Tech startup: I really do make mobile phones!

Chapter 232 Clearing the Technological Soil

The atmosphere in the multi-functional conference center on the 3rd floor of Building A of the Far Orange Building was so heavy it seemed like you could wring water out of it.

The heavy curtains blocked out the outside light, leaving only the central projection screen emitting a cold white light that illuminated the serious faces.

The supercapacitor fast charging adaptation expert team from Xiangdian Group, together with the R&D core team led by Liu Mingzhen, technical director of Yuancheng New Energy, are conducting closed-door discussions on a technical challenge related to a major national project.

Core of the issue
How did they manage to dramatically increase the "gentle" self-charge and discharge rate of the perovskite solar cells developed by Far Orange to the megawatt-level instantaneous discharge required to meet the electromagnetic catapult launch of aircraft carriers?

This "integrated deck system of calcium titanium solar energy + supercapacitor + energy storage" is a bold concept. If successful, it will greatly enhance the continuous combat capability and energy self-sufficiency of future aircraft carriers.

With the personal coordination of Chief Designer Wang, the chief designer of the second-generation aircraft carrier, the expert team from Xiangdian Group, specializing in supercapacitors for shipborne electromagnetic catapults, was ordered to come and assist in the research.

After several rounds of intense discussions, the expert panel came up with a solution:

A photovoltaic inverter is used as a "power amplifier" and "dispatch center" to construct an auxiliary charging and discharging system.

The trickle of electricity from calcium titanium batteries is gathered, pressurized, and shaped to meet the "whale-like" energy demands of supercapacitors.

At this point, the focus of the argument is on the technology routes of the two suppliers.

One is Sungrow Power, the undisputed king of the global photovoltaic inverter industry.

The centralized inverter they brought, SUN2000-300KTL-H0, is like a steady and reliable giant.

With a rated power of 300kW and a maximum efficiency of 98.8%, it supports 7-channel MPPT (maximum power point tracking), boasts extremely high technological maturity, stable and reliable performance, and is a "meritorious product" that has been verified by countless large-scale photovoltaic power plants around the world.

The only drawback is its "huge size", with a single unit having a volume of up to 300 cubic meters.

On the other hand, there is the "assassin" who suddenly appeared – the Chrysanthemum Digital Energy Laboratory, which developed a new string inverter technology.

Its technical specifications are filled with exciting terms:
The multi-MPPT design (7 channels for the 150KW model) claims to achieve "pixel-level" precise tracking, greatly solving the power generation mismatch problem caused by shadows and dust in traditional solutions (mismatch loss is reduced from 8% to a negligible level).

Wide voltage dynamic response (supports 1500V DC input) enables it to capture weaker sunlight, theoretically extending power generation time by 15% in low-light environments;

Its efficiency is also claimed to be 98.8%, and most surprisingly, its theoretical volume is only 50 cubic meters, which can be described as a disruptive challenge to the traditional pattern.

The stark contrast of numbers had a powerful impact.

Sunshine Solution: 0.3MW per unit, 300 cubic meters in volume.

To meet the power demand of a single ejection of 47.8 megawatts (MW) for approximately 40 factories within 200 milliseconds, it would require approximately 136 seconds of charging.

Chrysanthemum Solution: 0.15MW per unit, 6 units can be deployed in the same 300 cubic meter space, with a total power of 0.9MW.

Theoretically, it only takes 45 seconds to charge.

Although everyone knows that the final launch efficiency is a complex system, charging time is not the only determining factor.

But this nearly three-fold time difference acts like a giant magnet, attracting every engineer who pursues ultimate performance.

Inside the meeting room, two distinct factions emerged.

"We must consider reliability!" A gray-haired electronics expert banged on the table: "Sunshine's products have been tested and refined, operating stably for tens of thousands of hours in the Gobi Desert and on the plateau!"
What is an aircraft carrier?
It is a vital national asset, and we cannot afford to make any mistakes!
No matter how beautiful the chrysanthemum's PowerPoint presentation is, it's just theory on paper. Without the harsh test of the market, who would dare use it for our most important project?

“But technology is always advancing!” another younger expert countered.

"We cannot become complacent and stagnant just because we are afraid of risks."

Chrysanthemum's technical architecture is clearly more advanced, smaller in size, and has greater potential for efficiency. Moreover, we have witnessed the company's technical research and development capabilities.

Since the calcium-titanium solar deck itself is a groundbreaking innovation, why can't the supporting systems be just as bold?
Someone always has to be the first to try something new!

The argument reached a stalemate, with neither side able to convince the other.

The problem was reported up the chain of command and eventually ended up on Chief Engineer Wang's desk.

Chief Engineer Wang's instructions were very clear: "Fully listen to the opinions of the Yuancheng R&D team. They are the source of calcium-titanium technology and have a deeper understanding of its technical characteristics and adaptability."

This decision put Liu Mingzhen under immense pressure.

On one side is a mature and stable established giant, and on the other side is a sharp and aggressive partner who has cooperated with Orange.

Now, regardless of which side Liu Mingzhen leans towards, it may trigger questions from the other side's expert group.

After obtaining Chief Engineer Wang's permission, she presented this difficult problem to Chen Mo.

Chen Mo and Xiao Zheng rushed over from Building B.

He originally harbored a slight idea of ​​"borrowing technology," hoping that experts from Hong Kong Electric could provide some general super-fast charging R&D ideas that could be used for gaseous lithium batteries.

But upon hearing that the solution was a dedicated "photovoltaic inverter," Chen Mo understood.
This road is blocked!
Chen Mo's entrance drew the attention of all the experts.

Despite his excessive youth, no one present dared to underestimate him.

There's a saying circulating secretly within the tech community:
Liu Mingzhen is more like a "spokesperson" and project manager for the perovskite solar cell technology, while the seemingly ordinary Mr. Chen is the real "soul" who holds the core technology blueprint and guides the research and development direction.

He relinquished his authorship rights to give Liu Mingzhen the capital to compete for academician status.

The head of the Xiangdian team, who was in charge of the demonstration, politely asked Chen Mo for his opinion.

Chen Mo did not answer immediately. He closed his eyes slightly, and fragments of memories from his past life flashed through his mind.

After initial setbacks, Chrysanthemum's photovoltaic inverter business has indeed caught up and overtaken Sungrow Power by virtue of its technological advantages and high R&D investment, and has become one of the world's leading brands.

Although its early products had occasional flaws, the iteration speed was extremely fast, and the service system was also exceptional.

However, what is being discussed now is the cornerstone of the Republic's future maritime defenses.

Personal relationships and business partnerships must give way to national strategic security.

Chen Mo opened his eyes, his gaze calm, his voice clear and firm.

"Thank you for your trust, experts."

I believe that reliability should be the top priority in any project of this importance.

I have no doubt that Chrysanthemum Digital Energy's string inverter technology is a very cutting-edge concept with huge potential.

However, it is still in the laboratory stage and lacks sufficient field operation data over a long period of time, as well as reliability verification.

Sungrow's centralized inverters are proven, market-tested products whose stability and reliability are widely recognized.

Chen Mo paused, looked around at everyone, and gave a special look to Liu Mingzhen, who seemed somewhat taken aback.

"I understand everyone's desire for higher performance, and a 45-second charging time is indeed very tempting."

However, we need to recognize that Far Orange's calcium titanium solar cell technology and Chrysanthemum's string inverter technology have fundamental differences in maturity.

Our perovskite technology, from material synthesis to device packaging, has completed all the technical preparations for industrial mass production and has the capability for stable production.

The main limitation to its application is currently the cost, especially for Level 2 and 3 technologies, as well as the confidentiality requirements for higher-level technologies.

The technology for chrysanthemum cultivation still needs to undergo a complete process, from the laboratory to the production line, and then to testing in complex application environments.

He concluded by saying, "Therefore, my suggestion is to prioritize the use of Sungrow's mature solutions at this stage to ensure the flawless operation of the project's basic platform."

Meanwhile, we can closely monitor the future development of daisy-chain inverter technology. Once it has completed market validation and proven its long-term reliability, it can certainly be considered for future system upgrades or subsequent ship designs.

Chen Mo's statement added a significant weight to the scales of Sungrow Power in this evenly matched debate.

Ultimately, after further deliberation, the expert group adopted Chen Mo's suggestion and initially determined to build the first verification system with Sungrow Power's centralized inverter as the core.

After the technical demonstration meeting, Chen Mo did not leave immediately.

He contacted Liu Mingzhen to learn about the progress of Far Orange's fast charging technology.

Liu Mingzhen smiled wryly: "President Chen, the solution proposed by Xiangdian experts is specialized and only targets the physical characteristics of solar cells. It is completely incompatible with the electrochemical system of our gaseous lithium batteries."

Upon hearing this, Chen Mo smiled with relief.

"It seems there's no shortcut."

It's okay, I'll just take it one step at a time and make my own way.

I remember that one of the technologies in the third-generation perovskite solar cells was a 'dual-pulse self-charge and discharge technology,' which could achieve a 5C fast charging rate, right?

"Yes, Mr. Chen!"

Liu Mingzhen's eyes lit up: "You mean, we can learn from the ideas and some designs of this technology and try to upgrade the existing honeycomb gaseous lithium power battery?"

We're currently using the public 4C fast charging solution provided by BTD. If we can break through to 5C, not only will performance improve, but we can also reduce our reliance on external technologies and save a considerable amount of patent fees.

“That’s right!” Chen Mo nodded. “You should organize a team to conduct research on this matter as soon as possible and come up with a feasible solution!”

After finishing their business, Chen Mo, accompanied by Liu Mingzhen, strolled around the core R&D area on floors 8-10 of Building A of the Yuancheng Building.

The laboratory was filled with the low hum of various equipment, and researchers in white coats were busy moving about, creating a rigorous research atmosphere.

As Chen Mo walked to the outside of a room with a sign that read "BMS Technology Laboratory," he remembered something.

"Senior Sister Liu, the previous report mentioned that you were already collaborating with Orange Home on miniaturized NTC power sensors. How is the progress? What are the specific application scenarios?" Liu Mingzhen immediately perked up and began to explain in detail.

"Mr. Chen, our goal is to innovate the current detection scheme in the existing power battery BMS (Battery Management System)."

Currently, the industry generally uses Hall sensors from brands such as Honeywell, which are highly accurate but also expensive, costing around $5 per sensor.

We plan to replace it with an NTC thermocouple sensor that costs only 0.5 cents.

Chen Mo raised an eyebrow when he heard the price comparison.

"The cost difference is two orders of magnitude? How can safety and stability be guaranteed?"

Automotive-grade tissues?
"Don't worry!" Liu Mingzhen said confidently.

“NTC thermocouple sensors are widely used in the consumer electronics field, and their stability has been verified by a market of hundreds of millions of users.”

In terms of security, we adopt a three-group parallel redundancy design and use a voting mechanism to exclude abnormal data.

According to reliability calculations, the probability of all three NTC sensors failing at the same time is extremely low, fully meeting or even exceeding the national standard requirements for functional safety.

Even so, the total cost is only 1.5 cents, which is an overwhelming advantage compared to a $5 Hall sensor.

Of course, the only drawback is the accuracy of the battery detection, which has an error margin of about 5%!

Chen Mo couldn't help but smile: "I didn't expect you battery manufacturers to be able to squeeze money out of a sensor giant. Are you confident you can succeed?"

“It’s huge!” Liu Mingzhen said confidently. “We’ve worked with Orange Family to solve the key problems of signal conditioning and algorithm compensation, and we’ve developed a feasible solution.”

The next step is to commission Orange Technology to manufacture 1000 sample units for real-vehicle testing.

"very good!"

Chen Mo expressed his approval, and then emphasized it again.

"For these kinds of cross-company basic research and development projects, it is essential to ensure internal collaboration and information transparency, and we must never repeat the situation of redundant research and development and wasted resources that happened before."

Just as Liu Mingzhen was about to make a promise, he was interrupted by a sharp argument coming from the materials laboratory next door.

A voice, brimming with barely suppressed anger, shouted: "Do you even understand basic operations? Do you think you can just guess the concentration and time for HF acid etching? Look at this set of samples, they're all destroyed! If you want to die, don't drag me down with you!"

The other voice sounded somewhat slick and unconvinced.

"Oh, Engineer Wang, don't get so worked up. Experiments don't always succeed. Failure is the mother of success. Besides, my plan is based on the latest findings from a top international journal."

"A top-tier journal? I bet you have the best connections!"

The voice that had been there earlier seemed even more agitated.

"Don't think I don't know how you got in! You have a degree from Qingdao University, a resume full of SCI papers and overseas labs, but you still have to ask others for even the simplest magnetron sputtering parameters?"
Is this how your academic bigwig taught you to do research?

"Engineer Wang! Watch your words! This is slander!"

"I'm slandering you? If you're so capable, then get this thin film deposition process stable right now! If you can't, you're a fucking bastard today!"

Liu Mingzhen, standing outside the door, turned deathly pale instantly. She hurriedly looked at Chen Mo, her lips moving as if she wanted to explain.

Chen Mo's face was ashen. He raised his hand in a firm gesture to silence, stood still, and listened quietly to the entire argument.

Only when the sounds inside gradually subsided, as if someone had persuaded him to leave, did he turn around and walk towards the elevator without saying a word. His cold back sent a chill down Liu Mingzhen's spine.

Back in the general manager's office on the 16th floor of Building B, Chen Mo stood in front of the huge floor-to-ceiling window, overlooking the orderly Yuancheng Park below and the laboratory and R&D area of ​​Building A standing opposite.

Sunlight streamed onto the building's glass curtain wall, refracting a dazzling light, but a gloom hung over his heart.

"Yu Meng, have Wang Kai from the market research department come over here immediately!"

After dialing the internal number, his voice was calm, yet carried an undeniable authority.

Zhou Yumeng keenly sensed that her boss was in a bad mood and immediately complied.

Wang Kai arrived quickly and immediately sensed the oppressive atmosphere in the office upon entering.

"Mr. Chen, you wanted to see me?"

Chen Mo did not turn around, but continued to look out the window.

"Today I went to Far Orange's lab and heard something interesting. Two researchers were arguing, and the content was quite 'exciting'!"

He slowly turned around, his gaze sharp as a knife.

"Have your compliance specialist, who has been assigned to Yuancheng, immediately launch an investigation."

I need all the background information, technical qualifications, onboarding process, project contributions, and every detail of these two people, especially the one who was accused of having connections!
The report must be on my desk by tomorrow morning!

Wang Kai felt a chill run down his spine and immediately realized the seriousness of the problem.

"Understood, Mr. Chen! I will personally oversee the process and guarantee it will be completed on time."

The next morning.

A detailed investigation report was delivered to Chen Mo's desk on time.

Chen Mo carefully flipped through the pages.

The person accused of having connections had a resume so perfect it was almost unbelievable.

At 12, he was a first author of an SCI paper; at 16, he was admitted to Qingdao University without taking the entrance exam; at 18, he had a visiting experience in a top overseas laboratory. He has a string of impressive academic titles and major projects he has "participated in".

However, the description of his specific project contributions is vague. In-depth interviews with his colleagues revealed that he had extremely poor hands-on skills and was unfamiliar with basic operations, yet he always appeared in the author list of key projects.

The "Engineer Wang" who dared to speak out had a much more "ordinary" resume.

He completed his undergraduate and master's degrees at a top-tier domestic university in a straightforward manner. His graduation thesis was unremarkable. He worked quietly in several research institutions for a few years, serving as a typical "research cog in the machine." However, he excelled in his solid foundation and diligence.

The report's remarks section also included a line of small print: "After the incident, Director Liu Mingzhen quickly 'persuaded' the researcher with connections to leave the job."

Chen Mo closed the report, leaned back in his chair, and rubbed his temples.

The action was swift, but it was far from enough.

This is not just an isolated case; it reflects a trend that may be spreading.

The corrupt practices and unhealthy tendencies of academia must never be brought into the Orange Department's laboratory!

Three days later.
A document titled "Regulations for the Recruitment and Evaluation of Researchers in Orange Technology Laboratory (Trial Implementation)" bearing the bright red seal of the General Manager's Office of Orange Technology.
The notice was quickly distributed to the general manager offices of six companies: Orange Technology, Yuancheng New Energy, Chengbao Internet, Chengke Micro Motor, Zhicheng Centralized Procurement, and Chengjia Smart.

Orange Creation Materials, which is highly confidential, will not participate at this time, but its internal management must follow suit.

The core content of the document is worded in a strongly worded manner:

The "Orange Group Technology Ethics and Competency Review Committee" was jointly established, composed of technical leaders, senior experts, and representatives from the market research department's compliance team.

The committee has the power to conduct random inspections of any laboratory or researcher without prior notice, and the scope of the review includes, but is not limited to, practical assessment of technical skills, verification of the authenticity of project contributions, and evaluation of professional ethics.

In the future, all R&D personnel applying to join the Orange Lab, regardless of their level, must pass the committee's dual review.

In-depth background checks on technical skills, plus a written/practical test on basic technical abilities, are required for hiring.

At the same time, Chen Mo instructed Zhou Yumeng to convey his uncompromising attitude to the entire Orange Group management team. His words were clearly transmitted to the ears of every person in charge through internal communication channels.

Chen Mo: @Everyone, no matter who you are, listen carefully!
The Orange Group's laboratory is a pure land for tackling difficult problems and developing technologies, not a place for some people to build up their resumes and gain experience!

Who dares to bring in the sordid practices of academic circles—such as fraud, sycophancy, and currying favor—that pollute our technological environment and undermine the very foundation of our company?
I don't care what kind of 'genius' he is, what kind of bullshit background he has, or how great his so-called 'achievements' were in the past!

To me, within the Orange Group of companies, I only have four words for you: Fuck you!

Chen Mo, who is usually mild-mannered, used unprecedentedly strong language this time, and even swore.

This clear and unequivocal statement was like a depth charge dropped into a calm lake, causing a huge shock not only within the entire Orange Group but also leaving a far-reaching impact.

Everyone understood that Chen Mo was serious this time.

This rectification campaign in the Orange Department's laboratory even brought the lab to a standstill for nearly a week before gradually restoring order. Eight researchers were dismissed for failing to meet ethical standards, and more than 60 people were implicated in the punishment.
If Gong Yun hadn't come and persuaded Chen Mo, he would have wanted to exterminate all the technical parasites in the Orange Department and fire them all!

During the week that the Orange Department's laboratory was shut down, he used the most resolute actions to establish an inviolable red line.

In companies within the Orange Group, technological strength and research integrity are paramount, and no one is exempt.

Technology is the foundation of Orange's success!

The laboratory that corrodes oranges is digging up the roots of oranges, and Chen Mo has absolutely "zero tolerance" for that.

This cleansing campaign swept away potential corruption and allowed countless ordinary researchers in the Orange Department, like "Engineer Wang," who were down-to-earth and dedicated to their technical work, to feel unprecedented respect and protection.

Chen Mo is using forceful methods to cleanse the research environment of the Orange System, all in order to cultivate the purest and most resilient technological fruits.

(End of this chapter)