Sustainable Development Practices of a Chemical Enterprise: Innovation as the Source, Prosperity for the Future

Modern humanity is constantly enjoying the benefits brought by modern industry, especially the chemical industry.The contributions of the chemical industry extend to every aspect of daily life — clothing, food, housing, and transportation.Technological innovation, in turn, serves as the driving force behind the continuous progress of the chemical sector.People are delighted to observe that the integration of technological innovation with the chemical industry is reshaping not only modern industry itself but also the fundamental structure of human society as a whole.

When people talk about the chemical industry, many still associate it with the labels of “high pollution, high energy consumption, and low added value.”However, in Fuzhou and Putian in Fujian Province, Nanchong in Sichuan, Changsha in Hunan, Jinzhou in Liaoning, and even in Binh Thuan, Vietnam, a series of modern chemical industrial parks are telling a very different and vivid story — one driven by technological innovation and sustainable development.These are the core industrial bases of Yongrong Holding Group, serving as both the “stage” and the “battlefield” where this chemical giant demonstrates the true power of modern industry.

Yongrong Holding Group is a large-scale industrial conglomerate focused on green energy, chemical innovation, and new materials. Its business spans multiple sectors, including nylon, aromatics, advanced materials, new energy materials, Yongshan Lithium (603399.SH), port services, energy & chemical trading, and investment management.The group operates more than 60 wholly-owned and holding subsidiaries, employing nearly 10,000 people worldwide.Through more than forty years of steady growth and industrial practice, Yongrong Holding has successfully dispelled outdated prejudices, proving through its achievements that the chemical industry can also embody the values of being green, efficient, and innovative.

Through a fully integrated industrial chain layout, Yongrong has built a complete value chain from “benzene → caprolactam → nylon chips → nylon fibers → advanced materials.”By establishing a dual-engine growth model of Nylon 6 and Nylon 66, the company has achieved upstream-downstream synergy, cost reduction, and efficiency improvement, further strengthening its industry-leading advantages.Driven by technological innovation, Yongrong has set up a Central Research Institute along with five specialized R&D centers, focusing on original technology breakthroughs and critical core technologies.

This continuous investment in innovation has advanced product upgrades and process improvements, leading the industry toward high-quality development.By 2024, Yongrong Holding Group had filed over 1,000 patent applications, with more than 800 authorized patents. Over the past three years, its R&D investment has grown at an annual rate of more than 20%, reflecting the company’s commitment to innovation-driven growth.

Yongrong has developed a diverse portfolio of over a thousand differentiated products, widely applied in sectors such as green energy, food packaging, healthcare, outdoor furniture, and automotive mobility. This broad product matrix not only meets the diverse needs of the global market but also drives the company’s international expansion.Today, Yongrong’s products are exported to 58 countries and regions worldwide, accounting for more than 36% of China’s total nylon filament exports. For seven consecutive years, Yongrong has ranked No.1 in China’s civilian nylon filament production, with its global influence and market voice continuing to expand.

Yongrong actively responds to China’s “dual-carbon” strategy by building industry-leading renewable energy demonstration projects and acquiring publicly listed companies in new energy battery materials, establishing itself as a benchmark for green, low-carbon, and circular manufacturing.At the same time, by extending the industrial chain and strengthening the value chain, Yongrong drives efficient resource integration and industrial cluster development.

This enables the company to build a globally competitive modern industrial system, significantly enhancing industrial resilience and synergy across operations.Yongrong’s low-carbon and differentiated product series—including Jinkang Yarn, Jinyi Yarn, and Jinsheng Yarn—as well as its post-consumer recycled fiber brand E-SUNLON®, have all received green certifications such as GRS (Global Recycled Standard), LCA (Life Cycle Assessment), and EPD (Environmental Product Declaration). Each ton of E-SUNLON® produced reduces carbon emissions by 3.2 tons, contributing to a more sustainable future.The company has also achieved a breakthrough in overcoming domestic technical bottlenecks in high-end fiber-grade nylon masterbatch. By launching solution-dyed fibers, Yongrong eliminates the traditional pollution-intensive and water-consuming dyeing process, a technology that has already contributed to over 50,000 tons of carbon reduction in China.

One of the most significant advances in modern manufacturing is intelligent production. Yongrong has built an AI-driven smart manufacturing innovation system, equipped with world-leading Industry 4.0 intelligent automated production lines. It has also developed the industry’s first AI-powered nylon appearance inspection system and equipment, while upgrading its intelligent supply chain. By constructing a comprehensive digital hub, Yongrong enables end-to-end collaboration across R&D, production, supply chain, and market operations, transforming industrial data into strategic assets.

Stepping into Yongrong’s nylon production line in Changle District, Fuzhou, one cannot help but be amazed by the level of intelligent manufacturing. In the winding workshop, countless nylon filaments are rapidly wound into yarn packages. Among them is Yongrong’s 5D superfine denier fiber, with 9,000 meters weighing only 5 grams—currently the thinnest nylon product in the company’s portfolio.Once winding is completed, the yarn packages are transported to an automated packaging workshop, where they undergo automated inspection before robots take over the processes of grabbing, splitting, bagging, and palletizing.Yongrong has also expanded into the new energy sector through the acquisition of Yongshan Lithium Industry.

The company now produces 45,000 tons of battery-grade and high-purity lithium products annually, while simultaneously realizing solid waste and wastewater recycling, ultra-low exhaust emissions, and industry-leading energy efficiency.At Yongshan Lithium, the EMS comprehensive energy management system ensures that waste heat generated from roasting kilns is no longer discharged into the environment. Instead, it is recovered, redistributed, and reused across processes that require energy. It operates like a highly efficient “energy circulatory system” within the factory, maximizing the value of every unit of energy consumed.

Across Yongrong’s various business lines and production chains, the concept of “three wastes” (waste gas, wastewater, and solid waste) has been redefined. For example, methanol-to-hydrogen PSA purge gas, originally designed to be flared off for safety, has been redirected—via pipeline modifications—into the cyclohexane dehydrogenation unit heating furnace to replace part of the costly natural gas consumption.This “waste-to-fuel” initiative may seem simple on the surface, but it reflects deep process understanding and innovative application. Currently, this system recovers 1,000 cubic meters of purge gas per hour, saving 300 cubic meters of natural gas, generating annual economic benefits of over RMB 9.6 million, while reducing carbon emissions by more than 1,400 tons each year.

Hydrogen Peroxide Facility: Turning Waste into High-Value Resources.The hydrogen peroxide facility generates about 7,000 tons of waste white clay each year, primarily composed of aluminum oxide. Once identified as general solid waste, Yongrong did not simply dispose of it through landfill, but instead explored high-value utilization.Through processes such as impurity removal, heating and evaporation, air cooling, and ball milling, this waste white clay is transformed into high-temperature alumina powder that meets ceramic production requirements, becoming a premium raw material for ceramic glaze. This initiative generates an annual economic benefit of approximately 14 million RMB, completely eliminating the burden of landfill disposal.

Nanchong Functional Materials Integrated Project: Cleaner, Low-Carbon PathwaysYongrong has also laid out an integrated functional new materials project in Nanchong, Sichuan, with an annual capacity of 800,000 tons. The core feedstocks are natural gas and biomass.Natural gas, as a high-quality, efficient, green, and clean low-carbon energy source, emits 3.73 tons of CO₂ per ton of BDO when used to produce BDO (1,4-Butanediol)—far lower than the 18.39 tons of CO₂ per ton of BDO from the traditional calcium carbide–acetylene–aldehyde process. Moreover, impurity residues are almost zero, making the product cleaner and more environmentally friendly.This project represents a critical step in Yongrong’s development of a “Green Energy & New Materials Industrial Park in Western China”, marking a firm transformation toward cleaner and lower-carbon industrial models from the very source.

Solar Power: Embracing Renewable Energy at Scale.Embracing renewable energy is a core direction of Yongrong’s green energy revolution. Walking into Yongrong’s multiple production sites, one will see rows of deep blue photovoltaic panels neatly installed across rooftops, turning factory buildings into energy producers.These rooftop “sunlight banks” continuously inject clean electricity into production lines. For example, the Phase I project at the Jinjiang plant alone supplies about 8 million kWh of renewable electricity annually, equivalent to saving 2,520 tons of standard coal and reducing 6,000 tons of CO₂ emissions each year.A Model for China’s Sustainable Manufacturing Transition.Yongrong Holding’s sustainable development practices provide a valuable case study for observing the transformation and upgrading of China’s manufacturing sector. From waste resource recovery and low-carbon energy adoption to renewable energy integration, Yongrong demonstrates how technological innovation and sustainability can work hand in hand to achieve long-term prosperity.

Technology-Driven Green Transformation: From Materials to Communities.Whether it is the research and development of bio-based materials and recycled fibers, the implementation of smart monitoring systems and energy management solutions, or the circular technologies that transform waste into valuable resources, each practice highlights the decisive role of technological innovation in overcoming environmental constraints while enhancing efficiency and profitability.Yongrong has demonstrated the vast potential of “technology turning green.” From raw materials and production processes to product applications, waste recycling, and even community integration, Yongrong applies a holistic, full-chain, and life-cycle optimization mindset that ensures the depth and sustainability of its green transformation.

Examples such as recycled gas recovery, ceramic production from waste white clay, and distributed solar PV systems clearly show that green investments not only drive significant cost savings but also deliver measurable economic benefits.Yongrong’s practices showcase the competitiveness of green development. What safeguards its steady and long-term progress on this path is the company’s belief in and commitment to technological innovation.

A National Leader in Green Innovation and Industrial Upgrading.As a National High-Tech Enterprise, National Technology Innovation Demonstration Enterprise, and home to a State-Level Enterprise Technology Center, Yongrong has always adhered to the principle of “Technological Innovation, Serving the Nation through Industry.”Actively aligning with the country’s broader development strategy, Yongrong has strategically invested in natural gas, ethylene, propylene, and other critical sectors, while focusing on high-end green energy and new material industrial chains. These cover applications in renewable energy, automotive mobility, healthcare, food packaging, and outdoor home living.By continuously creating new engines of industrial growth, Yongrong contributes to the high-quality development of Fujian Province, and provides a scalable model for China’s sustainable industrial transformation.

“Going Green, Creating New Growth” — Yongrong’s Sustainable VisionAt Yongrong, every day embodies what Chairman Wu Huaxin describes as “going green and creating new growth.” The company is committed to embedding the principles of sustainability deeply into its corporate DNA, ensuring that every step forward aligns with long-term responsibility.By leveraging technological innovation and industrial collaboration, Yongrong is building a green, low-carbon, full-industry-chain ecosystem with a truly global perspective. This strategy fuels the expansion of innovative businesses in fine chemicals, green energy, and bio-based materials, driving continuous transformation and future-ready growth.Yongrong’s ultimate ambition is clear: to become a global benchmark for sustainable development in the fields of green energy, chemical innovation, and advanced materials.