this man is not calm

Chapter 425 Cost and Transportation

Any factory that has its own power supply system will encounter problems with backup power and energy storage. The measures taken will vary depending on the industry and needs of the factory.

Data centers have high requirements for the stability of their power supply systems, so they use maintenance-free lead-acid batteries as emergency power sources because of their superior floating charge performance, high recovery efficiency, and low overall cost.

As for large-capacity and long-duration energy storage, in the absence of pumped storage or support from water-solar or water-wind complementarity, Jinxi Cloud Service uses gas-fired generators to perform the task of peak shaving and valley filling, supplemented by ultra-large-capacity vanadium liquid flow redox batteries and lithium iron phosphate batteries for energy storage.

There is no need to explain the latter. Lithium iron phosphate new energy batteries have only appeared not long ago and are mostly experimental in nature. The technology is not particularly mature and the cost is not low, so the usage is relatively small. The former is much more mature. It has been more than 30 years since its birth, and has been in actual commercial use for nearly ten years. If it were not for the high price of materials, it would have been widely promoted long ago due to its many advantages.

The so-called liquid flow redox battery is so wonderful that its self-discharge loss is almost zero, which is really excellent compared to the 2% daily loss of lead-acid batteries. In addition, the electrolyte does not involve too complicated chemical reactions during the charging and discharging process. It only changes the chemical valence of the elements and uses the different chemical potential energy of vanadium ions in different oxidation states to change energy.

You don’t need too much advanced knowledge to know that this type of energy storage battery has a strong recycling capacity and a cycle life far exceeding other batteries. If the problems of auxiliary material loss and maintenance costs are solved, it can basically be regarded as a perfect energy storage method.

However, there is a small problem here...

"Vanadium liquid flow... is it so expensive?"

Looking at the price of the mixed liquid ranging from hundreds of thousands to millions per ton, Jin Shang put down the report in his hand, pressed his temple with a headache, and said to Hong Renquan who also felt a little tricky,
"In this case, building a standard energy storage system according to the plan may cost an additional 200 million yuan. This is too expensive, it's simply robbing money..."

No wonder almost no peers in the market are involved in large-capacity energy storage. In the long run, it may be slightly profitable, and after receiving large subsidies, it can make a lot of money, but the initial investment is too large.

This is a risky game that only super players with great wealth and power can play. What is calculated is the input-output ratio of the entire life cycle in years, rather than temporary gains and losses. Especially when it comes to key areas of strategic direction, it tests the vision and decision-making ability of the person at the helm.

"The reason is not complicated. Although vanadium batteries are not new, they have not been put into commercial use for a long time. Due to cost issues, only some powerful energy giants are using them. Slightly weaker companies are not willing to take the risk at all."

Hong Renquan, who had obviously become more haggard during this period, had done a lot of work. He explained in a very determined tone,

"Basically, vanadium, like titanium, is a mineral associated with iron ore. People didn't realize its importance before, but now more and more iron ore mines and steel mills are beginning to pay attention to it..."

"In other words, large-scale refining of vanadium still depends on the attitude of steel metallurgy? This... no wonder it is so expensive!"

Not only vanadium, but also titanium will have more and more application scenarios. This means that countries and regions with small steelmaking scale, immature technology and weak metallurgical capabilities will be completely cut off from the upstream and downstream industrial chains of these two elements.

"Not only are vanadium and titanium inseparable from the steelmaking industry, but gallium and germanium, two very important elements in the electronics industry and semiconductor industry, are distributed in large quantities in nature, but they are too dispersed. Large-scale extraction still requires smelting from the byproducts of electrolytic aluminum. In addition, our domestic coal mines have always been considered to be of low quality and low utilization efficiency. In recent years, we have suddenly realized that those 'impurities' are actually treasures rich in rare elements that are more valuable than coal..."

"After so many years of relationship, it's still like buying the casket and returning the pearl."

Jin Shang just joked a few times and didn't take it to heart. With the advancement of science and technology, people's understanding of many things they take for granted is getting deeper and deeper, and the valuations are becoming more and more accurate.

Leaving aside the trivial details, Jin Shang understood what Hong Renquan meant.

Minor metals such as vanadium, titanium, gallium, and germanium are related to industries such as rare elements, and are closely related to mining, steel, smelting, electrolytic aluminum, and coal chemical industries, which are considered to have low technical content, high energy consumption, environmental pollution, and low economic value.

Without these so-called "backward production capacities" providing a large amount of "associated element" compounds, high-tech products such as electronic technology, chips and semiconductors would be mostly paralyzed.

"We have steel mills with extremely high production, but we also need them to be willing to refine vanadium and titanium to produce cheap metal compounds to provide raw materials for our all-vanadium liquid redox batteries and a number of IT technology hardware products? This is really... You know my grandfather, right?"

"Well, it caused quite a stir back then..."

"He suffered three major setbacks in his life, one of which was the leap forward in electrolytic aluminum technology, which crushed the metallurgical factory that had invested heavily in it. The progress of science and technology is sometimes not linear, but a revolutionary leap, which is really unreasonable."

Because he is engaged in the IT industry, which is at the forefront of science and technology, Jin Shang has also conducted rigorous investigations and analyses on some basic research, and naturally knows the importance of some minor metals, transition metals and rare elements.

After talking with Hong Renquan for a while, I still couldn't find a good solution to this problem.

“Should we do our own steelmaking, electrolytic aluminum and coal chemical industry?”

"no need!"

Without hesitation, Jin Shang rejected Hong Renquan's suggestion and said seriously,
"Perhaps in the future, I will attract a group of powerful allies in related industries by acquiring shares. There is no need to do it myself. The limit is to do some special steel and fine chemicals on a small scale and make strategic investments in a number of important mineral deposits. Traditional industries that do not have too high a threshold and rely solely on supply chain advantages are not my cup of tea."

In addition, there is another point that Jin Shang did not make clear. This type of "backward production capacity" that seems to have no technical content is too sensitive. It is the key lifeline. It is impossible for Jin Shang to stir up trouble, and he does not have the strength to do so.

Not to mention anything else, at this moment, Jin Shang could invest huge amounts of money to find a small county in the north that is rich in resources, build a super-large-scale wind and solar power plant, produce steel, make electrolytic aluminum, build a super industrial and mining base, etc. But in this way, his direct competitors would change.

Think about the composition of the domestic steel, aluminum, coal, energy and chemical, and mining giants, and what the names of these companies are, and you will know that it is not a good idea to enter the market casually.

This is completely different from the blue ocean IT Internet industry. It is not just a business issue!
Follow the baton and become an important supplement to the public economy, rather than becoming a target of public criticism as a direct competitor.

Seeing that Jin Shang had made a decision, Hong Renquan also breathed a sigh of relief.

Over the past six months, Jinxi Culture's expansion has been terrifying. They have set up businesses almost wherever they go and tried everything. They are afraid that they will expand too quickly and fall into a big pit. Since the boss Jin Shang is still sober-minded and has not been blinded by success, that is great.

"In that case, I will focus on recommending information about a number of key companies such as special steel and high-strength aluminum alloys. Basic industries... are not easy to do in China, but they should be possible abroad, right? Do you want to give it a try?"

“I have an idea, but I’m not in a hurry. This kind of asset-heavy play requires financial means to protect and avoid risks.”

"Large-volume trading, futures spot market?"

"Yes! My second uncle has shipping channels, port resources, wharf warehouses and financial platforms. My second uncle has sources of bulk commodities, but his strength and appeal are not strong enough now."

That’s right, the first thing Jin Shang planned to start was the bulk grain trading, including barley, wheat, rice, soybean meal, palm oil, etc., as well as other special northern commodities such as Panax notoginseng, ginseng, apples and red dates.

The trading platform called "Beihai Futures" is still on paper, but it is no longer an illusory thing.

The main reason is that its strength is too weak to support a regional commodity trading platform, let alone any influence.

It’s too early to say this now, the things at hand are more important.

"We can just add money and build the energy storage as soon as possible. The current situation always feels like there is a lack of a safety guarantee."

"Okay, I'll have someone arrange it as soon as possible. The demand for vanadium is not particularly high at the moment, but the output is not high either. Although there are many steel mills in the Bohai Bay, the highest vanadium production comes from the southwestern Yunnan-Guizhou region and Jiaozhou-Indochina Peninsula..." No matter where it is produced, ship it here quickly. It will be too late any further.

Problems that can be solved by spending money are not difficult. What we are afraid of is encountering troubles in the future that cannot be solved even with money.

"After this matter is dealt with, the next thing is the intermodal transport of Xingdao Haihua. This has a certain foundation and is relatively fast. The power station and seawater desalination plant are about to be put into operation. In addition, as an additional project, should the treatment of saline-alkali land be started?"

"Let's get one or two experimental templates here first, and then we can talk about it with the ready-made stuff. It will probably take until next year to move forward, so there's no rush."

Jin Shang looked at the time while speaking.

"It's already this late, the ship is almost here, we have to set off."

"Hmm? That's right, it's almost there."

The two men got up, called the driver, and headed southeast.
-
More than half an hour later, Jin Shang and Hong Renquan stood at the Grand Canal Wharf, watching a number of small and medium-sized yachts docking. There were also more than a dozen dry bulk carriers of around 2,000 tons, 255 standard container ships and liquid cargo ships waiting to unload nearby.

On the yacht, a familiar old man walked down the gangway. It was the old butler Bian Luming.

With a calm smile, Lao Bian approached and reported to Jin Shang very politely:

"It has been inspected and there is no problem."

Although Lao Bian is now old and not as energetic as before, when he was young, he had seen and played a lot with his master. Yachts are not new things and have existed for a long time. Except for some new technologies, this "big toy" has basically no special improvements.

We found some young people from our hometown who are proficient in life at sea and understand ships, and they formed the acceptance and maintenance team of this ship.

The name "Water Bird" on the outside of the ship seems to have been given as a joke.

The whole body is mainly white, supplemented by blue paint decoration. It looks simple and elegant. At first glance, it seems plain, but in fact it has a good imposing appearance.

After all, since it has experience in manufacturing yachts, the capabilities of CSSC Mechanical and Electrical are worthy of recognition.

That’s right, this Waterbird is the smaller one of the two private yachts customized by Jin Shang.

Lao Bian, who was ordered to inspect the goods and drive them back, seemed to have returned to the glorious days of his youth. He traveled with his master, surrounded by people, and it was very lively. He had dozens of people under him.

Many years have passed, and it seems that the former glory has returned.

Although he seldom goes back to his hometown and has become a lot more Buddhist, Lao Bian is ultimately a good steward who is happy for his master's prosperity.

Led by two young men, Lao Bian took Jin Shang on board and looked it over inside and out.

It's worth the money, but overall it's satisfactory.

Turning to look at Hong Renquan and Wei Shuangping who followed him, Jin Shang asked:

"What do you think?"

“Low-key luxury with connotation.”

When it comes to flattery, Hong Renquan is also good at it. Saying a few nice words is no big deal. As for Wei Shuangping, he just gave her a thumbs up and refused to make any other comments.

Laughing inwardly, Jin Shang said with a calm face:

"I only use it for myself and my relatives and friends, not to show off my wealth to anyone. There is no need to decorate it too luxuriously. The temperament of a nouveau riche does not suit me."

Ignoring other people's reactions, Jin Shang grabbed the railing of the ship's side and looked at the cargo ship working not far away.

After the headquarters of Jinxi Shopping Mall was built nearby, it quickly reached an agreement with the local authorities and purchased the almost unpopular commercial wharf as one of the important water arteries connecting the north and the south.

Even though the current canal shipping capacity can only accommodate ships of around 2,000 tons, it is already quite difficult for container ships with more than 260 standard containers to pass through. However, this does not mean that this important waterway that has been used for more than a thousand years is useless.

Today, water transportation connecting the north and the south is indeed mainly sea transportation, but that kind of large ship often weighs tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of tons. Jinxi Mall does not need such a large cargo ship at all, and container distribution is very troublesome. It takes two or three days or even a week to wait, which is too slow.

Cargo ships of around 2,000 tons, liquid cargo ships, and container ships with less than 260 boxes meet the requirements. If there is no wind or waves, they can travel quickly through the canal.

After this batch of ships was delivered, they had a brief rest and then unloaded in central China, carrying a large amount of seafood, rice, electronic equipment, and palm oil in the Yangtze River Delta. They then loaded a large amount of fruits and vegetables, rapeseed oil, and sugar, and returned north to Beijing.

Soon after, the fleet will transport soybean oil, beef, mutton, wheat, apples, etc. southward, stopping at various ports to load and unload goods.

It extends from the end of the Grand Canal in the north to Sichuan and Chongqing in the west and to the coast of Suzhou and Songjiang in the east. If it is the flood season, it is not ruled out that we can even go to Nanzheng along the Han River.

The middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River are navigable in some seasons, but it is not easy to navigate. Once several large water conservancy projects are completed in the future, it will be possible to travel to central Henan.

"The large warehouses in the Yangtze River Delta and the large warehouses in central China, these ships... should all be in use now."

The cost of automobile freight is too high these days. Not only are the roads difficult to travel on, they are also not very safe. Train cars are difficult to get, and the relationship between the Jin family’s father and son is not good enough. Even Old Huang is reluctant to step in for such a “small matter”.

Weighing the difference between time and efficiency, the latter has a clear advantage. The timeliness of logistics depends on the inventory in warehouses across the country, while for distribution, it is enough to just consider the last mile.

"Boss Jin, these ships should be placed in the logistics system instead of under the name of the e-commerce platform?"

"It is not necessary at present. The supply chain needs an inland river fleet. The online shopping orders and supply volume are not enough. If there are bulk goods that are not time-sensitive and cost-sensitive, such as refrigerators, air conditioners, TVs and other large and heavy goods, I will contact the shipping company and use large-scale sea transportation."

Different freight requirements require different channels, so there is no need to make too advanced construction now.

As for the future, not to mention fleets, even air transportation will be no problem.

(End of this chapter)