On November 21, European chip giant STMicroelectronics (ST) officially announced at its Investor Day that it has established a strategic partnership with HuaHong Group’s semiconductor manufacturing subsidiary, HuaHong Semiconductor, to jointly advance the foundry services for 40nm microcontroller units (MCUs), with the aim of meeting market demand and optimizing the supply chain.

Source of information: ST

Recently, measures introduced in the photovoltaic industry to curb the practice of awarding contracts based solely on the lowest bid have begun to show results, signaling the emergence of a bottoming-out inflection point for the sector. Photovoltaic products Export tax rebate rate Such adjustments help reduce cutthroat price competition among enterprises and encourage them to place greater emphasis on product quality and technological advancement. As the photovoltaic industry faces transformation challenges, On November 15, 2024, the Ministry of Finance and the State Taxation Administration jointly issued an announcement introducing significant adjustments to the export tax rebate policy for certain products. This policy change covers a broad range of product categories and has a substantial impact on the photovoltaic industry. It is expected that these tax incentives will help steer the industry toward healthier development, while also accelerating industry consolidation and increasing market concentration.

Source: Longzhong Information

   According to a Bloomberg report on November 21, a Hong Kong private equity firm Tai Meng Investment Group (PAG) has agreed to sell the industrial gases business of AirPower Technologies Ltd. to a Chinese consortium for US$6.8 billion. Sources familiar with the matter said that the majority of the consortium’s shares are held by a domestic insurance company and a private fund.

According to reports, PAG will retain a 25% stake in the company and continue to hold several other assets of Gas Power Technology Co., Ltd., including its clean-energy business valued at over US$2 billion.

Source: Core Intelligence News

    On November 19, 2024, JiuCe Gas issued an announcement stating that, in light of its current business development and the prevailing industry conditions, and with the aim of reducing operating costs, enhancing the efficiency of management decision-making, and aligning with the company’s future development and strategic planning, the company has, after careful consideration from multiple perspectives, decided to apply to the National Equities Exchange and Quotations Co., Ltd. for delisting of its shares.

Source: Jiuce Gas

    On November 20, 2024, Nantong Liso New Materials Co., Ltd. held a groundbreaking ceremony for its food-grade specialty gases project. The project is located on the plot east of Yangchang Road and north of Huishun Chemical in Yangkou Town, Rudong County, and includes 6,000 tons of food-grade carbon dioxide, food-grade Nitrous oxide The project encompasses 6,000 tonnes of food-grade nitrogen, 6,000 tonnes of food-grade sulfur dioxide, 2,000 tonnes of food-grade argon, and 6,000 tonnes of food-grade helium, along with a 100,000-cubic-meter supply of food-grade helium. With a total investment of RMB 140 million, this initiative marks a solid step forward for the company on the path of technological innovation and industrial upgrading.

Source of information: GreatWhip

Nanjing University Optoelectronics announced that on November 19, 2024, the Company held the seventh meeting of the ninth session of the Board of Directors and the fifth meeting of the ninth session of the Supervisory Board, at which the “Proposal on the Extension of Certain Fund-Raising Investment Projects” was reviewed and approved. In light of the actual implementation progress of the current fund-raising investment projects and without making any changes to the project implementing entity, the intended use of the raised funds, or the scale of investment, the Company agreed to extend the expected date for the “7,200-ton-per-year electronic-grade nitrogen trifluoride project of Ulanqab NUD Optoelectronics Materials Co., Ltd.” to December 31, 2025.

Source of information: Nanjing University Optoelectronics

On November 9, the 5,000-ton-per-year electronic-grade specialty gas project at Cangzhou Huayu Specialty Gases Technology Co., Ltd., located in the Cangzhou Lingang Economic and Technological Development Zone, entered trial production.

Pursuing new growth areas, Cangzhou Huayu Special Gases Technology Co., Ltd. commenced construction in January 2023 on a project to produce 5,000 metric tons per year of electronic-grade specialty gases. With a total investment of RMB 1.08 billion, the project features a silane production facility whose localization rate has reached 80%, making it the largest single-unit silane production facility in China in terms of capacity. Upon commissioning, the facility will annually produce 5,000 metric tons of electronic-grade silane, generating an annual output value of RMB 2 billion and tax revenues of RMB 320 million.

Source: Hebei News Network

On November 8, the Sichuan Zhongqi High-Purity Electronic Gases Project, with an annual capacity of 13,000 tons and located in the Yongxing Chemical Industrial Park of the Ya’an Economic Development Zone, presented a striking scene: sprawling factory buildings and a workshop brimming with state-of-the-art production equipment, now nearing completion of installation. Just one year ago, this site was still a barren wasteland.

The China Hydrogen 13,000-ton-per-year high-purity electronic-grade gas project is the city’s largest-ever investment in fluorine chemical manufacturing, with a total investment of RMB 1.5 billion, spanning 200 mu of land. The project aims to establish an industrial base for the production of 13,000 tons per year of high-purity electronic gases and related materials.

“At present, we have the necessary production facilities in place and are about to commence trial production,” said Tu Bo, the project leader.

Source: Hebei News Network

  According to information from the China National Intellectual Property Administration, Anhui Huaqi Gas Technology Co., Ltd. has filed a patent application entitled “Automatic Switching Device for Trace Oxygen Detection and Analysis Instruments,” with publication number CN 118980790 A and a filing date of August 2024.

The patent abstract discloses a automatic switching device for a trace oxygen detection analyzer, comprising an analyzer body. A base plate is fixed to one side of the analyzer body, and two gas cylinders are placed on top of the base plate. The outlet ports of the two gas cylinders are connected to vertical tubes, and each vertical tube is further connected on one side to a horizontal tube. A square box is arranged on one side of the analyzer body. This invention relates to the field of oxygen detection technology. The trace oxygen detection analyzer automatic switching device, through the provision of an automatic switching mechanism that uses a sliding plate to block the horizontal tubes by moving left and right, achieves automated reciprocating switching of gases from different gas cylinders into the analyzer body, thereby enabling analysis of calibration gases with varying concentrations. This design features a high degree of automation, high switching efficiency, eliminates the need for manual operation, reduces human error, and enhances the accuracy of the measurement results.

Source: National Intellectual Property Administration