Rebirth 08: Equipment God

Chapter 470 The Great Star of Private Enterprises

In the small conference room next door, Wan Gang brought three or four people, while Zhai Da's group split into two groups of three or four each.

Sun Ting ultimately had no chance to return to the hotel and was forced to begin a second battle.

The moment he sat down, he exuded an air of authority.

She secretly confided to her boyfriend on her phone under the table: "Going on a business trip with the president is so tiring, my back and waist are aching."
After glancing at Zhai Da, who still seemed relaxed and carefree, she added a sarcastic remark: "The president's stamina is amazing!"

A few seconds later, Qi Lin replied with a :?
Wan Bu got straight to the point: "President Zhai, this series of meetings during the '12th Five-Year Plan' period covers a wide range of topics, with specific plans and research for almost every field. Therefore, some matters will no longer be addressed in separate meetings."

“I originally wanted to invite more people to chat together, but after thinking it over, I decided to talk to you privately first and then invite others depending on the situation.”

Zhai Da nodded, feeling more and more that this matter was quite important.

Wan Gang turned to look at one of his subordinates. The middle-aged man took out an A4 sheet of paper from his binder, and Wan Gang took it and placed it in front of Zhai Da.

Zhai Da glanced at it, and his face turned green.

Why take this thing out?
The car printed on it is the so-called "electric concept car" that was hastily produced due to an invitation from the "Shanghai World Expo".

The design is crude, the interior is shabby, and because it's purely for display, even the windshield wipers don't move evenly; after three minutes, the left and right wipers start to move independently. It should be called a model rather than a car.

Moreover, it's a poorly made model; the deadline was too tight.

"Wanbu. What does that mean?"

Don't slap someone in the face!
Wan Gang smiled broadly: "I've never had a chance to go to the World Expo. I just went for a look around last month and found this. Mr. Zhai, why didn't you tell me you had something good?"

Zhai Da:
After Wan Gang explained the situation, Zhai Dacai finally understood what had happened.

The 12th Five-Year Plan originally mentioned new energy vehicles, but only briefly.

This "speech" is more of a response to the global buzz surrounding the topic of "carbon emissions" than a set of hard rules or clear guidelines.

In China, the first person to propose the development of "new energy vehicles" was Qian Xuesen, Zhai Da's teacher.

That was in 1992.

The starting point lies in three directions:
1. Bypass the traditional patent barriers of the automotive industry and achieve a leapfrog development.

2. Reduce reliance on my country's insufficient oil reserves and use oil in more valuable chemical industries.

3. Reduce pollution. (A hot topic of debate; see the author's words)
Zhai Da had discussed this matter with his teacher and also had some later observations. It must be said that having such foresight in 92 was truly astonishing.

But automobiles are commercial and productivity products, not scientific research, which can be accomplished simply by tinkering in a research lab. Practicality, cost, market perception, and obstruction from "traditional forces" are all problems.

The teacher privately stated that while insufficient technical skills are certainly the main reason, the root of the problem is that few people have invested in this field over the past 20 years.

Looking back on the 130 years since the birth of the automobile, there has actually been no significant technological breakthrough for many years.

The seemingly massive industrial and profit chains are no longer technology-driven, but rather brand-driven, marketing-driven, and profit-driven.

The barrier to entry is high, and there are only so many players. So if it's profitable, who would bother with it?
Just like with mobile phones, if there were no competitors, Nokia could have kept the world using Symbian for another 30 years, playing Snake until everyone was sick of it.

So the teacher's suggestion didn't make much of a splash. Even state-owned car manufacturers had no incentive to innovate technologically, let alone form joint ventures.

In recent years, a global trend has inadvertently boosted the popularity of "new energy vehicles," namely "carbon emissions."

Putting aside its "moral trap" and "impure motives," it has certainly contributed to the widespread acceptance of concepts such as "clean energy," "new energy vehicles," and "environmental protection" during its global spread.

Originally, during the research period of the "12th Five-Year Plan", a conclusion had already been reached on "new energy vehicles": the concept should be proposed and advocated, but the timing was not right.

Unexpectedly, at the last moment of the "Eleventh Five-Year Plan", a core mechanical research institute emerged.

Thus, the second wave of enthusiasts in China who were trying to promote "new energy vehicles," namely Wan Gang and Wan Bu, finally had some ideas before the plan was finalized.

Wan Gang originally planned that the concept of new energy vehicles would not have a real market and technology until the "13th Five-Year Plan" period, that is, from 2016 to 2020.

The "concept car" that Wan Gang saw at the World Expo gave him an important inspiration.

Although missing out on the "12th Five-Year Plan" does not mean that the industry will not develop, it would be of great help to the industry if its importance could be increased, even if it is just by adding a "great effort" prefix to the wording.

Wan Gang laughed and said, "The World Expo introduced that this car was driven here by itself, so I knew you didn't just make a shell. What's even more surprising is that there's actually a car infotainment system inside. Mr. Zhai, could you tell me about it?" Yes, this inspiration did not come from the "Electric-15000" that he already knew. In fact, Wan Gang still felt that this alone was not mature enough.

But that car infotainment system is a bit special.

Zhai Da recalled for a moment: "Actually, that car infotainment system is just like a large tablet computer, only it's long and narrow. It runs 'Hongtu', only the UI has been adapted. Is there any problem?"

You can also play Fruit Assassin!
Wan Gang took off his glasses, rubbed his nose, clearly he had also been working non-stop in meetings, and slowly said: "Actually, when silicon carbide motors came out, I felt that it was only a matter of time before they were used in new energy vehicles, but afterwards I felt that it was still not enough."

"Whether this path is viable or not only depends on the maturity of the technology, which accounts for 40%. Even a very immature product can still stand as long as enough people are willing to pay for it, but the reverse is not true."

Wan Gang looked at the concept car: "All along, what I've wanted to solve more has been the 'market' problem than the 'manufacturing' problem, but I haven't had a good opportunity."

At this point, Wan Bu paused for a moment: "Let's talk about the rest behind closed doors."

Zhai Da nodded.

Sun Ting turned her head in confusion: Was the door not closed properly?

Looking at everyone, none of them moved, he thought to himself that he, a little Calomi, should be more diligent.

So he got up and went to try the door, pushing it under everyone's stunned gaze.

Upon returning, he nodded to everyone and said, "It's closed!"

Wan Gang:
Lu Qinjian said that Zhai Da's team is full of talented people. Is that what he meant?
Zhai Da gave him a look: Just tell me if he's talented or not!
His serious expression instantly vanished, and Wan Bu burst into laughter.

"Haha! Then I'll continue. Originally, I was thinking of mobilizing joint ventures, especially those luxury brands with significant market prestige, to support their new energy R&D through policy subsidies, so that they could become pioneers in changing market perceptions and create growth space for domestic players. However, it failed. They didn't have the motivation, and were even quite averse to it."

"Then we settled for second best and planned to look for a 'disruptor' in the automotive industry globally, preferably in the new energy field. Unfortunately, such a candidate can only be a foreign company, otherwise the market will not accept it. However, we have not found a completely suitable option yet."

"Until I saw that concept car, an idea suddenly popped into my head."

This person has a very sharp eye.

"If innovation in powertrain technology is a way to overtake competitors on a curve, then isn't 'electrification' also a way to overtake competitors on a curve? For example, a car that is 'as easy to use as a mobile phone'."

"So I'm here today to get a feel for you, Mr. Zhai. I'd like to see if you're interested in getting involved in 'automotive electronics'."

Zhai Da pondered for a moment and said, "You want me to be the catfish?"

Wan Gang shook his head:

"I hope Mr. Zhai will be the one who 'raises the catfish'."

Just like "Hongtu OS" has revitalized the entire industry and expanded internationally, it has also helped dozens of mobile phone manufacturers across the country.

Why can't we become the leader for dozens of car companies across the country?

　Regarding the question, "Electricity is burned by burning coal, so why are electric vehicles more environmentally friendly?"

　　1. Modern thermal power plants can now improve pollutant treatment efficiency to about 97% through desulfurization and denitrification technologies. They can now be built in urban areas without odor or pollution, which is far superior to the three-way catalytic converters in gasoline vehicles, not to mention clean energy. Clean energy accounts for about 28% of my country's total energy consumption (2024).

　　2: The carbon emissions and pollution from thermal power plants are concentrated and treated in a centralized manner. Thermal power plants are located in sparsely populated and open areas, while carbon emissions and pollution from automobiles are mainly concentrated in cities. Whether or not pollution is present, it is important to note that the pollutants are either inhaled into the lungs or treated by nature.

　　3: Thermal power generation has a thermal efficiency of 80% and can also provide heating, while fuel engines have a thermal efficiency of 40%.

　　4: The complete combustion of 1 kg of gasoline emits 3 kg of carbon dioxide. Yes, you read that right, three times more. That's the amount of oxygen.

　　5. Gasoline itself is a heavy chemical product, and the process also causes pollution. However, there are clean energy alternatives for power generation, so gasoline has no other choice.

　　Tip: Environmental protection is not a consumer demand, nor is industrial development a consumer responsibility. How to spend money is everyone's freedom. This is just an answer to some frequently asked questions.

　　When I first saw this argument, I was quite confused myself. After checking, I realized that this claim was "carefully crafted".

　　It's all about interests.
　　Everyone says that short videos are difficult to use for popular science, but I think the starting point is better.

　　perhaps?

　　
　
(End of this chapter)