Text · Reporter Su Ling
State-owned Assets Report Magazine Issue 5, 2024
1 winner of the highest national science and technology award, 2 special prizes and 8 first prizes of the National Science and Technology Progress Award, 2 first prizes of the National Technological Invention Award, 134 scientific and technological achievements awarded at the national level, and a total of 1065 scientific and technological achievements at the provincial and ministerial level, group companies, national industry associations/associations and above...... This report card is beyond the reach of most companies and belongs to Sinopec Research Institute of Petrochemical Science and Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Academy of Petroleum Sciences"). Founded in 1956, the Academy of Petroleum Sciences is now a comprehensive scientific and technological research and development institution of petrochemical industry directly under Sinopec. In different historical periods, the Academy of Petroleum Sciences has developed major technologies that are of decisive significance and promote the development of China's oil refining industry, and have a certain international influence. This sustained output is largely due to the integrated development model of the parent company, Sinopec. Due to special historical reasons, the problem of "two skins" in scientific research and production in many industries on the mainland is very prominent. However, since its establishment, Sinopec has established an integrated development model against world-class oil companies, laying a solid foundation for the in-depth integration of production, marketing, research and application from the perspective of corporate governance. In recent years, with the continuous advancement of the reform of state-owned enterprises, the Institute of Petroleum Sciences has strengthened the reform of the scientific and technological system and mechanism on a good basis, focusing on building "an 'assembly line' that continuously produces high-level innovative technologies with scientific methods", and promoted the strength of scientific and technological innovation to a new level by optimizing the management system, building a collaborative system, and deepening the employment mechanism.
Reform of the "medical certificate"
Strengthening the dominant position of enterprises in scientific and technological innovation is a key measure to deepen the reform of the scientific and technological system and promote the realization of high-level scientific and technological self-reliance and self-reliance. "How to strengthen the main position of enterprises in scientific and technological innovation" has become a major issue facing Chinese enterprises. In the mainland, scientific research resources are mainly concentrated in scientific research institutes, and the original innovation ability of enterprises is relatively weak. Most of these scientific research institutes are located outside the enterprise, and enterprises often need to build innovation consortiums and other ways to strengthen scientific and technological innovation, and overcome the problems of incomplete consistency of the evaluation system between the two. The scientific research institutions of central enterprises represented by the Academy of Petroleum Sciences are a special group. "Compared with other innovative entities, central scientific research institutions have outstanding advantages such as being close to the market, responding sensitively to market demand, and having the most comprehensive grasp of the pain points of the industry." Li Mingfeng, president of the Academy of Stone Sciences, said. He pointed out that at the level of social functions, the R&D activities of scientific research institutions of central enterprises are closely integrated with industrial applications and public services, and promote each other, and play a role as a bridge and link in the process of connecting industry needs and innovation resources; At the level of work mode, its scientific and technological innovation work is often integrated into business activities, which is close to the industry and the frontier of science and technology, and has the dual ability of applied basic research and common technology research. These outstanding advantages require the scientific research institutions of central enterprises to continuously enhance their core functions, improve their core competitiveness, and play the "three roles" in the new round of state-owned enterprise reform. In the face of the new situation and new tasks, the Academy of Petroleum Sciences proposed to "build a high-level innovative technology assembly line with integrated system thinking". Li Mingfeng said that the management system of scientific research institutions of central enterprises must meet dual requirements - not only to serve the "big man of the country", to carry out high-quality public, strategic and comprehensive research and development activities and scientific research tasks, but also to follow the law of innovation, to form an operating mechanism and management mode with full autonomy and flexibility, which can effectively stimulate innovation power and vitality, and fully adapt to the characteristics and organization of scientific research tasks.
Researchers from the Academy of Petroleum Sciences carried out indoor artificial light cultivation experiments of microalgae, opening up a new way to achieve the goal of food security and carbon neutrality. At the ex-ante level, the thinking and exploration of the medium and long-term scientific research development direction in scientific research planning is insufficient, and the role of the "baton" needs to be played. The forward-looking and scientific nature of the project needs to be further improved. At the mid-level level, there is still room for improvement in the overall control and fine management of the R&D quality of the project, and the hierarchical classification and refinement quality standards for different R&D stages such as small-scale test, pilot test, and industrial test of scientific research projects have not yet been established. The operational advantages of the large corps and the comprehensive advantages of the research institute are not fully exerted, and the decision-making and exercise mechanism of scientific research personnel at the administrative level needs to be improved. At the post-event level, the speed and efficiency of transforming technological achievements into productivity need to be improved. Guidance and encouragement of original innovation and complete sets of technologies need to be strengthened in promoting the topic from small-scale to pilot-scale to industrialization, bringing value to users. The specific requirements of technical review need to be refined, and the role of responsible experts needs to be strengthened. Based on this "diagnosis", the Institute of Petroleum Sciences prescribes the right medicine and launches a series of reform measures.
Optimize the management system
The core of building a high-level innovative technology pipeline is to stimulate the innovation vitality and motivation of scientific researchers through the precise positioning of the responsibilities and rights of each node of the process and the reasonable allocation of human, financial and material resources. In view of the problem that the "baton" of scientific research planning at the ex-ante level is not strong, the Institute of Petroleum Sciences fully implements scientific research gate management to improve the quality of scientific research projects. In the project approval stage, the Academy of Petroleum Sciences has set up an "access" threshold to reduce the total number of projects, refine the review standards, increase the review intensity, and guide the allocation of scientific and technological resources to focus more on the direction of meeting the major national strategic needs. According to the research field of the subject, a professional group of the academic committee will be set up for review, and the application topics in the small-scale, pilot and industrial test stages will be reviewed in groups according to the research stage, so as to assist scientific researchers in condensing key scientific issues, optimizing the scientific research direction of the subject, and buttoning the "first button". In 2023, nearly 90% of the projects in the school will pass the gate review, and the quality of the topics will be significantly improved. In addition, it distinguishes between basic work, basic research topics, and forward-looking research topics, increases the application restrictions for similar small-scale test projects, and sets the proportion of small-scale tests into pilot tests and pilot tests as restrictions, so as to achieve "less but fine". In view of the problem that the quality of research and development needs to be improved at the mid-level level, the Institute of Petroleum Sciences strengthens the quality control of scientific research projects to ensure the effective implementation of the plan. "The quality control of scientific research projects is the key to ensuring the success of product or service development and meeting market demand, and quality standards at each stage of research and development should be based on market demand, competitive analysis and corporate strategy." Li Mingfeng said. In order to further implement the quality management of scientific research projects, the Institute of Petroleum Sciences has formulated and implemented the "Measures for the Management of Quality Objectives in the Stage of Scientific Research Projects/Topics", focusing on five aspects, such as article patents and achievement evaluation, clarifying 19 quality standards and control requirements in the four R&D stages of basic research, small-scale research, pilot research and industrial experiments, highlighting refined process management, strictly controlling the quality of projects, and continuously improving the level of research and development. In view of the problem that the transformation of technological achievements needs to be strengthened at the post-event level, the Institute of Petroleum Sciences has strengthened the research and development of complete sets of technologies and accelerated the transformation and application of scientific and technological achievements. A complete set of technology refers to the method of combining a number of related technical solutions, technical equipment and technical processes into a complete system or solution according to certain technical specifications and requirements. Wang Zhe, Secretary of the Party Committee of the Academy of Petroleum Sciences, revealed that the Academy of Petroleum Sciences will take the complete set of technology as the general starting point for the rapid transformation of scientific and technological achievements, formulate the "Complete Set of Technology Management Measures", clarify the management requirements such as the classification and assessment indicators of complete technology development, and interpret 28 specific connotations and carrier requirements in three categories, such as process technology, product production technology, and equipment manufacturing technology, so as to provide support for the rapid transformation of the subject from the small test to the pilot test and the industrial test stage, and ensure that the research topic truly brings value to users and solves problems for the industry. A series of measures to optimize the management system of the Institute of Petroleum Sciences have achieved positive results. In 2022, the 890,000 tons/year aromatics complex unit of Jiujiang Petrochemical, the first industrial application unit of the third-generation aromatics complete set of technology, was successfully started up and produced qualified products, which significantly improved the technical level of aromatic hydrocarbon production in mainland China and its international competitiveness. Sinopec's aromatics development team, with the Academy of Petroleum Sciences as one of the main participants, was selected as the "Model of Central Enterprises" by the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council in 2023.
In 2023, the new generation of new caprolactam green production technology jointly developed by the Academy of Petroleum Sciences and Sinopec Hunan Petrochemical Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Hunan Petrochemical") will help the relocation and upgrading project of Hunan Petrochemical caprolactam industry chain to be completed and put into operation, and the large-scale heavy oil catalytic cracking (RTC) technology in China will be successfully put into operation. It effectively fills the gap in the mainland's use of inferior heavy oil to produce propylene and ethylene. At present, the company is also accelerating the continuous pyrolysis project of 10,000-ton waste plastics into industrial demonstration.
Create a collaborative system
While optimizing the management system, the Institute also attaches great importance to building a collaborative system. In the field of petrochemical industry, the Institute of Petroleum Sciences has maintained a fine tradition of fighting with the "big corps" of relevant units inside and outside the group. The 2015 National Science and Technology Progress Award Special Prize winning project "Development and Application of Efficient and Environmentally Friendly Aromatic Hydrocarbon Complete Technologies" was jointly completed by the Academy of Petroleum Sciences, Sinopec Engineering Construction Corporation, Yangzi Petrochemical, Hainan Refining & Chemical Co., Ltd. and other internal units of the Group, as well as external units such as CNOOC Tianjin Chemical Research and Design Institute. Wang Zhe introduced that in recent years, the Academy of Stone Sciences has carried forward the tradition and established a "large corps", led by the leaders of the institute, and dispatched backbone forces to focus on tackling key problems across units. The company has cooperated with 11 units, including China Petrochemical Engineering Construction Corporation, Yanshan Petrochemical, Yangzi Petrochemical, Maoming Petrochemical, Chinese Academy of Environmental Sciences, Beijing Institute of Petrochemical Technology, Tongji University, and Zhejiang Yangtze River Delta Circular Economy Technology Research Institute, to establish the "Industrial Technology Innovation Center for Waste Plastic Chemical Recycling Industry" to research and develop waste plastic continuous pyrolysis (RPCC) technology integrating "production, education and research", with a pyrolysis oil yield of more than 80%. Compared with similar technologies at home and abroad, it has significant carbon emission reduction competitiveness and circular economy benefits, and has applied for 55 Chinese invention patents. After the "dual carbon" goal was proposed, Sinopec increased its deployment in the low-carbon field. The Institute of Petroleum Sciences has strengthened the construction of a collaborative system from multiple perspectives such as industry, policy, and capital. Among them, the field of hydrogen energy is a key area of the Chinese Academy of Petroleum Sciences and even Sinopec. Focusing on Sinopec's strategic goal of "building China's No. 1 hydrogen energy company", the Institute of Petroleum Sciences assumes the responsibility of the secretary-general of the hydrogen energy industry chain. In November 2023, the company held the "Forum on High-quality Co-construction of the Hydrogen Energy Industry Chain in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area", inviting representatives of more than 60 enterprises, universities and associations in the national hydrogen energy industry chain to conduct in-depth exchanges on deepening open cooperation and promoting the high-quality development of the modern industrial chain of hydrogen energy application. At the same time, the Institute of Petroleum Sciences also takes the lead in the construction of a hydrogen energy standard system, and lays out the whole industrial chain such as hydrogen production by water electrolysis, hydrogen production from natural gas, hydrogen storage materials, hydrogen purification, high-purity hydrogen analysis, complete sets of hydrogen refueling station technology, and key materials for fuel cells.
In addition, the Academy of Petroleum Sciences has built a technical system for soil and groundwater risk prevention and control in petrochemical enterprises, so as to realize that petrochemical enterprises "do not enter the soil and oil does not fall into the water", and build a beautiful ChinaIn addition, the Academy of Petroleum Sciences actively undertakes the tasks of national ministries and commissions. The "Guiding Opinions on Promoting the High-quality Development of Green Innovation in the Oil Refining Industry" drafted by the company was jointly issued by the National Development and Reform Commission and the National Energy Administration. At the same time, the Institute of Petroleum Sciences has completed the construction of the "dual carbon" platform for the petrochemical industry of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, and built an integrated "dual carbon" public service platform including low-carbon technology verification, low-carbon product certification, low-carbon technical services, low-carbon standard system and petrochemical product carbon footprint database. The Institute has also established the first low-carbon product certification joint venture company in the petrochemical industry in China, providing one-stop service for low-carbon certification in the energy field and filling the gap in low-carbon product and technology certification in the petrochemical field.
Deepen the employment mechanism
Scientific researchers are the first resource of science and technology enterprises. The Institute of Petroleum Sciences deepened the employment mechanism, not only to complete the "three energy" of state-owned enterprise reform, but also to launch a series of optional actions to reduce the burden and empower from its own reality. In terms of cadres being able to go up and down, the Academy of Stone Sciences implements the tenure system and contract management of cadres and experts, and improves the relevant systems and supporting mechanisms for cadres to be promoted and demoted. Carry out high-quality annual and tenure assessment of management personnel, and adjust the cadres and experts who rank in the bottom 10% of the hospital in the two evaluations based on the evaluation system supported by the departmental target responsibility system assessment and the 360-degree evaluation. In terms of income increase and decrease, the Academy of Petroleum Sciences has formulated relevant policies to give the project leader the power to coordinate the distribution of scientific research project bonuses from the system, so as to ensure that the salary is tilted towards front-line scientific researchers, key core talents, and difficult positions, and the average salary of scientific research personnel in 2023 will be significantly higher than that of non-scientific research personnel. At the same time, we will improve the income distribution mechanism of scientific and technological achievements, and focus on rewarding the world's advanced and first industrial application technology scientific research achievements. In terms of personnel being able to enter and exit, the Institute of Petroleum Sciences has promoted the elimination of competition in an orderly manner, optimized the structure of the talent team, and has basically formed a modern human resource management system based on positions, abilities and performance.
Researchers from the Chinese Academy of Petroleum Sciences conducted reforming catalyst evaluation experiments, which provided important basic data for the development and industrial application of Sinopec's "Ten Dragons" research project - isomerization technology of solid superacids C5 and C6. The optional actions of the Academy of Petroleum Sciences highlight the burden reduction and empowerment to ensure the efficiency of scientific research. In order to ensure the time for scientific research, the Institute of Petroleum Sciences has allocated scientific research assistants, patent agents and other professional assistants for the backbone of scientific research to undertake tedious transactional work such as operation and maintenance of experimental facilities, budget preparation, daily procurement, and reimbursement of funds. The company has also set up a team of 16 patent agents, and each research room is equipped with a centralized patent agent to carry out targeted training and counseling, which has significantly improved the convenience of patent business handling, and the number of authorized Chinese patents has increased by more than 10% throughout the year. In addition to the allocation of assistants, the Academy of Petroleum Sciences has also established a burden reduction mechanism for scientific researchers. In terms of compaction responsibility, the company will incorporate "reducing the burden on scientific research personnel" into daily supervision, party committee inspections and annual branch assessments, so as to enhance the seriousness and sustainability of supervision and inspection; At the meeting, the management method of "no meeting day" was introduced every week, and the number of meetings in the research room was strictly limited, not more than 4 times per month, and scientific researchers did not attend reception meetings; In terms of authority approval, based on the characteristics of the laboratory itself, we will explore and improve the approval authority of equipment maintenance and give the laboratory greater power to mobilize resources. In addition, the Institute of Petroleum Sciences further reduces the burden on scientific researchers through informatization and process simplification. For example, in response to the problem of poor information sharing, the company has accelerated the management of the whole field, the whole chain and the whole link to go online, focusing on "filling in the information only once", and establishing a scientific research management data integration platform. In view of the problem of cumbersome procedures, the "applicability and operability" of the system revision were highlighted, and the standard process was further standardized, and the 193 systems, processes, and emergency plans were streamlined to 112.
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