Asian Metal: Hello, Ms. Chang, thank you for joinging the interview by Asian Metal. Please give us a brief introduction of Xinhengtai.

Ms. Chang: Huludao Xinhengtai Environmental Protection Technology Co. was established in December 2017, located in Nanpiao Recycling Industrial Park, Huludao City, Liaoning Province, with a registered capital of RMB50 million. The company invested about RMB200 million to build two production lines of comprehensive utilization of spent catalyst. The business scope includes harmless treatment and comprehensive utilization of rare metal spent catalyst. The main raw materials include HW46 nickel-containing waste and HW50 spent catalyst. With an annual processing capacity of 30,000t, our company’s main product is high purity ammonium metavanadate, and the by-products include molybdic acid and nickel sulfate heptahydrate. The production capacity of high purity ammonium metavanadate keeps at 2,000tpy. Our company obtained the Dangerous Waste Operation License of Liaoning Province (Temporary License) in November 2020, and replaced it with a formal license valid for 5 years in June this year. At present, the company stays in the trial production stage, the monthly production of ammonium metavanadate folding V2O5 keeps at about 60t, and we are gradually increasing to 100tpm target. Our business keeps on the right track and in a stable rising period.

Asian Metal: As a professional spent vanadium catalyst recovery and reuse enterprise, what is the biggest competitive advantage of your ammonium metavanadate production technology and product quality?

Ms. Chang: Our company adopts the most advanced solvent extraction and ion exchange technology at present to realize the recovery and reuse of spent catalyst, and the production technology could reach 100% green and zero pollution. The product quality could reach the leading level in China, and the purity of ammonium metavanadate keeps at around 99.2%, which belongs to high purity grade. In normal, producers could only reach 97.5-98.0% purity by conventional production process. Our product quality could meet all vanadium metallurgical users and the vast majority of vanadium chemical users of raw material procurement requirements.

Asian Metal: What are the main applications of high purity ammonium metanovanadate? How do you expect the market demand tendency of this product?

Ms. Chang: At present, high purity ammonium metanovanadate is mainly used in chemical industry because of the higher added value. Vanadium chemical enterprises purchase high purity ammonium metanovanadate to produce catalyst, high purity V2O5, vanadium electrolyte and so on. These enterprises are also our target customers. At the moment, the demand for high purity ammonium metavanadate in vanadium chemical market is relatively stable, but with the gradual commercial application of vanadium energy storage projects everywhere, the demand for high purity ammonium metavanadate would usher in strong development. Under the active promotion of national industrial policy, the development prospect of high purity ammonium metanovanadate market would be very optimistic.

Asian Metal: Now, major vanadium enterprises around the world are actively distributing vanadium energy storage projects. What do you think of the demand promotion of high purity ammonium metavanadate in vanadium energy storage industry?

Ms. Chang: Vanadium energy storage is a new industry, which is different from the traditional vanadium for steel making. Energy storage has become an important technology and basic equipment to support the new power system with the continuous progress of carbon neutrality. In energy storage technology applications, vanadium redox battery development is rapidly growing due to its outstanding advantages of high safety, long service life, recyclability of vanadium electrolyte, zero attenuation of battery, fast response speed and deep discharge, and is expected to become the preferred technology for safe, long-term and large-scale energy storage. The vigorous development of vanadium energy storage projects would become the key field of high purity metavanadate ammonium market demand increment in the future.

Asian Metal: Xinhengtai uses spent vanadium catalyst as raw material. However, this material is prohibited to export or import in China. Is there any restriction in domestic market transportation?

Ms. Chang: Yes. Spent vanadium catalyst belongs to solid waste, and there are strict control standards for the disposal, especially hazardous waste, which is the focus of environmental inspection. We need to apply for a special operating license and to use a special vehicle to transport. At present, cross-provincial transportation is still OK in China, but with the increasingly severe environmental protection, the subsequent circulation threshold would be raised accordingly, which would raise the requirements for new enterprises, so that the vanadium extraction industry from spent vanadium catalyst like us could develop step by step and healthily.

Asian Metal: The petrochemical industry would produce a large number of waste vanadium catalyst, and its potential market value is increasingly valued. How do you see the market application prospect of vanadium extracted from waste vanadium catalyst？

Ms. Chang: Recovering vanadium from waste vanadium catalyst is as important as extracting vanadium from primary minerals. There are huge business opportunities in the broad market prospect. So our company invested large sums of money in the construction of the world's most advanced production line and actively developed the spent vanadium catalyst vanadium extraction industry. We hope to establish a deep cooperative relationship with all spent vanadium catalyst suppliers and vanadium chemical enterprises, and to jointly create a first-class high purity ammonium metavanadat production and marketing chain.

Asian Metal: Whether from the demand side or the supply side, the market development prospect of high purity ammonium metavanadate is relatively optimistic. What is your company's market development strategy for the next three years?

Ms. Chang: Our company just obtained the formal production and operation license, and we would enter the large-scale production period. In the next three years, relying on the existing new production equipment and pollution-free production technology, our main development goal is to expand raw material procurement channels, to stabilize the output of high-quality products, and to expand the market influence.

Asian Metal: Thank you for your wonderful sharing, wish Xinhengtai great development and prosperity.

Ms. Chang: Thank you for the professional information platform provided by Asian Metal.