Northwestern Polytechnical University (NPU)-Chongqing Innovation Center, an research and development institute of the Double First-Class university, was opened in Chongqing Liangjiang Collaborative Innovation Zone on April 7.

The innovation center now has the precision casting platform for high-performance structural metallic materials, the platform for the residual stress test of aerospace key and important parts, the calibration platform for hot-machining numerical simulation, and the platform for lightweight structure precision plastic forming.

Su Haijun, Vice Dean of NPU School of Materials Science and Engineering, said, "The innovation center is to transform the achievements in scientific research on high-performance titanium alloys, high-performance precision castings, titanium alloy castings, and other aerospace precision castings and forgings, based on the School of Materials Science and Engineering, NPU."

"We will introduce more scientific research achievements in the pilot phase to the Chongqing Liangjiang Collaborative Innovation Zone," said Su. "This is to serve the scientific and technological innovation in Chongqing and build a 'landmark' of NPU in this field."

The innovation center is expected to welcome the special joining platform for aerospace difficult-to-deform materials, the platform for high purity smelting and powder preparation, the platform for design and development of high-end intelligent manufacturing equipment, the platform for materials genome engineering-based new material development, etc.

In terms of achievement transferring and transformation, the innovation center has incubated the project to industrialize precision casting of large and complicated thin-walled structural parts made of titanium alloys and founded three companies, including Chongqing Lianghang Metallic Material and Sanhang Advanced Materials.

They are estimated to become the leading companies in China in this field by 2025 and achieve sales of 1 billion to 1.5 billion yuan by 2030, with over 300 million yuan (about 45.8 million U.S. dollars) of profit.

"Next, we will step up efforts to help the innovation center's team settle down and improve the center's functions," said the relevant person in charge of Chongqing Liangjiang Collaborative Innovation Zone Construction, Development, and Investment Company. "Based on the existing scientific research platforms and industrial bases, we are going to develop, transform, and apply the scientific research achievements."

He continued, the innovation center will grow into an emerging aerospace material and high-end new material-based industrial base. It has signed agreements with 35 universities and research institutes. Furthermore, the BIT-Chongqing innovation center and the joint industrial incubation base will be expected to be established, and there are more universities to settle down here in 2021.