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1. The scale of industry is expanding, and regional differences are becoming increasingly obvious.In 2010, the scale of the global new materials market exceeded US $400 billion, and by 2016 it was close to US $2.15 trillion, with an average annual growth rate of more than 10%. Although the global economy has not got rid of the downturn since 2012, the development of the new material industry has not been significantly affected, maintaining a steady and rising trend of sustained development. With the rapid growth of the global high-tech industry and the continuous upgrading of the manufacturing industry, as well as the continuous promotion of sustainable development, the demand for new materials will be more exuberant, the products, technologies and models of new materials will be constantly updated and iterated, the market will be broader, and the industry will continue to grow rapidly.

 

The regional gap in the development of the global new material industry is becoming more and more obvious. For a long time, the main body of innovation in the new material industry is the United States, Japan, Europe and other developed countries and regions, which have the vast majority of large multinational companies, occupying an absolute advantage in economic strength, core technology, research and development capabilities, market share and other aspects, occupying a monopoly position in the global market. Among them, the leading country is the United States. Japan's advantages are in the fields of nanomaterials and electronic information materials, while Europe has obvious advantages in structural materials, optical and optoelectronic materials. China, South Korea and Russia are closely followed and currently belong to the second echelon of the world. China has comparative advantages in semiconductor lighting, rare earth permanent magnet materials, artificial crystal materials, South Korea in display materials, storage materials, and Russia in aerospace materials. Except for a few countries such as Brazil and India, the new materials industry in most developing countries is relatively backward. From the perspective of the new material market, North America and Europe have the world's largest new material market, and the market is relatively mature, while in the Asia-Pacific region, especially China, the new material market is in a stage of rapid development. From a macro perspective, the focus of the global new materials market is gradually shifting to the Asian region. With the advent of a new round of scientific and technological revolution and industrial changes, the allocation of global technological factors and market factors will undergo profound changes, and regional differences will be further intensified.

 

In the past 15 years, the new material industry in various countries in the world has expanded rapidly and grown rapidly, and has shown the characteristics of specialization, compounding, refinement, intelligence and greening. Affected by the weakness of the global economy, the growth rate of China's new material industry has slowed down, but it still maintains a growth trend. In 2017, the total output value of China's new material industry reached 3.1 trillion yuan, resulting in a number of comprehensive leading enterprises with strong innovation ability, core competitiveness and new material sales revenue of more than 10 billion yuan, and cultivated a number of professional backbone enterprises with new material sales revenue of more than 1 billion yuan, A number of new material industry clusters and characteristic industrial clusters with outstanding main businesses, complete industrial facilities, and an annual output value of more than 30 billion yuan have been built.

 

2. To intensive, cluster development, high-end material monopoly intensified.With the acceleration of the process of global economic integration, intensification, clustering and high efficiency have become the outstanding characteristics of the development of new materials industry, and China's new materials industry is also moving towards this trend. The new material industry is expanding horizontally and vertically, the upstream and downstream industries are becoming more and more closely linked, the industrial chain is becoming more and more perfect, and the multi-disciplinary and multi-sectoral combination is further strengthened, forming a new industrial strategic alliance, which is conducive to the integration of product development and application expansion, but also formed an oligopoly. Some world-famous material enterprises have formed strategic partners to carry out global cooperation, through mergers and acquisitions, restructuring and industrial ecosystem construction, the overall control of the global new material industry advantage pattern. For example, the world's major producers of new materials, such as Alcoa, DuPont, Bayer, GE Plastics, Dow Chemical, Teijin of Japan, TORAY of Japan, LG of South Korea and other large multinational companies, accelerate the monopoly of the global new material industry, and maintain a dominant position in the market of new material products with high technology content and high added value.

 

3. Accelerate cross-integration innovation and accelerate the transformation of research and development models.Breakthroughs in basic disciplines, interdisciplinary and multi-technology integration have rapidly promoted the creation of new materials, the discovery of new functions and the improvement of the performance of traditional materials, and the research and development of new materials is increasingly dependent on multi-professional collaborative innovation. It is worth noting that in view of the limitations of the existing research and development ideas and methods (performance, cycle, resources), the material genome project is developing rapidly based on the support of high-throughput calculation, high-throughput preparation, high-throughput characterization, database and big data and the relationship between material composition, atomic arrangement, microstructure, material properties, environmental parameters and service life, it will promote major changes in the research and development, design, manufacturing and application of new materials, greatly reduce the research and development cycle and cost of new materials, and accelerate the exploration and discovery of cutting-edge materials, realize new functions of materials, and accelerate the innovation process of new materials.

 

4. The whole life cycle of green, efficient use of resources and energy.All countries in the world actively combine the development of new materials with green development, attach great importance to the coordinated development of new materials and resources, environment and energy, and vigorously promote the development and application of new materials closely related to green development. For example, Europe initiated the full life cycle technology of materials, reducing the energy consumption per unit yield and environmental load requirements of steel, nonferrous metals, cement and other bulk basic materials by more than 20%; for the research and development and production of new energy materials, environmental protection and energy-saving materials, etc., we attach great importance to low consumption, low cost, less pollution and comprehensive utilization from production to use of the whole life cycle.

 

Relevant Policies of New Material Industry in Major Countries and Regions of the World

 

In view of the strategic and fundamental role of materials, new material technology has become one of the hot spots of competition among countries. To this end, major countries around the world have formulated corresponding new material development strategies and research plans.

 

1. U. S.-National Manufacturing Innovation Network Strategic Plan, Materials Genome Project, etc.The United States is the world's leading position in science and technology thanks to its long-term attention and continuous support for new materials research. For a long time, the leading direction of scientific research in the United States is to serve the national defense field, so the research and development of materials are mainly concentrated in the fields of national defense and nuclear energy, which makes the application of related materials in the aerospace, computer and information technology industries of the United States develop rapidly. In 1991, the United States proposed to improve the quality of life, strengthen national security, increase industrial productivity, and promote economic growth by improving material manufacturing methods and improving material properties. Since then, U.S. science and technology policy has been adjusted to military-civilian integration. In the first published U.S. National Key Technology Report, the United States listed new materials as the top of the six areas proposed as critical to the country's economic prosperity and national security. From Clinton, George W. Bush to the Obama administration, the United States has placed the development of new materials at the height of national strategy.

 

In order to promote the development of clean energy, the US Department of Energy issued the "Critical Materials Strategy" in December 2010 to address safety issues caused by fragile production areas, supply chains, and lack of suitable alternative materials. In December 2011, a revised and upgraded version of the strategy-"2011 Key Materials Strategy" was released, focusing on supporting rare earths and other key materials used in clean energy technologies such as wind turbines, electric vehicles, solar cells, and energy-efficient lighting.

 

In June 2011, the United States announced a more than $0.5 billion "Manufacturing Partnership" program, which includes the Materials Genome Project, with the goal of enabling American companies to discover, develop, produce and apply advanced materials at twice the current rate.

 

In February 2012, the United States released the "Advanced Manufacturing National Strategic Plan" to create a federal government investment portfolio in four areas, including advanced materials, to promote the development of advanced materials. At the same time, the "National Nano Plan" was also released, which identified 8 main support areas such as nanomaterials and nanomanufacturing.

 

In 2014, the United States released the strategic plan of the Material Genome Project, which mainly includes 63 directions in 9 fields, including biological materials, catalysts, optoelectronic materials, energy storage systems, lightweight structural materials, and organic electronic materials.

 

In 2016, the United States issued the National Manufacturing Innovation Network Strategic Plan, and established the Lightweight Modern Metal Manufacturing Innovation Institute and the Composite Manufacturing Innovation Institute, focusing on the development of advanced alloys, emerging semiconductors, carbon fiber composite materials and other key material fields.

 

2. EU-Horizon 2020 Programme, European Metallurgical Programme, etc.In order to seize the emerging markets in the future, the European Commission published the document "preparing for our future: a general strategy for the development of key enabling technologies in Europe" in September 2009. Five technologies, including nanotechnology, micro (nano) electronics and semiconductors, optoelectronics, biotechnology and advanced materials, are identified as key enabling technologies (KETs). The European Commission pointed out that the technological spillover effect of KETs and its additive effect can simultaneously enhance the development of communication technology, steel, medical equipment, automobiles and aerospace, and therefore have a significant impact on the future sustainable economic development of the EU region.

 

In November 2011, the European Commission announced a 7-year, 80 billion-euro "Horizon 2020" (Horizon2020) planning proposal, proposing special support for information and communication technology, nanotechnology, microelectronics, optoelectronic technology, advanced materials, and advanced manufacturing Technology, biotechnology, space technology and cross-cutting research of these technologies.

 

In 2011, the EU launched the "Accelerated Metallurgy (ACCMET)" project under the EU's Seventh Framework Program, driven by the demand for high-performance alloy materials. In 2012, the European Science Foundation launched the "2012-2022 European Metallurgical Renaissance Plan" with a total investment of more than 2 billion euros to automate the screening, optimization and data accumulation of tens of thousands of alloy components to accelerate the discovery and application of high-performance alloys and a new generation of advanced materials.

 

Since 2013, the EU has promoted the "New Material Discovery (NoMaD)" project in the "Horizon 2020 Program", and the NoMaD database has been established to host, organize and share material data.

 

In 2014, the EU put forward the graphene flagship plan, invested 1 billion euros to support 13 directions such as graphene preparation and application, and launched the "nano science, nanotechnology/materials and new manufacturing technology" (NMP) project and the "research network plan" to accelerate the research and development of high-performance alloys and new generation materials.

 

Germany-Industry 4.0.In June 2012, Germany launched the long-term research project "Safety of Nanomaterials" to understand the possible impact of various nanomaterials on the surrounding environment, and conduct safety risk assessment of nanomaterials through quantitative methods.

 

In November 2012, Germany launched the "Raw Material Economic Strategy" scientific research project, which aims to develop special processes that can efficiently utilize and recycle raw materials, and strengthen the recycling of rare earths, indium, gallium, and platinum group metals.

 

In order to encourage various social forces to participate in the research and development of new materials, Germany has successively promulgated and implemented three plans: "Material Research MatFo" (1984-1993), "Material Technology MaTech" (up to 2003) and "Material Innovation WING for Industry and Society" (started in 2004). The WING program emphasizes close attention to the manufacturability of materials and is committed to coordinating high-level materials research across various departments.

 

In April 2013, Germany issued a white paper "Recommendations on the implementation of industrial 4.0 strategy. After that, Germany incorporated industrial 4.0 projects into the 10 future projects of the "High-tech Strategic 2020" to promote a new industrial revolution characterized by intelligent manufacturing, the Internet, new energy, new materials, and modern biology. The German business community generally believes that ensuring and expanding its leading position in material research and development is the key to its success in international competition.

 

In March 2016, Germany released the "Digital Strategy 2025" (Digital Strategy2025), which determined the steps and specific implementation measures to achieve digital transformation. The key pillar projects include industrial 3D printing.

 

4. Japan-the fifth basic plan for science and technology.In 1994, Japan adjusted its consistent pursuit of "building the country through science and technology" to "building the country through science and technology innovation". Since 1996, Japan has implemented the first "basic plan for science and technology". In the fourth phase of the "basic plan for science and technology" (2011-2015), it has specially emphasized the important position of materials and other high and new technologies in the national development strategy, and determined the important development direction of the new material industry.

 

Japan has successively launched the "Material Integration (MaterialsIntegration)" project, the "Information Integration Material Development" project (MI2I: "Materials Research by InformationIntegration" Initiative) and the "Ultra High-end Materials/Ultra High-speed Development Basic Technology Project".

 

Japan has successively launched plans such as "Element Strategy Research (2007)", "Element Strategy Research Base (2012)" and "Information Integrated Material Development for Innovative Laboratory Construction Support (2015)", which integrate new material development methods of material science and data science, and carry out huge database accumulation and big data analysis, the relevant databases mainly include the Japanese inorganic materials database, the material materials database of the Japan Material Research Agency (NIMS), and the material database of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA).

 

Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry announced the "2015 Edition Manufacturing White Paper" in 2015, in which 3D printing is its vigorous development project.

 

5. Korea-Future growth momentum plan.In June 2012, the Ministry of knowledge economy and the Ministry of education, science and technology of South Korea said that 513 billion won (about 2.82 billion yuan) would be invested to promote the "nano integration 2020 project" by 2020 ".

 

In July 2013, the South Korean government issued the third basic Plan for Science and Technology, proposing to promote the development of 120 national strategic technologies (including 30 key technologies) in five areas. among them, 30 key technologies include advanced technical materials, knowledge and information security technology, big data application technology, and so on. South Korea's future growth momentum plan focuses on supporting new generation semiconductors, nano-elastic components, ecological materials, biomaterials, high-performance structural materials, etc.

 

In 2014, the South Korean government formulated the overall plan for the development of 3D printing technology industry, and strengthened the construction of basic industrial environment such as technology development, infrastructure construction, personnel training, and improvement of legal system. In 2016, on the basis of the original policies and promotion work, in order to improve the competitiveness of South Korea's industry, South Korea formulated the Korean 3D Printing Industry Revitalization Plan (2017-2019), with the goal of making South Korea a leading country in 3D printing technology in 2019.

 

Russia-Strategy for the development of materials and technologies up to 2030.Russia has always regarded the new material related technology industry as the leading industry of national strategy and national economy. The "Materials and Technology Development Strategy by 2030" released in April 2012 lists 18 key material strategies as development directions, including smart materials, intermetallic compounds, nanomaterials and coatings, single crystal heat-resistant superalloys, niobium-containing composite materials, etc. At the same time, the development strategy for the main application areas of the new material industry has been formulated.

 

The Russian Academy of Sciences issued the "Science and Technology Development Forecast to 2030" in 2015, which mainly includes seven priority development directions of science and technology, namely, information and communication technology, biotechnology, medical care and security, new materials and nanotechnology, rational utilization of natural resources, transportation and aerospace systems, energy efficiency and energy conservation, etc.

 

It can be seen that the relevant policies of the new material industry in major countries and regions in the world emphasize the common focus of three aspects while highlighting their respective characteristics and advantageous development areas. First, attach great importance to technology research and development. The U.S. "National Strategic Plan for Advanced Manufacturing" takes increasing investment in research and development as an important goal, and encourages research and development by strengthening and perpetuating research and testing tax relief. Germany's "Industrial 4.0" strategy pays special attention to the intelligent transformation of manufacturing industry, studying intelligent production processes, integrating logistics resources, and improving the efficiency of resource suppliers with the help of networks, so as to realize the horizontal integration of inter-enterprise value chains and the vertical integration of networked manufacturing systems. Second, attach great importance to personnel training. It is mentioned in the measures of "revitalizing the manufacturing industry" launched by the Japanese government that a large number of manufacturing talents should be trained. The government will fund talents with special technologies as experts to train front-line technicians and manufacturing workers, so as to realize the inheritance of production know-how and traditional manufacturing skills. The European Union's "Horizon 2020 Plan" also emphasizes the development plan in the field of innovative training; one of the important goals of the "National Strategic Plan for Advanced Manufacturing" in the United States is to improve the skills of the labor force, and thus propose to update the manufacturing labor force in a timely manner, strengthen the training of advanced manufacturing workers, provide vocational education for future workers, and support new manufacturing apprenticeship programs And other specific measures. The third is to attach great importance to cooperation and integration. The Japanese government has set up a "conference on exchange and cooperation between different industries" to promote the mutual penetration and integration of different manufacturing industries, so as to create new markets and fields; the "national strategic plan for advanced manufacturing" of the United States proposes to establish and improve partnerships, encourage the participation of small and medium-sized enterprises, enhance the "industrial commons" by supporting cross sectoral partnerships, and coordinate strategic planning and risk sharing within clusters by creating regional clusters.