Lithium-sulfur batteries were also being researched abroad, and they had been around for a long time.
To make an inappropriate but vivid analogy, if the human civilization still needed to unlock 10 technical problems to light up this technology tree, and these 10 technical problems could give birth to 100 patents, then foreign research institutions might have already established 30 to 40 patents, or even more.
Under the WTO framework, once a company formed a patent barrier in a certain field, it would be in an absolute advantage for other companies.
For example, in the field of chips, Qualcomm had successfully become the father of other 3C manufacturers. Even if Qualcomm asked you to publicly license your own patents, there was nothing you could do.
This was because the game was based on the fact that both parties were equal in strength. If the two parties were not equal in strength, then the game would not exist.
If the company was a country, this law would also apply. The only difference was that the market share changed to trade surplus and dependence.
When Lu Zhou heard Old Lu's request, he paused for a second. After thinking for a moment, he cautiously replied, "Although I really want to help you, I only do some research on anode materials. I don't know much about lithium batteries, so I'm afraid it won't be useful."
It was not that he was hiding his knowledge, he was telling the truth.
Although the modified PDMS film solved the most troublesome problem of lithium dendrites, the technical difficulties of lithium-sulfur batteries were not all on the lithium anode material.
For example, the first problem was the poor electrode cycling performance.
When the sulfur cathode was discharged, it did not directly produce lithium sulfide. Instead, it was gradually reduced, accompanied by the formation of lithium polysulfide intermediate products. The lithium polysulfide would dissolve in most electrolytes, causing dissolution and loss. The dissolved lithium polysulfide would diffuse to the cathode, then oxidize at the cathode.
This phenomenon would eventually cause the cathode material and cathode material to stick together. Although it would not necessarily cause a safety problem, it would make the entire battery non-recyclable.
This was the "shuttle effect" that Professor Sarrot used against Professor Kerr at the MRS Conference.
If they wanted to solve this problem, they could start from the cathode material or the electrolyte. Although there were many choices, it was not easy to solve.
Lu Zhou used the scanner gun to analyze half of the blueprint from the wreckage. There was a high probability that it was a lithium-air battery that was far beyond the current level of technology.
Although lithium-air batteries also used lithium as the negative electrode, they didn't use sulfur as the positive electrode. They didn't even know if there was an electrolyte, so there was naturally no need to consider the "shuttle effect".
"Of course, this burden will not be placed on you alone." Old Lu said with a smile, "This time, more than 20 national scientific research units, such as the Institute of Physical and Chemical Technology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and the Nanoscience Research Center, will participate in the project team to focus on the technical difficulties in the field of new energy. Lithium-sulfur batteries are an important part of our new energy strategy. Apart from you, all the major research institutes have their own research groups to tackle this problem! "
"Speaking of experts in the field of lithium batteries, the professors in our expert group unanimously recommended you as the most suitable candidate. We're not asking you to change your research plan. We just hope that if you have a new research plan, you can prioritize lithium-sulfur batteries. Regardless of whether you want manpower or money, we will do our best to satisfy your conditions! "
When Lu Zhou heard this, he couldn't help but be speechless.
Originally, he thought that Old Lu was only talking about ordinary support policies. He didn't expect the higher-ups to treat this as a major national project.
If the former was just an empty supply for the scientific researchers fighting on the front lines, then the latter was equivalent to organizing a "group army" composed of all levels of research units to fight a large-scale battle in the field of new energy.
Outsiders might not be able to immediately feel the impact, but for industry insiders, this wasn't an ordinary amount of money.
For Lu Zhou, this was of course a good thing. Old Lu's statement was very clear. Outside of research, they could provide him with the greatest degree of benefits.
Even though he didn't lack money, the support from the policy side could save him a lot of trouble.
Lu Zhou smiled and nodded at Old Lu's proposal.
"If that's the case, of course I'm fine with it!"
…
After confirming the intention of cooperation, the next step was to discuss the specific content of the cooperation.
Old Lu's proposal was to build a materials science research institute in the new high-tech industrial park in Jinling, focusing on the research and development of lithium-sulfur batteries. At the same time, the state would provide a five-year tax exemption, a three-year subsidy for new energy research, and other preferential policies.
As for research funding, the state would subsidize part of it, and the rest would be paid by the company.
At the same time, Jin Ling University could send professionals to Lu Zhou's laboratory.
Just like physics, materials science was one of Jin Ling University's strengths. In the field of organic and nanomaterials, Jin Ling University was at the forefront of the world.
Lu Zhou was very satisfied with Old Lu's conditions.
However, these weren't the key points.
What he cared about the most was the research results.
This was also the issue that any researcher would care about.
If it was a natural science research, it would be fine. There weren't many stakes involved, and any research results would benefit all of humanity. However, if it was an engineering research, then not only would it benefit all of humanity, but it would also benefit specific organizations and individuals.
The most concrete embodiment of this was patents.
As for Lu Zhou's question, Old Lu thought for a moment and cautiously replied, "I'm not an entrepreneur, so I can't give you a specific distribution plan. However, I can promise you that the results of your research on lithium-sulfur batteries will be guaranteed by the state, and it will account for at least 30% of the company's cooperation. "
Under normal circumstances, the state would pay for a longitudinal research project. The state didn't care about profits and losses, and in principle, they wouldn't allow you to use the state's money to enrich yourself.
Most of the research results from a company's research project would be taken by the company. Even if a small number of big names could negotiate with the company, they would never be able to get a 30% share.
This was because scientific research was like gambling. The investment was a bottomless pit. The company also had to bear a considerable amount of risk. Researchers could only get a 10% share, but that was because they had to pay for the risk themselves.
As for the situation overseas, there was an American TV series called "The Big Bang Theory" that mentioned this topic. In American universities, the research results from the university usually only went to the professors and 75% to the university.
Research projects that were funded by companies would require more research results.
In contrast, Old Lu's conditions were quite generous. It could even be said that he was using his administrative power to interfere with the market and force companies to make concessions.
However, Lu Zhou didn't lack money, and he was confident that he could definitely produce results.
After he heard about the distribution ratio, even though he knew that Old Lu had good intentions, he still politely declined.
"I don't need company investment, I can fund it myself."
When Old Lu heard Lu Zhou's request, he laughed heartily.
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