Tech Giants: Starting from Bankrupt Companies

244: Chapter 244 The Material Revolution. The New King’s Coronation 2The second bomb: Ceramic Matrix Composites (CMC).

The big screen switched to a laboratory scene.

The footage had been processed to hide specific facilities and the faces of personnel, but the equipment was clearly world-class.

“The turbine blades of an aero engine operate at approximately 1500 degrees Celsius,” Wu Yi said. “The limit of existing nickel-based superalloys is right around this temperature. Any higher, and the material will soften, creep, and eventually fail.”

On screen, two material samples were fixed onto a test bench. On the left was the silvery-white nickel-based alloy, and on the right was a grey-black CMC plate.

A high-temperature spray gun was activated, with the flame temperature displayed: 1700°C.

Two flames scorched both materials simultaneously.

The timer started.

At 10 seconds, the surface of the nickel-based alloy began to turn red.

At 30 seconds, signs of melting appeared on the surface.

At 1 minute, the material was visibly deforming.

At 2 minutes and 17 seconds, the nickel-based alloy completely melted and dripped into the collection tray.

Meanwhile, the CMC plate on the right remained unscathed in the flames. The temperature sensor showed the back of the plate was only 320°C—indicating excellent thermal insulation.

“Continue,” Wu Yi said.

The video fast-forwarded, but the timer kept running:

10 minutes, no change in the CMC.

30 minutes, no change.

1 hour, no change.

The video finally froze at 100 hours—this was the equivalent time for accelerated testing, effectively corresponding to 1000 hours of engine operation.

The surface of the CMC plate had slight oxidation, but the structure was intact, and the dimensional change was less than 0.1%.

The entire room fell into a dead silence.

This was disruptive data.

“Our CMC-SiC (Silicon Carbide Ceramic Matrix Composite) has a creep life of over 1000 hours at 1700°C,” Wu Yi pulled up the comparative data. “For reference, the CMC-AS released by the American company GE last year has a figure of 200 hours at 1600°C.”

He paused, then dropped the first strategic bomb of the day:

“I can officially announce: Spark Materials has signed a strategic cooperation agreement with the Huaxia Aero Engine Group. Our CMC will be used in the improved model of the ‘Taihang’ engine, which is expected to increase thrust by 25% and reduce fuel consumption by 18%.”

Boom—

The audience erupted.

Isabelle Dupont of Airbus turned pale instantly. She quickly calculated: If Huaxia’s aero engine performance could really improve by 25%, then the competitiveness of Huaxia’s independently developed C919 passenger aircraft would increase significantly, directly threatening the market of the Airbus A320neo.

What was even more terrifying was if Xinghuo sold the CMC to Boeing...

She looked at David Miller next to her. The Boeing vice president was staring fixedly at the data on the big screen, his fingers tapping unconsciously on his knees—a sign of extreme nervousness.

“Ms. Dupont,” Isabelle’s assistant whispered, “Headquarters called, demanding we obtain samples and testing rights for the CMC at any cost. Technology licensing can be discussed later, but we must get the material first.”

“I know,” Isabelle took a deep breath, “After the press conference, schedule a meeting with Wu Yi immediately. We can offer a price 20% higher than Boeing’s.”

On the other side, William Harding of Rolls-Royce had disregarded etiquette, standing up directly and walking into the aisle to contact the UK headquarters via satellite phone:

“Yes, I saw it with my own eyes. The data should be real; they wouldn’t dare to demonstrate it in front of so many competitors if it were fake.”

“Yes, 1700°C, 1000 hours. Our latest ceramic matrix composite can only operate at 1550°C for 500 hours.”

“We must cooperate. If we let Pratt & Whitney or GE get the technology first, Rolls-Royce will be at a distinct disadvantage in the next generation of engine competition.”

There was a long silence on the other end of the line, followed by instructions: “You can promise any reasonable conditions for authorization. If Xinghuo requests joint research and development, that can also be discussed. The bottom line is: do not let them become our competitors.”

William gave a bitter smile.

Bottom line? I’m afraid Xinghuo is the one setting the bottom line now.

On stage, Wu Yi gave everyone a few minutes to digest the information, then continued.

“The application of CMC is not limited to aviation,” he pulled up a new image, “It can also be used in: Thermal protection systems for hypersonic vehicles; Cladding materials for nuclear reactors; High-temperature reactors in the chemical industry; And even, the first-wall material for the next generation of fusion reactors.”

Every time he mentioned an application, the expressions of the industry representatives in the audience changed.

This was no longer just a material; it was a key capable of opening countless technological doors.

The third bomb: Graphene-reinforced composites.

When the third part began, Wu Yi did not explain directly; instead, he had staff push out a bicycle.

A silvery-white frame, streamlined design, so slender it looked like it would snap at a touch.

“This bike looks like a carbon fiber bicycle, but it’s actually not,” Wu Yi patted the frame, “The main body of the frame is a special engineering plastic, but it has graphene sheets arranged in a specific orientation added inside.”

The big screen showed the microstructure of the material: graphene sheets forming a three-dimensional network within the resin matrix, like steel reinforcement in concrete.

“Graphene, a two-dimensional material composed of a single layer of carbon atoms, has a theoretical strength 200 times that of steel and a thermal conductivity 10 times that of copper,” Wu Yi said, “But how to manifest the advantages of graphene in macro-materials has always been a global challenge.”

He pointed to the bicycle: “We solved three problems: First, the efficient exfoliation and dispersion of graphene; Second, the control of directional alignment in the composite material; Third, the optimization of interfacial bonding strength.”

An engineer weighing 90 kilograms walked onto the stage and got on the bicycle.

“The total frame weight is 1.4 kilograms,” Wu Yi said, “But the load-bearing capacity exceeds 200 kilograms.”

The engineer began to perform actions: standing while riding, jumping slightly.

The frame did not move at all.

“This is just a small demonstration,” Wu Yi pulled up a performance comparison table:

Graphene-reinforced composite vs. Traditional carbon fiber composite

Tensile strength: +180%

Flexural modulus: +150%

Impact toughness: +220%

Thermal conductivity: +1000 times

Cost: Only 30% higher

In the audience, Karl Schmidt of BASF adjusted his glasses and quickly calculated on his tablet.

He was a materials expert; he knew exactly what these numbers meant.

If Xinghuo had truly achieved the efficient application of graphene, the global composite materials market would be reshuffled. From sports equipment to automotive parts, from electronic packaging to aerospace, this material had disruptive potential.

But Wu Yi’s next words made everyone’s calculations meaningless.

“Based on this technology, we have already reached strategic cooperation agreements with three Huaxia companies.”

Three logos appeared on the big screen: Huawei, Xiaomi, Huaxing.

“In the first quarter of next year, the world’s first ‘Graphene Full-Area Cooling Mobile Phone’ will be launched simultaneously,” Wu Yi released a rendering, “The phone’s middle frame, motherboard substrate, and battery backplane all use our graphene composite material. Actual tests show that when playing large games like ‘Genshin Impact’, the surface temperature of the phone will not exceed 40°C—15-20°C lower than existing flagship phones.”

He paused and added: “At the same time, the improvement in heat dissipation efficiency allows the chip to maintain high-frequency operation for a long time, making game frame rates more stable. Moreover, the material itself is lightweight, so the phone weight can be reduced by 10%.”

In the audience, the representative from Samsung Electronics stood up directly.

He was the head of the materials department for Samsung mobile phones and knew too well the importance of heat dissipation for 5G phones. If Huawei and Xiaomi had really solved the heat dissipation problem, Samsung’s advantage in the high-end market would be wiped out.

“Contact the Seoul headquarters,” he said to his assistant, his voice trembling slightly, “Request an emergency technical meeting. Also, investigate the patent layout of Xinghuo’s graphene material immediately to see if there is any possibility of licensing.”

The assistant smiled bitterly: “Minister Li, we tried to contact Spark Materials before, but they replied saying... they are not considering cooperation with Korean companies for the time being.”

“Why?”

“They said that Samsung implements a technical blockade against Huaxia companies in the OLED screen field, so they will also adopt a reciprocal strategy in the materials field.”

The Samsung representative’s face turned livid.

This was the cruelty of the tech war: if you put a stranglehold on others today, they will put a stranglehold on you tomorrow.

And only when you are being strangled do you realize that the other party’s pliers are even harder.