Their main difficulty lies in the cultivation of special microorganisms. As long as special microorganisms are cultivated, the process of material preparation and production will be the most worry-free.
And they can use the unique properties of microorganisms to achieve the precision that is carved by human hands. For example, the nanometal materials used on the special car that Zhao Yi drove this time were prepared using microorganisms.
If nanomaterials were produced using other current technological levels, it would not be said whether they could be made, but even if they were made, the cost would be frighteningly high.
The reason why the cost of Zhao Yi's special cars is high is not because of their high production process, but because of their high research and development costs and very small output, which is why they are so expensive.
Of course, there is no need to use this high-end preparation method for ordinary materials. The materials they provide to Shenlong Automobile are relatively common materials and can be prepared using conventional methods.
But the engine materials they provide to Star Power are produced using this high-end preparation method, which is one of the reasons why Star Power's engines are so fuel-efficient.
If the above two material technologies are the fundamental reason for the development and growth of Cornerstone Materials, then the intelligent material analysis and calculation simulation system they now use will make them even more powerful.
After using this intelligent software system, when they are doing research and development, they can first use this intelligent software system to simulate the entire process of material research and development.
This can not only save a lot of R&D costs and reduce the waste of experimental materials, but also greatly improve their R&D efficiency. This is very important when the number of R&D personnel is limited.
When Zhao Yi and Wen Sheng came to the laboratory and entered the gate, they found a large number of R&D personnel gathered in the lobby on the first floor. They looked at Wen Sheng with some confusion, wondering what these people were doing.
Wen Sheng didn't know what happened. When he saw Zhao Yi looking at him, he quickly stepped forward and asked about the whole story. Then he returned to Zhao Yi with peace of mind and said, "These people are here to welcome you. "
After hearing Wen Sheng's words, Zhao Yi felt relieved. He thought that some major event had happened and these people gathered together to seek justice. In that case, someone would have to take the blame.
These people are high-level intellectuals and will not make unreasonable troubles. If large-scale protests and riots do occur, there is a high probability that they will be treated unfairly.
Nowadays, Cornerstone Materials Company is very large. Not to mention the number of workers in the production plants below, there are also tens of thousands of R&D personnel.
Zhao Yi himself does not believe that such a large company is absolutely fair. Although his companies use many intelligent management systems, no one can say that this phenomenon can be absolutely eliminated.
When Zhao Yi saw them, they also saw their boss and CEO coming in. The originally noisy hall suddenly became quiet, and then burst into warm applause.
Since Zhao Yi hadn't been here much in the past two years, and most of the new employees were new, he didn't know them, but he still saw some old faces in the team.
These old faces also studied under him for a period of time. It was during that time that they completely laid the foundation for the development of Cornerstone Materials Company. These researchers who followed him at the beginning are now basically the backbone of the company's R&D.
In Zhao Yi's company, if you want high wages and benefits, you don't have to be in a management position. As long as they make great contributions to their R&D positions and improve the R&D position, they will not be paid more than managers. of low.
Just like this photovoltaic ceramic product, if it is approved by Zhao Yi and begins large-scale production and application, all members of the R&D team will receive corresponding rewards and promotions based on their contribution.
This is one of the reasons why Zhao Yi's companies have a very strong scientific research style, because they do not need to consider that when they are older, they will be eliminated by the company if they do not transfer to management positions.
Because his companies are no longer at the stage where they are working hard on research and development. Due to the use of many advanced technologies, especially the use of various intelligent systems, the requirements for manpower and physical strength are very low.
And because those old R&D personnel have richer experience, they are more able to take advantage during R&D. Unless it is groundbreaking innovative R&D, the innovation ability requirements of R&D personnel may be particularly high.
For general routine R&D tasks, R&D personnel only need to follow the company's R&D process step by step. Moreover, in this process, experienced people will make fewer detours and the higher the value.
Before Zhao Yi could wait for the applause to end, he quickly stepped forward and shook hands with these scientific researchers, especially those he knew, and he could clearly pronounce their names.
Every time he named a person, these researchers became excited. After so many years, the boss owned so many companies and must have come into contact with a lot of people, yet he could actually name them accurately.
On the one hand, this shows that the boss has a very good memory. On the other hand, they can also feel a strong sense of respect. How can they not like such a boss? Moreover, the remuneration they receive from the company is far higher than that of a large outside company. cut.
Wen Sheng, who followed Zhao Yi, was also very surprised that Zhao Yi could accurately name every scientific researcher he knew. This boss was really smart.
Not to mention that the boss has not been here for several years. Even if he stays in the company every day and has been here several times, it would be very difficult for him to call everyone by name in a short time. matter.
After this simple welcome ceremony, everyone gathered around Zhao Yi and Wen Sheng into the laboratory. Everyone else returned to their posts. The person in charge of the Photovoltaic Materials Laboratory led Zhao Yi and Wen Sheng around the entire laboratory.
This laboratory occupies a large area, about 5,000 square meters, with 7 floors above ground and three floors below, for a total of 10 floors, with a total of 2,000 R&D personnel.
In fact, there are many laboratories like this in Cornerstone Materials. They have a certain degree of independence and can cooperate with the company's strategic goals. They feel not much different from state-owned research institutes.
Moreover, part of the funding for each laboratory is provided by the company headquarters, while the other part needs to be raised by the laboratory itself.
The amount of R&D funds provided by the headquarters is determined based on the R&D project, and the final amount of money needs to be determined based on the material scale and importance of the R&D project.
It is not impossible to rely on headquarters funds for research and development, but it is very difficult to develop and expand. If it is just a laboratory, it will be easier to say, but there is no comparison anyway.
But there are too many such laboratories in Cornerstone Materials Company. Some laboratories have experienced a surge in income due to the development of popular materials. According to the sharing agreement, part of these profits must be reserved for the laboratory.
This has created a phenomenon: some laboratories are developing very rapidly, while others are in a state of half-death, which invisibly increases competition and comparison between laboratories.
Zhao Yi encourages this kind of competition and comparison, just like the previous "ivory" chopsticks. Without fierce competition, it is estimated that this accessory product will not be actively promoted to the market.
Precisely because most of their funding comes from profits from the products they develop, these laboratories attach great importance to the commercialization of their products.
It is precisely because of this competitive relationship that photovoltaic material companies have to actively find other ways out when silicon photovoltaic materials fall into a bottleneck, otherwise there will be no photovoltaic ceramic materials this time.
Since each laboratory is relatively independent, the headquarters generally does not interfere with the specific operations of the following laboratories unless there are special circumstances. This may cause the laboratory to become an independent kingdom.
If other companies did this, this situation might really happen, but among Zhao Yi's companies, this situation has been guaranteed by a complete mechanism a long time ago.
That is the ubiquitous intelligent management system. Now basically all data is circulated in these intelligent management systems, which can ensure that the headquarters can achieve invisible supervision over the management of the following laboratories.
How the intelligent management system achieves this has been discussed in some previous chapters, so I won’t go into details here. Zhao Yi is very satisfied with this healthy competitive atmosphere.
It is precisely these measures that have allowed Zhao Yi's companies to give birth to very large groups with strong competitiveness. If it were other companies, they would either be inefficient or fall into endless internal friction.
Moreover, this kind of invisible supervision can not only allow each department or subsidiary to have better freedom, but also be able to understand the specific situation below at all times.
Let the company headquarters and even the boss be aware of the problem, so that they will not be confused easily, and they can detect signs in time, and deal with some problems as early as possible, so that they will not be out of control when they break out. (End of chapter)