Amid the vigorous growth of strategic emerging industries including new materials, new energy and semiconductors, fluorine-containing new materials, known as the “golden industry” of modern industry, are entering a critical window for high-end and green transformation. Recently, Ms. Su Xiaoli, a senior technical expert and Professor-level Senior Engineer in China's fluorine chemical industry, has formally joined TIANS Group as Chief Scientist of Fluorine Chemicals. She will be fully responsible for R&D and technical system development, key technology research, and technical governance of major projects for TIANS in fluorine chemicals and specialty polymers, helping more enterprises accelerate the industrialization of cutting-edge fluorine-containing technologies.

01 Four Decades of Academic & Industrial Accumulation: Multi-dimensional Capabilities Spanning “R&D, Production, Application and Standardization”

Ms. Su Xiaoli completed her bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees at East China University of Science and Technology, majoring in industrial catalysis, organic chemical engineering and materials science. She is a rare interdisciplinary expert with in-depth expertise in both chemical engineering and materials science, integrating scientific research and industrial practice. Over nearly four decades of career in fluorine chemistry, her work covers molecular design of fluorine-containing monomers, polymerization process development, technical management of thousand-ton-scale production facilities, as well as formulation and review of national and industrial standards. She has built a complete capability loop: fundamental research → pilot scale-up → industrial implementation → standards & specifications. Her cross-domain experience in R&D, production, management and standardization makes her an all-round leading talent in the fluorine chemical sector.

02 Multiple First-set Equipment & National Projects: Solid Industrialization Achievements

From 1991 to 2013, Ms. Su Xiaoli worked at Shanghai Huayi 3F New Materials Co., Ltd., the cradle of China's organic fluorine chemical industry. She held key positions including Director of Technical Center, Assistant to General Manager and Deputy General Manager. She presided over national 863 Program projects for domestic fluorine chemicals, and led/participated in domestic development and capacity scaling of core fluoropolymers and key monomers such as PTFE, PVDF, FEP and fluoroelastomers. From 2013 to 2022, serving as Vice President and Technical Director of Shanghai Huayi Group Research Institute of Technology, she led breakthrough development of multiple fine chemical intermediates.

To date, Ms. Su has undertaken more than 40 major national, provincial, ministerial and Shanghai municipal research & industrialization projects. She holds over 60 invention patents, published more than 40 academic papers and authored 2 monographs. She has won multiple honors including provincial and ministerial Science and Technology Progress Awards, Shanghai Leading Talent and Model Worker. Her work has filled many domestic technology gaps and driven the transition of China's high-end fluorine materials from import reliance to self-sufficiency and controllability.

Photo | Ms. Su Xiaoli delivering a keynote speech at an industry forum

03 Standard-setting & Industry Leadership: Empowering TIANS'“Full Process-oriented” Strategy

As an expert for multiple authorities including national ministries and Shanghai Science and Technology Commission, Ms. Su Xiaoli has deeply participated in formulating product technical routes, process standards and analytical methods for China's fluorine chemical industry. She is one of the rule-makers of the sector, with profound understanding and practical experience in industrial policies, safety, environmental protection and technological innovation.

Her expertise perfectly matches and fully empowers TIANS Group's “Full Process-oriented” strategy. As an engineering design group enabling industrialization of new technologies, TIANS always regards process technology as the soul of the entire engineering construction. Ms. Su's arrival will inject top-tier process expertise into TIANS'chemical design and EPC business, enabling deep coupling of process and engineering. In the early project stage, inherent safety, optimal environmental performance and high conversion rates will be embedded into engineering design.

On joining TIANS, Ms. Su Xiaoli commented: “TIANS'engineering capabilities in fine chemicals and new materials are widely recognized. Its ‘Full Process-oriented'philosophy highly aligns with my long-held belief that technologies must be implementable, replicable and sustainable. Fluorine-containing materials are rapidly expanding from traditional applications to high-value sectors including new energy batteries, semiconductors and aerospace. I hope to combine my full-lifecycle experience in fluorine chemicals with TIANS'strengths in process technology, engineering design and EPC. I will focus on tackling cutting-edge directions such as high-purity fluorine-containing electronic chemicals and specialty fluoropolymers. The core goal is to resolve industry pain points in scaling technologies from 1 to 100. We use engineering technologies to turn frontier technologies into real productivity. Our value proposition and delivery standard is ‘successful first-time commissioning with guaranteed process indicators'. We will deliver tangible value for clients and contribute to the high-end transformation of China's fluorine chemical industry.”