Because Grynberg's work often required him to interact with R&D personnel, he knew how these people talked and did things.
The more capable someone was, the more they hated being glib.
Therefore, when he introduced himself, he didn't beat around the bush. He directly told Lu Zhou that he was the CEO of Umicore. After he handed over his business card, he explained his purpose.
"I'll get straight to the point. Does Professor Lu have any plans to sell the patent?"
"No."
Grynberg, who had just organized his thoughts in his mind, nearly choked on Lu Zhou's words.
He coughed twice to hide his embarrassment. He then tried to convince Lu Zhou, "Are you not going to ask for a price? What if our offer can satisfy you? "
"There's no point talking about this right now." Lu Zhou gently put down the knife and fork in his hand. He then said in a relaxed tone, "How high can you offer? 10 billion or 20 billion? Lithium battery technology has just started, and no one knows how big the market for anode materials will be. Even if I wanted to sell the modified PDMS film patent, I wouldn't sell it now. "
Ten billion was obviously impossible, and Lu Zhou was just making a random offer.
Maybe the lithium-sulfur batteries lying in the laboratory were worth this price, but the lithium anode material was definitely not worth this price.
After all, the global production value of the anode material for lithium-ion batteries was only around US $10 billion, and this was because graphite was expensive.
When Grynberg heard Lu Zhou's words, he couldn't help but feel a headache coming on.
Lu Zhou's attitude clearly showed that he wasn't interested in talking to him about selling.
However, it wouldn't be like him to just give up like this.
"But have you thought about the substitutability?" Grynberg pretended to smile and said, "We all know that technology is developing very fast. Maybe in a few years, other materials with more potential will appear. Are you sure your patent will be able to sell for a higher price?"
However, Lu Zhou only smiled at Grynberg's description and didn't show any concerns.
"I'm willing to take this risk."
Grynberg: "…"
Seeing how this Belgian guy didn't say anything, Lu Zhou didn't say anything and started to peel the lobster.
What a joke.
Don't you know how much money the industry has invested in lithium anodes?
Even after spending so much money over the past few decades, this problem still couldn't be solved. Who knows, after the funding was cut, which research institute would find another way to solve this problem?
It wasn't impossible, but it was negligible.
Seeing that Lu Zhou had no intention of compromising, Grynberg sighed.
"Alright, let's not talk about the acquisition for now. How much are you going to pay to license the patent?"
Hearing this question, Lu Zhou finally showed a satisfied smile.
He had been waiting for this sentence.
In fact, he had been thinking about this problem since two months ago. He even did some research on the lithium battery market.
The estimated global demand for lithium anode materials in 2016 was 138,000 tons. Based on the current statistics, this year's actual demand should be in line with expectations.
Although this data corresponded to graphite materials and couldn't be directly converted to lithium anode materials, it was still a reference.
After all, with the advantages of lithium anode materials in terms of cost and performance, and the safety issues had been properly resolved, the industry would eliminate graphite anodes much faster than he had imagined.
For Lu Zhou, the most profitable way to cooperate was to charge a certain percentage of the cost of each ton of materials.
Considering the increase in demand, he would be able to enjoy an annual salary of hundreds of millions of US dollars with this patent in five years.
However, the problem was that the system's mission did not wait for him.
If Lu Zhou used this licensing method, he would have to rely on his US $400,000 annual salary from Princeton to increase his net worth this year.
Therefore, he thought of a compromise.
Not only could he ensure a considerable short-term income, but he could also ensure long-term benefits.
Lu Zhou paused for a second before he made his proposal.
"I am willing to grant you the rights to use the modified PDMS film patent for three years for the global market outside of China at a price of US $200 million.
"During the three-year period, you will enjoy an exclusive patent license in the global market outside of China. I will not grant additional licenses to third parties. In exchange, you will have to give me 50% of the direct or indirect income from the second license, and you will also have to bear all the corresponding legal obligations and responsibilities. "
When Grynberg heard the US $200 million price, he was a bit unconvinced.
However, when he heard Lu Zhou's words, there was a flash of surprise in his eyes, or rather, a look of excitement.
In principle, the patent itself was exclusive and monopolistic. However, in the current laws of various countries, the interpretation of the exclusive right of intellectual property was not unlimited.
In theory, even if Umicore bought the lithium anode material patent for a sky-high price that Lu Zhou could not refuse, it would not be able to monopolize the production of the product for 20 years and exclude other companies.
In addition to the "Patent Law", each country had its own "Anti-Monopoly Law", which clearly defined the abuse of intellectual property.
Simply put, if a certain patent was "irreplaceability", which led to a company's market share in a certain region constituting a monopoly, the company may face anti-monopoly investigations.
If the lithium anode material overwhelmingly replaced the graphite anode, before a similar lithium anode material appeared, the modified PDMS film technology would undoubtedly meet the "irreplaceability" requirement.
For this type of patent, such as refusal of licensing, price discrimination, and sky-high licensing fees, all of which could constitute a monopoly would violate anti-monopoly regulations.
As for where the boundaries of the law were, it required case studies based on various factors. At the same time, it also required an excellent team of lawyers to cooperate with the company's executives.
With Lu Zhou's current abilities, he definitely could not do this.
However, Umicore was different.
This multinational chemical giant was much more familiar with the rules than Lu Zhou.
Even if it was for its own interests, it would definitely increase the patent licensing fees as much as possible within the legal limits and expand its advantage in the anode material market.
In these three years, Lu Zhou could continue to receive a considerable amount of patent licensing fees, and Umicore could obtain the market competitiveness it wanted.
In this regard, the interests of both parties were the same.
Grynberg perfectly hid the trace of excitement that flashed through his pupils. He hesitated for a moment before speaking.
"Three years is too short. If it's five years, I can accept your proposal. You know, we only spent US $10 million to obtain the LFP material license from the Clariant Group … "
"There's no comparison," Lu Zhou smiled and shook his head. He said, "The LFP material is just a kind of anode material with a cost advantage. Don't think I don't know that the US $10 million you mentioned is just the entry requirement. For every ton of LFP material you produce, you have to pay US $2,000 to the Clariant Group subsidiary. "
Grynberg's expression did not change at all.
As if he had made a decision, he stared at Lu Zhou and said two words.
"Four hundred million!"
When Lu Zhou heard this number, his heart skipped a beat.
US $400 million!
For him, this wasn't just a matter of money; he had 400,000 experience points …
To be honest, he was tempted.
Lu Zhou took a deep breath and slowly spoke.
"Four years at most, this is my bottom line. After four years, if we have a good relationship, I will consider renewing the contract with you at a new price. Or, I believe that Nichia and 3M will be very interested in the same contract. "
The last sentence seemed to have a decisive effect.
Grynberg originally wanted to fight for it, but he didn't have much bargaining chips. After all, Lu Zhou was not restricted by research funding, and he was a well-known scholar in the academic community.
Especially when he thought about how Nichia might be able to offer a higher price, a lot of thoughts flashed through his mind. In the end, he loosened his shoulders and reluctantly made a concession.
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