Responding to the Call of the 15th Five-Year Plan: Jiangsu Xinpu's 18-Meter Large-Diameter Spray Tower Passes Material Trial Run and Officially Goes into Production in September at Yunnan & Guizhou Projects
Large domestically produced spray equipment lands at southwestern industrial bases · Empowering new quality productive forces
In the opening year of the 15th Five-Year Plan, China is accelerating the drive for high-level scientific and technological self-reliance and vigorously developing new quality productive forces. General Secretary Xi Jinping has profoundly pointed out:
"Truly great national heavy equipment must be firmly in our own hands. Core and key technologies cannot be obtained by begging — they must be earned through our own hard work."
"The equipment manufacturing industry is the heavy equipment of the nation and an important component of the real economy. We must grasp our advantages, ride the momentum, and continue to make our equipment manufacturing industry stronger, better, and larger."
"Key core technologies are national heavy equipment of vital importance to promoting high-quality economic development and safeguarding national security. We must effectively enhance our independent innovation capacity in key core technologies and keep the initiative of scientific and technological development firmly in our own hands."
— Important statements by General Secretary Xi Jinping (Source: State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council; The State Council of China website)
The General Secretary's earnest charge has charted the course for the high-quality development of the equipment manufacturing industry and serves as the fundamental guide for the determined and diligent efforts of all equipment manufacturers. Under this call of the times, domestic production, self-reliance, and large-scale development are becoming significant trends in the field of new energy equipment.
I. Industry Outlook: New Energy Materials Accelerate Aggregation in Central and Western Resource-Rich Regions
In the opening year of the 15th Five-Year Plan, China's new energy industry continues to expand. As core raw materials for power batteries and energy storage, lithium- and sodium-ion battery cathode materials are undergoing a new round of capacity optimization and regional layout adjustment. A prominent trend is that the industry's center of gravity is accelerating its shift from the eastern coast to central and western resource regions, with a new logic of resource, energy, and supply chain coordination reshaping the industry landscape.
Southwestern China enjoys uniquely favorable conditions for developing new energy materials. On one hand, the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau is endowed with key mineral resources such as phosphorus, manganese, and lithium — Guizhou is renowned as "Asia's Phosphorus Capital," with only the Bijie region holding documented phosphate reserves of 1.709 billion tons, ranking second in the province; Tongren, with leading manganese reserves, is accelerating its transformation toward new energy battery materials. On the other hand, southwestern China is rich in green and clean energy such as hydropower, giving lithium battery material production a significantly lower carbon footprint than other regions, with clear electricity pricing advantages that provide sustainable cost competitiveness for energy-intensive cathode material manufacturing.
Leveraging these resource endowments and energy advantages, Yunnan and Guizhou have emerged as important industrial hubs for lithium- and sodium-ion cathode materials. In Guizhou, major industrial projects with a total investment of 73 billion yuan are building an integrated phosphorus-coal coupling and green circular industry chain. Hunan Yuneng has added 15 billion yuan of investment in Fuquan to build a 300,000-ton/year iron phosphate and 300,000-ton/year ultra-long-cycle, ultra-high-energy-density phosphate cathode material project, and invested 24 billion yuan in Weng'an for an integrated mineralization new energy battery material circular industry project. Guizhou Yuneng has become its flagship lithium iron phosphate production base, with the Qiannan Prefecture accounting for over 50% of the province's lithium iron phosphate output, forming a "phosphorus on the left, lithium on the right" industrial integration pattern across Fuquan, Weng'an, and other regions. Wanhua Chemical has planned over one million tons of capacity in the lithium iron phosphate field, ranking among the industry's first tier, and has landed a 400,000-ton lithium iron phosphate project in Guizhou, further refining its southwestern industrial layout. The 600,000-ton integrated "phosphorus-titanium-lithium" coupling circular project in Kaiyang is advancing in parallel. In Yunnan, the landing of the CATL Kunming Base has driven the rise of an industrial cluster, with Defang Nano deploying hundreds of thousands of tons of integrated phosphate cathode material projects in Qujing and Luquan, and the Kunming and Qujing industrial parks continuously enhancing their capacity to承接 industrial transfers.
The intensive landing of high-performance cathode material projects such as lithium iron phosphate and lithium manganese iron phosphate on the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau is driving sustained growth in demand for full-line equipment, including large drying equipment. From spray drying towers to rotary calcination kilns, from precursor drying to cathode material sintering, large-scale, continuous, and intelligent domestically produced equipment is becoming a critical link supporting the capacity ramp-up of western new energy material bases.
Amid this industrial tide, whoever can provide stable and reliable large domestically produced drying equipment will offer solid support for the landing of new quality productive forces in the west — and will seize the initiative in the ongoing reshaping of the industrial landscape.
II. Good News Arrives: 18-Meter Large-Diameter Spray Tower Passes Trial Run and Goes into Production in September
Recently, good news has arrived in succession from the Yunnan and Guizhou project sites — the 18-meter large-diameter spray drying tower, independently developed and manufactured by Jiangsu Xinpu Drying Engineering Technology Co., Ltd., supporting the Yunnan and Guizhou new energy material projects, completed equipment commissioning in September, successfully passed the material trial run, and officially went into production. Large domestically produced spray equipment has landed for application at southwestern industrial bases.
The simultaneous commissioning of the two units marks a new step forward for Xinpu Drying in the field of large lithium battery material drying equipment, and injects strong momentum into the capacity ramp-up of cathode material projects in the Yunnan-Guizhou region. It is a vivid practice of domestically produced equipment responding to the 15th Five-Year Plan and fulfilling the commitment to scientific and technological self-reliance.
III. 18-Meter Class: A Process Breakthrough in Large-Scale Equipment
The tower diameter of a spray drying tower is the core indicator for measuring single-unit capacity. The tower diameter of the units commissioned this time reaches 18 meters, an industry-large specification. A large tower diameter brings not only a leap in capacity but also places more stringent requirements on atomization distribution uniformity, hot air field fluid dynamics design, tower wall anti-adhesion and cleaning, multi-stage exhaust gas dust removal, and system thermal balance. Xinpu Drying has carried out systematic optimization designs tailored to the slurry characteristics of lithium battery cathode materials, ensuring that the powder still maintains good sphericity, particle size distribution, and tap density under high-capacity operating conditions.
Core Technical Highlights
Atomization System: High-speed centrifugal/pressure composite atomization, compatible with lithium iron phosphate precursor slurries, producing uniform droplets with high sphericity and good fluidity of the resulting powder.
Hot Air Distribution: Hot air rectification and distribution structure optimized for the 18-meter large tower diameter, providing stable internal flow field and effectively reducing turbulent powder loss and wall adhesion.
Temperature Field Control: Sectioned and adjustable inlet air temperature, with drying time at the seconds level, effectively protecting the electrochemical performance of active materials.
Cleaning & Dust Collection: High-efficiency cyclone separation + multi-stage dust removal, with exhaust emissions meeting standards, high material recovery rate, and compatibility with cleanroom workshops.
Intelligent Control: PLC-based fully automatic operation, with online monitoring of key parameters, stable operation, and low failure rate.
IV. September Trial Run and Production: Full-Process Assurance for Smooth Commissioning
After the two units were installed on site, the Xinpu Drying technical service team stationed at the site to carry out full-process assurance work: single-unit commissioning → coordinated trial run → material trial operation → stable mass production. In September, the units successfully completed the material trial run, with all process indicators meeting design requirements, and officially transitioned into the production phase.
Equipment Manufacturing & ShipmentThe 18-meter drying tower and supporting systems completed independent manufacturing and were shipped to the Yunnan-Guizhou project sites.
On-Site Installation & PipingCompleted tower hoisting, piping connections, and positioning of electrical and automatic control systems.
Single-Unit & Coordinated CommissioningAtomization, hot air, dust removal, and exhaust systems coordinated with parameter tuning.
September · Material Trial RunOfficial material feed trial operation, with product indicators meeting standards and stable system operation.
September · ProductionBoth units officially went into production, entering the continuous mass production phase.
V. About Jiangsu Xinpu Drying
Jiangsu Xinpu Drying Engineering Technology Co., Ltd. is grounded in the chemical, pharmaceutical, and environmental protection industries, specializing in providing drying, calcination, and coating equipment for SCR catalysts, petrochemical catalysts, and various catalyst industries, while also developing various drying and calcination equipment for new energy and new material industries such as lithium materials. The company has a professional design and R&D team, capable of providing customers with full-process technical services from process solutions to equipment delivery.
In the lithium battery material field, Xinpu Drying has formed a series of product lines including lithium iron phosphate spray drying units, iron phosphate rotary flash drying + rotary calcination kilns, lithium carbonate drying rotary kilns, electrolyte-removal rotary drying, and battery recycling pyrolysis furnaces, covering key links such as cathode material preparation, precursor drying, and battery recycling. To date, the company holds 21 authorized patents, with representative patents directly related to lithium battery materials including: "A Uniform Spray Drying Equipment for Ultrafine Materials" invention patent (authorized, relating to the structures of drying cylinders, cyclone separators, and rotary pipe flow diverters, enabling uniform spraying and automatic cleaning of residual powder on inner walls); "Anti-Oxidation and Anti-Agglomeration Device for Iron Phosphate Spray Dryers" (utility model, using compressed nitrogen injection to disperse materials, reducing agglomeration and oxidation risks at the source); "A Combined Heat Exchange Device for Cathode Materials" (utility model, integrating spray mainframes, roller kilns, and RTO furnace waste heat recovery, achieving synergy between energy saving and environmental protection); "A Combined Flash-Feed Air Intake and Dispersing Device" (utility model, simplifying the structure and reducing energy consumption); "A Harmless Purification Treatment Equipment for Degumming Exhaust Gas of Rotary Calcination Furnaces" invention patent (authorized, resolving the explosion hazard of accumulated degumming exhaust gas and achieving compliant emission); and others.
VI. Responding to the 15th Five-Year Plan Call: Making the Equipment Manufacturing Industry Stronger, Better, and Larger
The 15th Five-Year Plan has outlined a grand blueprint for high-quality development, with accelerating high-level scientific and technological self-reliance and vigorously developing new quality productive forces as the core theme. As the heavy equipment of the nation, the equipment manufacturing industry bears the mission of keeping core technologies firmly in our own hands.
The successful commissioning of the 18-meter large-diameter spray tower in both Yunnan and Guizhou is a positive response to this call: it reflects the supply capacity and engineering level of domestically produced large drying equipment in the key manufacturing link of lithium battery materials, and holds positive significance for safeguarding the lithium battery material industry chain security and advancing the construction of western new energy material bases.
Jiangsu Xinpu Drying will continue to focus on the R&D of large-scale, energy-efficient, and intelligent lithium battery material drying and calcination equipment, keeping key core technologies firmly in its own hands, and providing new energy industry customers with higher-quality intelligent manufacturing solutions through reliable domestically produced and self-reliant equipment, thereby empowering the development of new quality productive forces under the 15th Five-Year Plan.
Statement: This article is industry information, provided for industry exchange and reference only.