【Changan Leading - Industry Insights】Interpretation Of The Titanium And Titanium Alloy Industry in Xi'an, With A Frontier Perspective

【Changan Leading - Industry Insights】Interpretation of the Titanium and Titanium Alloy Industry in Xi'an, with a Frontier Perspective
I. Industry Background
Titanium is known as the "space metal" and the "ocean metal", and it is an important strategic metal material in the 21st century. With advantages such as lightweight, high strength, resistance to high and low temperatures, and resistance to strong acids and alkalis, titanium has become an important manufacturing material for many major heavy machinery. Shaanxi Province is a major province for the titanium industry and the largest production base of titanium and titanium alloys in China. It is the province with the most titanium product specifications and grades in China, and its industrial scale has long maintained a leading position in the country. The titanium metal processing industry scale ranks first globally. Data shows that in 2023, the titanium material processing volume in the province was approximately 100,000 tons, increasing by 13.6% year-on-year, accounting for 60% of the national and global total processing volume and generating an output value of over 80 billion yuan.
The titanium and titanium alloy industry chain has become one of the key development chains in Shaanxi Province and Xi'an City. Xi'an has formed an industrial midstream enterprise group with the Northwest Institute of Nonferrous Metals (including Western Materials and Western Superconductors) as the industry leader, covering cold and hot processing, welding, mechanical processing, and near-net-shape processing of titanium and titanium alloys. At the same time, the industrial cluster has extended vertically, continuously expanding the downstream enterprise group led by China Aviation West Aircraft Company, and initially forming a complete vertical industrial chain and service chain.
II. Industry Composition
Upstream: Shaanxi Province lacks the most suitable rutile resources for titanium metal smelting, but has titanium ore resources. There are no enterprises in the upstream mining and separation link of the industry chain.
Middlestream: Most titanium enterprises in Shaanxi Province are in the melting and casting and processing links, belonging to the midstream of the titanium industry. According to industry statistics, there are over 300 enterprises, and they are in a position of absolute leading position in China in terms of technology, equipment, and scale. The backbone enterprises are Baotai Co., Ltd., Western Materials, Western Superconductors, and Lixin Titanium Industry, etc.
Downstream: There are relatively few enterprises in the titanium material deep processing and application links in Shaanxi Province. They are basically defense and military enterprises. In recent years, the titanium industry downstream has also achieved certain development in fields such as environmental protection water treatment, wet metallurgy, semiconductor and integrated circuits, and new energy equipment manufacturing. Shaanxi Province has many titanium electrode material manufacturing enterprises in the downstream of the titanium industry, as well as well-known complete equipment manufacturing enterprises for titanium and titanium alloys, with a relatively large number and quality of enterprises in China.
III. Policy Environment
The "Modern Industrial Layout Plan of Xi'an City" and the "Strategic Emerging Industry Development Plan of Xi'an City (2021-2025)" propose to accelerate the layout in the frontier new materials such as nonferrous metal materials and enhance the supporting capacity of the new materials industry for strategic emerging industries. To further implement the opinions of the province and the city on further improving the development level of industrial chains, Xi'an City has released the "Xi'an City Titanium and Titanium Alloy Industry Chain Enhancement Plan", stating: "During the '14th Five-Year Plan' period, concentrate efforts to implement a number of major projects, focus on solving a number of key titanium material varieties, improve the innovation ability of the titanium industry in our city, accelerate the industrialization and demonstration application of innovative achievements, enhance the industry quality, and consolidate the industry advantages; aim at the high-end, key, and scarce links of the titanium and titanium alloy industry chain, as well as the supporting end and application end of the upstream and downstream of the industry chain, carry out key investment attraction, complementary investment attraction, and precise investment attraction; extend the industrial chain to drive the transformation of economic growth mode of the titanium industry and achieve industrial upgrading. "It also proposes specific measures in five aspects: establishing working mechanisms, focusing on key regions, strengthening fiscal and tax support, promoting integrated development, and optimizing and improving service systems.
IV. Development Focus
Strengthening: Continuously improve the production technology and equipment level of melting and casting and processing, enhance the influence of key industry links, maintain the leading position in the midstream of the industry, and lead the development direction of the titanium industry.
Extension: Strive to extend the downstream processing and application links, create new growth poles for the industry, and enhance the overall efficiency of the industry. Accelerate the development in the downstream titanium equipment and products fields.
Supplementary Note: By leveraging capital ties, we aim to secure access to titanium resources and ensure a stable supply of high-quality resources. We will continue to encourage local titanium enterprises to obtain titanium resources from both domestic and international markets, thereby safeguarding the stable development of the industry. .
V. Development Tasks
Structural Materials: Continuously promote the application research of 650℃ high-temperature titanium alloys for aerospace, 1300MPa ultra-high strength and toughness titanium alloys, 1500MPa ultra-high strength and medium toughness titanium alloys, as well as new types of armor and warhead titanium alloys with high impact resistance. Enhance the application level of new titanium alloys in domestic high-end equipment in our city. Organize the development of medium-thick plates and wide-width plates of TC4 (ELI), TA15, and SP700 titanium alloys, and realize the industrialization of products with thickness ranging from 4 to 150mm and width of 2500mm through hot rolling, and thickness ranging from 0.4 to 4.0mm and width of 1500mm through cold rolling. Promote the industrialization of high-performance Φ400mm and above titanium alloy large-sized bars for key products such as new fighter jets, large aircraft, helicopters, and missile warheads; develop TA5-A, TA16, TA22, Ti-B19 series titanium alloy materials and industrialization technologies for marine engineering; implement the industrialization of titanium alloy materials and industrialization technologies for high-performance and low-cost titanium alloys for weapons; break through the industrialization of large-sized titanium steel composite plates and tubes for hydrogen energy and nuclear power applications, and meet the demand for titanium alloys and composite materials in fields such as metallurgy, salt production, and oil and gas transportation; develop titanium-based precious metal/ferrous metal coating composite electrode materials for use in sterilization and disinfection, wet metallurgy, and cathodic protection, thereby driving the development of the titanium material industry chain.
Titanium Functional Materials: Vigorously develop medical titanium alloys such as TC4 and Ti6Al7Nb for medical use and their products to meet the application requirements of artificial organs, vascular stents, and in-body implants. Promote the integration of material technology with life sciences and clinical medicine to reduce research and development risks and production costs, and expand the industrial scale. Accelerate the industrialization of NbTi superconducting alloys and their products at low temperatures. Promote the industrialization of titanium alloy powder metallurgy functional materials, long-life titanium alloy anode materials, and Ti35 radiation-resistant materials.
Advanced Processing: Accelerate the adjustment of titanium alloy product structure, promote the industrialization of advanced processing technologies for titanium alloys, and develop high-tech and high-value-added products. Focus on developing titanium alloy special-shaped pipe fittings, ultra-large diameter titanium alloy elbow pipes, titanium alloy ring-shaped gas cylinders, high-pressure cylindrical gas cylinders, titanium alloy spherical gas cylinders, titanium alloy conical parts, flipable titanium diaphragms, ultra-high strength titanium bolts, titanium alloy springs, and other products with high added value, as well as titanium alloy dental implants, medical implants, and vascular stents. Accelerate the development of titanium materials for construction, sports and leisure, and craft categories.
Titanium Equipment Manufacturing: Develop titanium and titanium composite material equipment in response to major demands in the fields of chemical engineering, metallurgy, nuclear power, new energy, semiconductor and integrated circuits, oil and gas transportation, and marine resource development. Focus on breaking through core technologies such as the design and manufacturing of reaction vessels and concentrators for fine chemicals, coastal power station condensers, and dissolution and evaporation equipment for spent fuel reprocessing, as well as electrolytic copper foil manufacturing equipment, titanium electrode materials and devices. Comprehensively enhance the capabilities of independent research and design, specialized manufacturing, engineering general contracting, and equipment matching. Actively promote the industrialization of marine wind energy utilization engineering equipment, seawater desalination and comprehensive utilization equipment, etc. Promote the industrialization of the entire industrial system and scale, and enhance the application level and equipment manufacturing capacity of Xi'an in titanium.
VI. Development Goals
Shaanxi Province implements the brand-strong province strategy, continuously improves product quality, and increases efforts in the cultivation of listed companies. Strive to have more than 15 listed companies in the titanium and titanium alloy field in the province by 2030. Implement the industrial synergy development action to optimize the industrial development space. By 2025, the processing scale of titanium materials in the province is expected to reach 110,000 tons, and the domestic market share is expected to exceed 65%. A world-class titanium and titanium alloy material industrial cluster with an annual output value of over 100 billion yuan will be formed by the two sectors of Xi'an and Baoji.
Xi'an City has fully established a new industrial structure system with structural titanium alloys as the main body, functional titanium alloys, titanium alloy deep processing, titanium alloy equipment and application as branches. This will enable the titanium alloy processing technology in Xi'an City to reach the world's advanced level and realize the industrialization application of titanium and titanium alloys in marine engineering, daily necessities and other fields. By 2025, the titanium and titanium alloy industry in Xi'an City is expected to achieve an annual output value of 20 billion yuan.