Another Fruitful Outcome of Industry-Academia-Research Cooperation: Kunlun and Zhejiang University Build a Joint Laboratory

On May 29, 2012, PetroChina Lubricant Company and Zhejiang University signed a strategic cooperation agreement, announcing the official establishment of the Joint Laboratory for Advanced Lubricant Materials initiated by both parties. The laboratory targets the R&D of low-carbon lubricant production and of technologies for the sustainable development of lubricant resources. Industry analysts believe that, as a leading enterprise in the domestic lubricant industry, PetroChina Lubricant Company has always attached importance to scientific research and innovation, and that the establishment of the laboratory will greatly advance the pace of Kunlun Lubricant's R&D in lubricant materials.

Independent innovation is the primary driving force for economic and social development. By establishing a joint laboratory, PetroChina Lubricant Company and Zhejiang University have built a platform for mutual support, complementary advantages and resource sharing. According to PetroChina Lubricant Company, the Lanzhou Lubricant Research and Development Center, as a specialized lubricant research institution under PetroChina Lubricant Company, has rich research experience and a strong research team in the field of lubricants and their additives, has established good collaborative relations with domestic and foreign research institutes, and occupies an important position in the field of lubricant and additive research and development in China. The Joint Institute of Chemical Reaction Engineering of Zhejiang University focuses on multiphase flow reaction engineering, catalyst engineering and fine chemicals; in recent years it has undertaken a number of projects funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China and major provincial and ministerial research projects and major horizontal projects, and has established extensive academic exchange and scientific research cooperation with well-known domestic and foreign petrochemical companies, research institutions and universities.

University-enterprise cooperation is an important way to enhance the vitality of enterprise development, and will certainly have a positive impact on accelerating the application of new technologies, the development of new products and the improvement of the core competitiveness of enterprises. It is reported that the joint laboratory will be guided by the development plan of the lubricant company, combine the current status and future needs of the automotive and lubricant industries, jointly research and develop forward-looking new topics, new technologies and new types of lubricant materials, undertake major national and provincial and ministerial projects in line with the national industrial revitalization strategy, and jointly promote the commercialization of scientific research results.

Industry experts say that Kunlun Lubricant has always upheld the business philosophy of integrating production, learning, research and sales and attaches importance to building up its scientific research system. After jointly building laboratories with Dalian Maritime University, Shanghai Jiao Tong University and other schools, its cooperation with Zhejiang University today will certainly build a first-class domestic research platform for new lubricant materials, step up R&D in segmented fields, promote the continuous generation of independent innovation achievements and the development of fit-for-purpose lubricant products, and help China complete its transformation from a major automobile country into an automotive industry power.