Chapter Sixteen

Before the Spring Festival, the company held an all-staff meeting. R&D Director Jiang Zhuo spoke on stage: "The work plan for next year is, firstly, to coordinate with the lithium battery cathode material manufacturers that are switching. The design review has already been completed this year. Next, the main focus will be on the trial production and performance testing of cathode materials. Because there is a mass production plan for new materials in the next period, we must complete this work on schedule with high quality and quantity."

Zuo Xutong then learned that the company had ultimately chosen Beijialongtai as its supplier of lithium battery cathode materials. Jiang Zhuo continued, "In addition, there are two other key tasks. One is the Ora lithium battery project, which we developed at the end of last year. We need to work closely with the manufacturing department to ensure smooth mass production. The other is a key project for the future: hydrogen fuel cell research and development. In recent years, the development prospects of fuel cells have gradually been recognized by the industry. They can solve the problems of long charging times and short driving ranges in new energy vehicles. We also need to make early industrial arrangements and achieve technological breakthroughs in research and development as soon as possible. According to reliable sources, Chaoma New Energy is preparing to collaborate with Tian Yuying, a hydrogen energy expert who recently returned from Longjin University of Science and Technology, to develop platinum alloy catalysts to replace the expensive platinum catalysts in fuel cells. Next year, our company also plans to increase its investment in hydrogen fuel cell research and development..."

Upon hearing this news, Zuo Xutong's breathing stopped; the thing she had been worried about had finally happened.

Currently, the lowest platinum loading for CCM-type membrane electrodes developed in domestic laboratories is around 0.3 mg/cm². This technology is iterating and upgrading too rapidly. To ensure the successful commercialization of his research, Zuo Xutong is determined to achieve a breakthrough in one step: reducing the platinum content of the catalyst to one-quarter of this figure, surpassing the current international highest level. In short, the goal is to reduce costs by decreasing the amount of platinum used in the membrane electrode while maintaining battery performance and lifespan, and ensuring commercial viability.

Some domestic laboratories are addressing the high cost of fuel cells by searching for alternatives to platinum catalysts. However, non-Pt catalysts are far less active than platinum catalysts, and there is also a significant difference in stability. This means there are countless materials that could replace platinum catalysts, but whether these new catalysts can move from the laboratory to the market is fraught with uncertainty. In fact, at this bottleneck stage of research, reducing the dosage by even 0.1 mg is extremely difficult, let alone reducing it by three-quarters. Therefore, she spent five years accumulating a large amount of experimental data and lessons learned from failures, but still has not achieved a breakthrough.

Once, she was overjoyed, thinking she was about to succeed, but after more than 500 hours of battery testing, she found that the material's durability was not ideal, so she decisively abandoned it. Half a year's hard work was in vain, which was the biggest blow to her.

In fact, Zuo Xutong had already heard of Tian Yuying and his team. As far as she knew, they had already started researching ultra-low platinum film electrodes abroad, which was completely consistent with her research direction. Moreover, they had already passed the initial stage. This meant that if Chao Ma were to develop a low platinum loading catalyst first, obtain the intellectual property rights, and then mass-produce it, her research would become insignificant. It was like when you painstakingly invent a Bluetooth headset, only to find that everyone on the street already has one before the product is even on the market.

However, based on the current market share of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, there is still a long way to go before large-scale mass production. Therefore, the current introduction of the concept of low-cost fuel cells is not only to improve the company's ability to generate revenue, but also to attract the attention of various capital sources, attract financing and continue to invest in research and development. Only by continuously accumulating technological advantages can we stand out when the hydrogen fuel cell vehicle wave arrives in the future and create huge commercial value.

It must be said that this was a far-sighted plan, but it wasn't Luan Mingfeng's idea; he didn't have such sophisticated methods. The person who broke them up years ago has now personally created a powerful competitor for her. Of course, Luan Yilin didn't do this intentionally. He couldn't even remember who she was; nobody knew she was developing MEA. Once Chaoma's development was successful, she would just be a nobody, not worth mentioning.

What to do? What to do? Zuo Xutong walked out of the meeting room in a daze, almost bumping into Peng Kun who was coming towards her for a meeting. Seeing that she had bumped into someone and was continuing to walk forward without even looking up, he called out to her, "Hey, the meeting isn't over yet, where are you going?"

"Going out for some fresh air," Zuo Xutong replied absentmindedly, her head down.

She was peeking under the boss's nose and then said she needed to go out for some fresh air. Wasn't she showing a lot of disrespect to him, the general manager? What's more, there were several distracted employees sitting in the back of the conference room, glancing at the door every now and then. If he didn't make an example of her today, who would follow company rules in the future?

"Zuo Xutong, I've noticed you've been quite absent-minded lately. What's wrong? If it's because of the money you owe, then don't pay it back. Consider it your unemployment severance pay. The company doesn't keep idle people. You should find another job! We didn't hire you just to be a bystander!" Peng Kun said sternly.

Just then, a new female colleague was about to go to the restroom when she heard General Manager Peng scolding someone outside. She was so frightened that she quickly retreated and didn't dare to go to the restroom anymore. This was the first time she had seen General Manager Peng lose his temper in public. She thought to herself that this woman was too thick-skinned, and she didn't even flinch when she was scolded like that.

In reality, Zuo Xutong hadn't listened to Peng Kun at all. She was still thinking about Chao Ma's joint research and development of membrane electrodes with Tian Yuying. The more she thought about it, the uglier her face became. Not to mention that she didn't even have the money to buy experimental materials, even if she did have the money, she didn't have as much time as them. And even if she did have the time, they had a team, while she was all alone...

Seeing that she was pale and silent, Peng Kun began to worry: "Why aren't you saying anything?... Tell me, what's wrong? Is your cholecystitis acting up again?"

Zuo Xutong shook her head. Suddenly, she remembered something Director Jiang had said at the meeting: "Next year, our company also plans to increase its R&D investment in hydrogen fuel cells." She abruptly looked up, stared into Peng Kun's eyes, and blurted out, "Your company also develops membrane electrode assemblies, right?"

The idea flashed through her mind, she seized upon it, and then, as if possessed, a strange smile appeared on her face, and she kept repeating the same phrase: "Let's develop membrane electrodes too..."

Peng Kun was so angry that his face turned green. He growled in a low voice, "This is a matter for the company's decision-makers. Just do your job and stop worrying about this."

He stormed into the conference room after saying that, leaving Zuo Xutong pacing back and forth. She kept thinking about Jiang Zhuo's words and decided to catch him later and ask him what aspects of hydrogen fuel cells the company planned to increase its investment in next year: air compressors? bipolar plates? or MEAs?

Yes, we must ask clearly!

After the meeting, Zuo Xutong stopped Jiang Zhuo at the conference room door and said directly, "Director Jiang, I would like to talk to you."

Jiang Zhuo was deeply impressed by Zuo Xutong. Her performance during the interview was outstanding, but unfortunately, her educational background was too low, and she lacked relevant work experience. If it weren't for his strong recommendation, the company would never have hired her. However, after joining the company, she didn't stand out as he had hoped. Instead, due to her average abilities and low-key demeanor, she remained largely unnoticed. It was quite unexpected that she had taken the initiative to come and talk to him, so he nodded and said, "Let's go to my office."

Once inside the office, Zuo Xutong couldn't wait a moment longer and asked directly, "Director, you said the company will increase its R&D investment in hydrogen fuel cells this year, including the core catalyst for MEA?"

Jiang Zhuo shared Peng Kun's opinion, also feeling that this wasn't something lower-level employees should care about. However, he was particularly curious about what she was trying to do: "What? What brilliant idea do you have?"

"I think we should develop low-cost membrane electrode assemblies. The core component of hydrogen fuel cells is the membrane electrode assemblies, and the platinum catalyst in the membrane electrode assemblies accounts for the highest proportion of the cost, up to about 60%. Therefore, reducing the amount of precious metals used in the catalyst is the key to reducing the cost of the battery and is also the future trend of hydrogen fuel cell research and development."

Everyone knew what she was saying; it wasn't exactly a novel idea. Jiang Zhuo looked disappointed. He turned and walked to his desk, tidying up the documents as he said, "The company does have such plans, but we haven't discussed the specifics yet. Chao Ma has already started developing ultra-low platinum film electrodes, so shouldn't we change direction and develop other new catalysts that don't contain platinum..."

"We can't change it!" Zuo Xutong exclaimed anxiously, her voice unconsciously rising a notch. Jiang Zhuo stopped what he was doing, frowning unhappily. He wondered if this woman had suffered some kind of shock, or if she didn't want to work anymore. She was acting out of character, coming over to spout a bunch of useless opinions and shouting and interrupting others.

At this moment, Zuo Xutong realized that her behavior was somewhat inappropriate, and explained incoherently, "I... I think that platinum catalysts have high activity and strong stability... If we can't develop a low-cost membrane electrode before Chaoma, we will lose market competitiveness, and the research will lose its meaning." She knew that this reason was too far-fetched, and even completely untenable, but she had to seize this opportunity, which was probably her last chance.

"What exactly are you trying to say?" Jiang Zhuo finally lost his patience.

"I was thinking... could I take over the company's MEA cost reduction R&D?"

"Give it to you?" Jiang Zhuo looked at her incredulously, as if she were a mentally unstable person. Reducing MEA costs was a key project for the company next year. They planned to form a research team by drawing on the core members of the hydrogen fuel cell R&D center, and if necessary, he would even personally take on the role of project leader. Now this newcomer, who had only been with the company for two months, was coming to him saying she wanted to tackle this tough challenge. Jiang Zhuo felt as if he had heard something out of the blue.

“Yes! Leave it to me.” Zuo Xutong nodded solemnly.

"Zuo Xutong, what's wrong with you today? Do you even know what you're saying?" Jiang Zhuo rarely spoke harshly to his subordinates, but at this moment he was truly at his wit's end, even regretting hiring such an oddball into the company. "You haven't even passed your six-month probation period, and you're putting you in charge of this project? Who do you think will be satisfied?"

Zuo Xutong hadn't really thought about who could convince her. She only knew that no one in the entire company was more suitable than her: "Director, let me take charge of this project. I can develop it faster than Chaoma. Trust me."

Jiang Zhuo was aware of Tian Yuying's team's reputation in the field of hydrogen fuel cells. His team members were all experts in the field of hydrogen energy, and he himself was a PhD graduate from a prestigious international university. In his opinion, she must be crazy to dare to make such a boastful statement from an undergraduate from a third-rate university.

Zuo Xutong was indeed going crazy; her eyes were red with anxiety.

"If I can't develop a low-cost MEA before Chaoma, I'll leave immediately and won't take a single penny of compensation from the company. I promise!" Zuo Xutong said confidently.

"Are you making a solemn promise to me?" Jiang Zhuo didn't understand why she was so persistent about this project, but looking at her, he softened a little and said in a gentler tone, "It's no use pestering me here. Even if I agree, President Peng will not agree."

"So, you agree?"

“I didn’t say I agreed, I meant…”

"I understand what you mean. You mean that as long as General Peng agrees, you won't object, right?"

"If you think you can persuade him, then go ahead and try." Jiang Zhuo didn't believe she could convince Peng Kun at all, and didn't even think she would have the courage to go to him.