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Donghua Technology: A New Era Dawns, with New Chapters Unfolding Towards the Future. Author/Source: People’s Daily Online. Date: 2022-10-22. Clicks: 17. In 2021, according to statistics on listed companies, the company signed contracts worth a total of 11.998 billion yuan throughout the year; it achieved operating revenues of 6.003 billion yuan and operating profits of 308 million yuan. The total value of new contracts signed that year was nearly four times higher than 25.42 billion yuan in 2012. This is an impressive achievement by Donghua Technology in the pursuit of new development concepts and the establishment of a new development pattern. Donghua Technology is a central enterprise based in Anhui with a history of 59 years, originating from the Third Design Institute of the former Ministry of Chemical Industry, which was established in 1963. Donghua Technology continues to push forward with strategic upgrades and transformations, deepening reforms in areas such as mixed-ownership restructuring, industrial investment, the improvement of market-oriented management mechanisms, and the digitalization of refined management, thereby broadening the path toward high-quality development for the company. Strategic upgrading and transformation help Donghua Technology determine its direction for progress. In 2016, affected by factors such as overall overcapacity in the industry, a general decline in profitability, and high operating costs, Donghua Technology’s business expansion was significantly impacted, with the value of new contracts reaching a historical low. The company drives the diversified development of its business through innovation, utilizes investments to expand its engineering operations, and continuously optimizes its industrial structure and layout ； At the same time, we will leverage the leading role of the market, transform our business philosophy, adjust our marketing strategies, establish a hierarchical management system for key client resources, and comprehensively promote the “integration of production and operations”. From 2016 to 2020, the scale of the company’s operations saw steady growth. The average annual compound growth rates of its main economic indicators continued to rise; specifically, the average annual compound growth rate of newly signed contracts was 56.52%, that of operating revenue was 39.26%, and that of net profit was 29.19%. With continuously improving profitability quality, significantly enhanced scale, and rising employee salaries, Donghua Technology successfully brought the 13th Five-Year Plan to a successful conclusion. In 2021, the newly appointed leadership team at Donghua Technology carefully planned and took action accordingly. They formulated the strategic plan for the 14th Five-Year Plan period, creatively proposing a development strategy of “one core foundation plus three vertical and three horizontal dimensions.” Focusing on three main areas—technology integration, engineering contracting, and investment & operations—they advanced the development strategy of “differentiation, industrialization, and internationalization” vertically, while horizontally expanding into industries such as new materials, new energy, and environmental protection. The company actively strives to establish a new development pattern, accelerate its efforts to become a comprehensive engineering enterprise with international competitiveness, and work toward its goal of becoming “a provider of comprehensive solutions in the industrial engineering sector, as well as a supplier of high-end chemicals and advanced materials.” Optimization of the business model helps Donghua Technology find the right path for development. Donghua Technology focuses on its core responsibilities and main business, using technological research and development to drive the growth of its engineering and industrial operations. It improves its investment management system, optimizes investment decision-making processes, and establishes a diversified investment and financing mechanism. The company actively promotes industrial investment projects in areas such as new materials, aiming to achieve diversified operations and cross-sector development, thereby increasing the proportion of non-chemical businesses in its operations. The company invested in establishing Zhonghua Chemical Donghua Tianye New Materials Co., Ltd., and actively promoted the expansion of the industrial chain related to polybutylene terephthalate-adipate butylenediol (PBAT), including 1,4-butanediol (BDO) and PBAT modification processes. Ownership reform has enabled Donghua Technology to seize opportunities in the capital market. Leveraging the platform of a listed company, the firm brought in Shaanxi Coal and Chemical Industry Group Co., Ltd. as a strategic investor to carry out a \"second round of structural reform.\" At the same time, its parent company, Guizhou Donghua Engineering Co., Ltd., also carried out reforms to adopt a mixed-ownership structure. Through three reform measures—centralizing equity ownership, increasing capital, and introducing strategic investors—the governance structure was standardized, an effective mechanism for decision-making, execution, and supervision was established, as well as a market-based compensation system, incentive mechanisms, and restraint mechanisms were put in place. In 2021, Guizhou Donghua achieved a newly signed contract value of 849.8 million yuan, operating revenue of 351.1 million yuan, and a profit of 18.7 million yuan. These figures represented increases of 370%, 185%, and 247% respectively compared to 2020. The digital transformation has enabled Donghua Technology to revive the essence of refined management. With the “project manager responsibility system” and “meticulous management of engineering projects” at its core, Donghua Technology is vigorously promoting comprehensive meticulous management, thereby ensuring that “Digital & Intelligent Donghua” stays at the forefront, delivers tangible results, and achieves breakthroughs. In 2021, the company successfully obtained the AAA certification for its informationization and industrialization integration management system. Today, Donghua Technology is leveraging engineering databases to promote the widespread adoption of full-discipline 3D collaborative forward design ； Utilize the project management platform to control schedule, quality, and costs, thereby enabling the integration and delivery of digital factories. This helps build momentum for enterprises in constructing smart factories and maintaining their operations ； Establish a new OA platform to help the company achieve comprehensive and refined management in its functional areas. Donghua Technology has always regarded “technological innovation” as its primary driving force. Over the past decade, Donghua Technology has established 22 new R&D platforms, launched more than 150 new R&D projects, filed over 280 patent applications in total. The company allocates more than 3% of its operating revenue to R&D each year, achieving transaction values from technology transfers of around 200 million yuan. It has also been responsible for editing or contributing to nearly 110 various industry standards. On September 13, 2022, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology released the proposed list of **65 enterprises to be recognized as technological innovation demonstration enterprises in 2022**, with Donghua Technology included therein. The technological innovation at Donghua Technology began with the projects related to ammonia synthesis at Huainan Fertilizer Plant and the production of nitrogen-based fertilizers at *ao Acid Plant. The company continues to deepen the integrated development of modern coal chemical industry with industries such as petrochemical and natural gas chemical industries, while simultaneously accelerating technological upgrades in the traditional coal chemical sector. Over the past decade, Donghua Technology has been making continuous efforts in the coal chemical industry. It has developed independent research and development technologies for industries such as coal-based ammonia synthesis, ethylene glycol, methanol, olefins, aromatics, oil/wax, liquefied natural gas (LNG), BDO, vinyl acetate, dimethyl carbonate, and polycarbonate. Meanwhile, it holds a dominant competitive edge in the design and construction markets for natural gas chemical and coke oven gas chemical industries. In 2013, the first phase of the project undertaken by Donghua Technology—a 50,000-ton/year facility for producing ethylene glycol from the off-gas of calcium carbide furnaces in Xinjiang Tianye—was successfully commissioned on its first attempt, yielding qualified ethylene glycol products. This is the first industrial application in China of the “syngas-to-ethylene glycol” technology jointly developed by Donghua Technology and Takasago Chemical. Over the past decade, this \"unicorn\" process technology, which leads in terms of performance, energy consumption, and material usage both domestically and internationally, has become a flagship technology for Donghua Technology, bringing substantial economic and social benefits to the company’s development. In 2019, the syngas-to-ethylene glycol technology team at Donghua Technology was named one of the first \"Top 10 Innovative Teams\" by China National Chemical Engineering Group. In September 2022, the first phase of the demonstration project for the production of new chemical materials through the differentiated utilization of coal, carried out by Shaanxi Coal Group Yulin Chemical Company – the world’s largest coal chemical project under construction at that time – was officially completed and put into operation. Donghua Technology successfully completed the EPC general contracting work for the dimethyl oxalate (DMO) plant, the ethylene glycol (EG) plant, the intermediate tank area, as well as the associated auxiliary facilities. It became the only construction company at the project award ceremony to receive all three honors: \"Outstanding EPC Contractor,\" \"Special Contributor to Project Construction,\" and \"Outstanding Project Manager.\" To date, this technology has achieved a 100% yield rate for producing polyester-grade ethylene glycol. It holds over 70% of the domestic market share. A total of 24 sets of this technology have been licensed to external parties, resulting in a combined annual ethylene glycol production capacity of over 10 million tons. This has also generated engineering contracts worth more than 23 billion yuan. Donghua Technology regards the “new materials” and “new energy” industries as key areas for strategic planning and technological innovation. The development of key technologies such as PBAT catalysts, PBAT modification techniques, comprehensive utilization of by-product **furan, and extraction of battery-grade lithium carbonate from salt lakes has provided technical support for the company to integrate its upstream and downstream industrial chains and develop its industrial sector. The overall lithium extraction technology from salt lake brines in our country is challenging, the production is unstable, and the operating costs are high. To effectively address the challenge of “continuously producing battery-grade lithium carbonate from low-grade salt lake brines with a high magnesium-lithium ratio”, Donghua Technology independently developed a modular process for lithium extraction from salt lakes. This process overcomes the key technical hurdles associated with current lithium extraction methods from salt lake brines, enabling the production of battery-grade lithium carbonate and thus advancing the development of this technology. This technology has been recognized as a scientific and technological achievement in Anhui Province. Multiple patents related to this technology have been filed. It has also been successfully applied in several lithium extraction projects from salt lakes undertaken by Donghua Technology, thus contributing to ensuring **energy security, optimizing the energy structure, and reducing carbon emissions. In July 2021, Donghua Technology successfully signed the EPC+O contract for the ten-thousand-ton lithium carbonate project aimed at the green comprehensive development and utilization of Tibet’s Zabuye Salt Lake. Currently, the project construction is in full swing at the 5,000-meter plateau. Green and low-carbon development gains its “wings” – Green and low-carbon practices are a prerequisite for modern chemical enterprises to achieve sustainable development. As a pioneer in environmental protection efforts in China, Donghua Technology adheres to the concept of green and low-carbon development, thereby providing dual ‘wings’ for the high-quality development of enterprises. Focusing on industrial pollution control, the company adopts a \"research and development + investment + construction + operation\" model. By leveraging the national chemical water supply and drainage design technology centers as well as the expertise provided by the peer-reviewed journal \"Industrial Water and Wastewater\", it strives to develop and strengthen the ecological environmental protection industry. It aims to build a well-known brand named \"Donghua Environment\", and has been recognized as an \"Outstanding Enterprise in Anhui’s Environmental Protection Industry\" for many consecutive years. Donghua Technology has overcome the key technical barriers and successfully developed its own \"zero-discharge technology for coal chemical industry wastewater across the entire process.\" This technology enables the complete reuse of wastewater, and the salts present in it can be converted into industrial-grade sodium chloride and sodium sulfate through selective crystallization. The Yili Xintian project, which produces 2 billion cubic meters of coal-derived natural gas per year and has been awarded the **Gold Award for High-Quality Projects and the First Prize for Excellent Surveying and Design in Anhui Province**, successfully applied this technology in its wastewater treatment and reuse system. This has enabled the achievement of true “zero wastewater discharge” in a coal chemical project of such enormous scale and complexity. This technology was also recognized by the China Petroleum and Chemical Industry Federation and the China Chemical Environmental Protection Association as a key supporting technology for environmental protection and clean production in the petroleum and chemical industry, and was included in the \"Catalogue of Outstanding Scientific and Technological Innovations and Classic Engineering Projects\". The project titled “Research on Key Technologies for Comprehensive Pollution Control and Utilization of Wastewater from Coal Conversion, Developed Based on This Technology”, has completed the evaluation process as a sub-project under the **Key R&D Program**. In recent years, with the frequent introduction of **plastic restriction policies** and the needs of industrial development, biodegradable materials have seized a development opportunity. Donghua Technology actively participates in the governance of “white pollution” and proactively plans for the upstream and downstream industrial chains to promote the robust development of the biodegradable plastics industry. In March 2022, the Xinjiang Shuguang Lühua project—in which Donghua Technology participated as an investor and served as the general contractor for construction—officially commenced. The project has an annual production capacity of 100,000 tons of BDO and 120,000 tons of PBAT ； In June 2022, the PBAT project undertaken by China National Chemical East China Tianye—in which we made an investment and participated in the construction—was successfully commissioned on the first attempt. The products generated meet all performance criteria and exceed the standards for high-quality PBAT polyester products. In the face of the profound and far-reaching systemic economic and social transformations brought about by “peak carbon emissions and carbon neutrality”, Donghua Technology has made great efforts to expand its engineering business in the environmental protection sector. It has also boldly ventured into new areas such as capacity expansion and technological upgrades for silicone monomers, as well as integrated technologies combining “new energy and green chemical engineering”. Donghua Technology is also making efforts to develop a green technology R&D platform. In June 2021, the China Chemical Environmental Protection Research Institute established itself in Hefei High-Tech Zone, Anhui, with the support of Donghua Technology. Centering on the framework of “research institute + multiple testing bases + N cooperation platforms,” the research institute has promoted the establishment of a series of new research platforms, including the East China University of Science and Technology–University of Science and Technology of China Joint Laboratory for Water Pollution Control, the Anhui Provincial Key Laboratory for Industrial Wastewater and Environmental Treatment, and the Hefei Technology Innovation Center for High-End Chemicals and Advanced New Materials ； Promote the integrated development of the \"industry-university-research-application\" cooperation platforms established in collaboration with universities such as Tsinghua University, Tianjin University, and the University of Science and Technology of China ； Strive to become a hub for environmental protection technologies, a site for the transformation of scientific and technological achievements, a connector for scientific and technological resources, a gathering place for high-level talents, and a model for scientific research reform. Since its establishment, the research institute has focused on the development of biodegradable materials, as well as the research and development related to the upstream and downstream industries of ethylene glycol. It has also worked on the development of high-end polyolefins, as well as technologies related to carbon neutrality and new energy sources. Additionally, it has made significant efforts in areas such as industrial wastewater treatment, watershed management, and soil remediation. In recent years, the company has undertaken various projects, including the remediation of polluted soil in the middle section of the Ma (He) Steel area in Hefei’s eastern new city center, as well as the design and construction integration project for the second sewage treatment plant in Hefei’s Circular Economy Demonstration Park. In the future, Donghua Technology will continue to drive the development of engineering and industrial sectors through technological research and development, using green and low-carbon transformation as the wings that enable it to soar high. In 2022, Donghua Technology achieved further success in its high-quality development, with the company securing new contract values of 8.428 billion yuan in the first half of the year. On September 15, 2022, a consortium formed by Donghua Technology and Linde Engineering Asia-Pacific signed the EPC general contract for BASF’s Zhanjiang syngas plant. From the banks of the Huai River to the hometown of Bao Zheng, from the little-known \"Youtai Yuan\" to a listed company that issues shares, through ten years of hard work and practical efforts, Donghua Technology is on its way to becoming an internationally competitive comprehensive engineering company!