China Merchants Group leads the way in promoting the development and industrialization of bio-based polyamide.

The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) of China launched the "100 Major Projects" initiative to accelerate the development of strategic new industries, enhance technological innovation, industrial control, and safety support.

On March 24, the "Emerging Industries 'Top 100 Projects'" column on the official website of SASAC published the article "ZhangYin Innovation Breakthroughs in Bio-based Polyamide Led by China Merchants Group: Building a New Engine for the Bio-economy," reporting on the practices and examples of central SOEs in fostering new-quality productivity and creating new engines for the bio-economy.

Driven by the national "dual carbon" strategy and the comprehensive implementation of strategic emerging industries, the bio-manufacturing industry, with synthetic biology as its core, systematically integrates new-generation technologies such as fermentation engineering, modern enzyme engineering, bio-refining, and bioprocess engineering to construct an advanced synthesis system for energy chemicals and materials. It has become a key pillar with overall driving force in the layout of strategic emerging industries in China. China Merchants Group, upholding the mission of central enterprises to serve the country's major strategies, is systematically promoting the "Series of Bio-based Polyamide Development and Industrialization Project." As an important project of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council's "Hundred Major Projects" for strategic emerging industries, the project focuses on overcoming issues related to raw materials, efficiency, and cost in the production of bio-based polyamide monomers, as well as application challenges in the polyamide market.

To establish a leading advantage in the bio-manufacturing industry, China Merchants Group strategically invested and entered into Shanghai Kase Biomedical Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Kase Bio") (stock code: 688065). The two parties, basing their strategy on horizontal cooperation within industry clusters and vertical integration of technological innovation, have made significant progress in enhancing the research efficiency of core monomers for polyamides, constructing a bio-manufacturing ecosystem, and boosting the vitality of the bio-economy, thereby providing a model of central enterprise practice for cultivating new types of production forces and creating a new engine for bio-economy, effectively supporting the deep decarbonization transformation and the cultivation of new growth momentum in line with the national 'double carbon' strategy goals.

The development of the core technology system of bio-manufacturing core technology by the State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense, and the research and development of biotechnology at the Kaysa Bioscience Corporation has led to a revolutionary technology innovation over traditional chemical manufacturing processes.

Distinguishing itself from the traditional chemical method of producing long-chain diacids, which involves complex synthesis routes, harsh reaction conditions, and low product yield, CB-Bio has constructed a cell factory capable of efficiently producing core monomers for polyamide materials. This process operates at room temperature, is environmentally friendly, and offers significant cost advantages. CB-Bio has consistently been a global leader in long-chain diacid supply for many years. The strategic investment in 2023 in "Molecules," an AI protein design platform company, signifies that the biological manufacturing industry of the China Merchants Group has begun to integrate AI technology and protein structure modification into its R&D system, driving a paradigm shift in research and development from the scientific source. By continuously improving the production efficiency of products such as diacids and pentamethylenediamine, and developing high-yield strains with different carbon chain lengths, breakthroughs in related technology research and development have been rapid, with the conversion rate of some products approaching the theoretical limit. For example, the low-carbon bio-based sebacic acid produces a whole-life-cycle carbon footprint that is over 40% lower per ton compared to products produced using traditional chemical processes from castor oil as raw material. Bio-based green diacid products can achieve up to 100% bio-based source, leading to a significant reduction in product carbon emissions.

The China Merchants Group is transforming its technical advantages into industrial scale, leveraging its comprehensive R&D foundation in gene editing, bio-transformation, bio-chemistry, polymers, and material applications, to continuously break through bio-based PA (polyamide) production capacity through the construction of AI-assisted R&D platforms and smart production systems, and to gradually realize the closed loop from scientific innovation to industrial implementation in biomanufacturing technology.

Product is King.

Utilizing its self-developed "one-step biopolymer high-temperature polyamide preparation process," Kaiqi Bio, a subsidiary of CPC Group, has successfully broken through the long-standing technological bottleneck in the field of high-temperature nylon for over years — reducing the polycondensation time to less than 1% of traditional methods, achieving precise control of the melting point between 290-310℃, and overcoming industry challenges such as yellowing and easy decomposition of the material. By combining this biopolyamide with fiberglass (over 70% content), a novel material has been developed that, when reinforced with glass or carbon fibers, boasts strength comparable to metal, with a density roughly 1/4 that of steel and 2/3 that of aluminum. This innovative biopolyamide material, capable of revolutionizing light-weighting in various applications such as battery casings for new energy vehicles, solar panel frames, wind turbine blades, refrigeration boxes, and construction molds, not only increases the supply of high-performance, cost-effective products but also offers green, low-carbon technological solutions to traditional industries.

The industrialization process of this technological achievement resonates with the collaborative innovation ecosystem constructed by China Merchants Group. China Merchants Group deeply integrates industry chain resources, promoting strategic cooperation between Kasei Bio and various downstream application enterprises, empowering the application of bio-based polyamide series products in fields such as textiles, engineering plastics, new energy, and transportation, accelerating their commercialization process, and creating a bio-based polyamide application ecosystem for investment and business. In May 2024, China Merchants Group's subsidiary, China Merchants Innovation & Technology, Kasei Bio, and the Hefei municipal government signed a tripartite strategic cooperation agreement, fully leveraging their respective advantages in guiding industrial policies, creating application scenarios, and innovating biomanufacturing technologies. This collaboration aims to build a platform for synthetic biology research and product application development, establish a leading application scenario for biomanufacturing, and create a globally competitive biomanufacturing industry cluster, further promoting the upgrade of the biomanufacturing industry.

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The industrialization process of bio-based materials is writing a new paradigm for green growth in investment. Verified by international authoritative organizations, bio-based polyamides reduce carbon emissions per unit by over 50% compared to traditional petrochemical materials, simultaneously decreasing dependence on petroleum resources. This technological breakthrough injects core momentum into industrial transformation. In the first three quarters of 2024, the revenue of Kasei Biotech, a subsidiary of China Merchants, reached 2.215 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 41.49%, while the net profit attributable to the parent company was 345 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 9.97%. These performance results confirm the value conversion capability of bio-manufacturing technology from the laboratory to the market.

Driven by dual forces of technological innovation and industrial symbiosis, Chengyang Group has established a bio-economic full lifecycle new industry model. The demonstration line for converting tons of agricultural waste, such as straw, into lactic acid at the Taiyuan production base has been completed and put into trial production, marking the transition from technology verification to scale production for utilizing biomass waste (such as straw) in a high-value manner. This paves the way for a low-cost, sustainable raw material path for bio-based materials. Additionally, the application testing of bio-based polyamide high-performance composite materials is actively exploring and expanding new markets in the energy, construction sectors, promoting the substitution of "plastic for steel, aluminum, and thermosetting materials," highlighting the commercialization potential of bio-manufacturing technology.

The National Strategy for Double Carbon, as promoted by the State-owned China Qiandaoting Holding Corporation, will continue to drive innovation in biocatalysts to break through the boundaries of the industry and build a new engine of the bioeconomic, further accelerating the upgrade of traditional industries, while enhancing the leading position of state-owned enterprises in the global bioeconomic and providing a sustainable "promoting plan" for high-quality development.