In the 1,500-square-meter standard clean workshop of Lanrui Optoelectronics (Zhenjiang) Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Lanrui Optoelectronics"), "fully armed" staff are making final equipment adjustments for the afternoon test. The upper and lower floors of the workshop are Coating production line for EC (Electrochromics) films.

According to Lanrui Optoelectronics CEO Zhou Yan, such a single roll-to-roll fully automatic production line can complete 500 square meters of finished products every three hours, with an annual output of up to 1 million square meters.

Lanrui OptoelectronicsECFilm coating production workshop

At the beginning of this year, Lanrui Optoelectronics won the appointment of a certain first-line OEM. Now it has reached the final testing stage, and the delivery of tens of thousands of units has been included in the plan.

Lanrui Optoelectronics is mainly engaged in the research, development and production of organic flexible intelligent electrochromic films.By combining organic electrochromic films with traditional glass, intelligent adjustment of glass color and light transmittance is achieved.

This black base EC film can be concealed in the dark state99.5%的可见光，以及99%The above infrared and ultraviolet rays are retained in the bright state at the same time20%的光线透过，且车内外可实现5度Twenty percent of the light passes through, and a temperature difference of 5 degrees between the inside and outside of the car can be achieved. The most intuitive feeling is that you can look directly at the sun while sitting in the car. When the sun is sufficient, it can not only ensure the visibility inside the car, but also effectively manage light and heat.

Lightspeed Photosynthesis completed the Series B lead investment in Lanrui Optoelectronics in 2023.

Zhu Jia, partner of Lightspeed Photosynthesis, said, “电致变色是快速增长且潜在空间巨大的赛道，正在逐步成为中高端新能源汽车的标配，单车价值量超过千元。The team of Lanrui Optoelectronics has rich experience in materials and device design, and is the global leader in EC technology routes. In addition, CEO Zhou Yan is a gold medalist in the International Olympiad, a bachelor's degree from Peking University, and a postdoctoral fellow from Stanford. He is very determined to start a business and moved his family back to China from the United States in order to start a business. The current progress of the company has exceeded our expectations. After leading the last round of investment, we will plan to make additional investments. "

At present, electrochromism has become the technical route used by canopy glass manufacturers and vehicle manufacturers in panoramic canopy glass, and is becoming one of the trends in lightweighting and intelligence of new energy vehicles.

According to Allied Market Research data, the market size of the global electrochromic glass industry will reach 30 billion yuan in 2027, with an expected compound annual growth rate of 17.2%.

      Pathfinding for Organic Polymer Electrochromism

Since college, Zhou Yan has been deeply involved in the field of organic materials. With many research projects in the laboratory, he began to think about how to transform the technology into actual production.

"In the field of organic functional materials, it is difficult to see product technologies that can be transformed into practical applications, so we wanted to look for application solutions in organic semiconductors." Zhou Yan recalled, "At that time, we looked for several directions in organic semiconductors, but None of them are practical. OLED is already a mature industry and cannot be turned around without tens of billions; organic solar cells have big problems in terms of efficiency and material life, and there is still a certain distance from the market..."

Coincidentally, Zhou Yan's department moved to a new building with an all-glass exterior. Although it looked beautiful on the outside, it was very hot and sunny inside. Zhou Yan and his colleagues began to think about whether there was a technology that could achieve what they saw in the movie. The scene changes color with one click, changing the entire building from full light to full darkness.

Zhou Yan thought of the electrochromism of organic semiconductors. "This technical barrier is high, the cost is controllable, and the material requirements are lower than those of solar cells. The most important thing is that the market for this technology is clear, the technical materials have a good entry point, and it is my specialty."

调光前后对比图

Normally, glass is transparent, allowing the inside of it to achieve lighting functions through the penetration of visible light. However, sometimes in order to avoid personal harm caused by strong sunlight and ultraviolet rays, certain technical means are used to coat the glass to reduce the effect of solar radiation.

Loading electrochromic technology on the coating layer allows the material to undergo an oxidation-reduction reaction under the action of electric current to achieve changes in transparency, ensuring maximum permeability while solving the problems of sun protection and heat insulation. Ultimately,Let the glass achieve the effect of freely adjusting the brightness.

In the hot summer of 2015, Zhou Yan and his partners started their entrepreneurial journey.

Three months later, the company successfully received seed round investment, and soon achieved preliminary results. It was recognized by Viracon, one of the largest high-end architectural glass manufacturers in the United States, and truly began to explore the practical application of thin film. application.

      Work slowly and carefully, and pass the vehicle-level test

However, things are far from simple.

Zhou Yan clearly remembers that customer feedback taught him a new lesson: the glass industry is a traditional industry, and cost-effectiveness is the first priority, followed by functionality. To achieve the function of energy-saving sunshade rather than a toy, the color must be black. , other mutated colors will not have any practical application.

“The most important point mentioned by customers at that time was that as long as the product is combined with glass, it is a piece of glass and must meet the requirements of glass.Haze, color, stability, coating uniformity and balance at different angles are all hard indicators."Zhou Yan said.

"For a piece of glass, there can be no functional problems in 10 years, failure in 20 years, appearance cannot be affected, and replacement in 50 years." After the customer listed all the requirements, Zhou Yan discovered that this was a barrier. Extremely high living.

In this way, the thin film material has gone through three iterations. The first batch turned red after being heated and aged for a long time and failed. The second batch turned yellow after being exposed to light for a long time and failed. A stable black color was not ensured until the third batch of material.

At present, the three key materials involved in Lanrui Optoelectronics' electrochromic film are completely independently developed, among whichThe black polymer material based on near-infrared absorption is currently the only long-life black material system in the industry that exceeds the requirements of industrial standards.

Zhou Yan explained, “It is not difficult to find materials that can be coated with black, but it requires low mass production costs and good performance, so a batch of materials were eliminated. In addition, it needs to have normal discoloration and be able to meet vehicle regulations. Standards require long-term high temperature, power supply, and anti-aging. There are few that can achieve this performance after screening.”

On the other hand, black covers a wide spectrum, and the combination of different structures becomes very unstable, so it is difficult to continuously ensure the output of stable black.

In addition, coating is also a big threshold. Zhou Yan explained, “At first I thought black coating had little technological content, but after looking for several domestic OEMs, they couldn’t get the effect we wanted. Black requires that the light transmittance be reduced to less than 0.5% after coating. , the darker the color, the higher the visibility to the naked eye, and it is easy to cause color difference texture defects. "

To ensure the stability of batches, it is necessary to understand and control the equipment, and at the same time establish a black depth system, all of which require time.

Zhou Yan remembers that when he started his business in 2015, there were a lot of companies developing dimming and color-changing technology, but now there are fewer and fewer peers around him.

Like constantly fighting monsters and upgrading, Zhou Yan and his team passed one level after another.

A professor from Peking University who has dealt with Zhou Yan mentioned that Zhou Yan has a deep understanding of the optical, electrical and magnetic materials industries and has his own unique insights and strategic thinking. He is very tenacious and proactive in doing things. If he believes that something is right, he will stick to it.

      Upgrading the glass industry has huge room for imagination

At present, Lanrui Optoelectronics has reached relevant cooperation with heavyweight customers such as major global automotive glass companies and domestic high-end OEMs.

"In fact, we have been in contact with these customers since 2021, and we have made multiple iterations and modifications based on their test results. We thinkCustomers' pursuit of new technologies will ultimately return to the core elements of functionality, longevity and cost-effectiveness."Zhou Yan said, "Our idea is to be close to the market's demands for materials, meet the needs of customers and the supply chain, and let the quality of the products speak for themselves. "

In his view, this year will be a starting point for the industry. With the investment in large models in the new energy field, market demand will also increase simultaneously in the next two years. "Large models have higher requirements for experience and functionality, so this will be a good penetration window." He judged.

Zhu Jia sees that electrochromism, as the underlying technology, has enough room for imagination in other fields besides automobiles, such as in markets such as architectural glass curtain walls and AR glasses.

“Intelligently adjusted electrochromic glass can selectively reflect and transmit sunlight as a building glass curtain wall. With the global trend of promoting energy conservation and emission reduction, the demand for electrochromic glass in the construction field is bound to surge., the key is cost and reliability. I believe that Lanrui Optoelectronics' products will appear in more industry applications in the near future after being tempered by the automotive industry. "Zhu Jia said.

Zhou Yan remembered that as early as 2012, Corning (Corning is a global leader in special glass and ceramic materials) mentioned smart glass in a promotional video in Hollywood. Large-area dimming is an important link, so that each piece of glass can be dimmed, integrate solar cells, have functional displays, and experience comfortable intelligence.

“I hope that through such an electrochromic or intelligent dimming film technology,Grow together with the glass industry and complete another technological upgrade and innovation in the glass industry after float glass and Low-E glass., the scene that can be seen in the movie where the glass becomes dark and transparent with one press of a button has finally been implemented in thousands of households. "Zhou Yan firmly believes that this day will come.

The article comes from the Lightspeed Photosynthesis public account

In order to promote the development of the industry and overcome industry bottlenecks, Abant has established an automotive dimming glass industry chain exchange group for everyone, and we look forward to your joining.Currently, BMW, Great Wall, Geely, Jikrypton, Ford, FAW, Hyundai, Changan, BYD, Jihu, Yanfeng Plastic Omnium, Minth, Webasto, BOE, Fuyao Glass, Saint-Gobain, Xinyi Glass, Yaopi Glass , Qingyao Glass, Iron Anchor Glass, Corning Glass, Guangyi Technology, Niruo Electronics, Kangdexin, Yuguang New Materials, Xingye New Materials, Centaur, Engao Optics, Weiku Technology, Qiguang Technology, Huakechuang Zhi, Vision New Materials, Fushua Ying Materials, Suzhou Shangyang, Ningbo Jizhi, Guangdong Huicheng Vacuum, Nano-Arc Vacuum, etc. have all joined the group.

活动推荐二：The 6th Automotive Intelligent Interior Ambience Lighting Industry Forum (May 17, Chongqing)