Dongying, a city in Shandong province, has been ramping up efforts to promote the development of rare earth-related industries and technological innovation, according to local officials.

The R&D Base of the National Rare Earth Catalysis Research Institute and the Rare Earth Catalysis Industrial Park were unveiled on March 16. They will facilitate the research, development, and application of new technologies for rare earth catalysis.

The launch ceremony of the National Rare Earth Catalysis Research Institute R&D Base and the Rare Earth Catalysis Industrial Park is held on March 16 in Dongying, Shandong province. [Photo/iqilu.com]

The National Rare Earth Catalysis Research Institute, established in Dongying in August 2019, is the only national research institute focusing on rare earth catalysis in China.

The institute is aimed at "expanding and strengthening China's rare earth catalysis industry and ensuring the safety of the automotive industrial chain" and will focus on key national new materials R&D and application projects, as well as vehicle exhaust purification, to improve the industrial application of rare earth catalytic material technology.

The newly-launched R&D base and industrial park will focus on the research and development of catalytic materials, the characterization of catalytic materials, pilot testing of catalytic materials, matching, and calibration of catalytic converters.

In three to five years, the industrial park is expected to have an annual output of 30 billion yuan ($4.6 billion) with 3.6 billion yuan in profits and taxes, forming an internationally competitive rare earth catalysis industrial cluster.

In recent years, Dongying has been cultivating its new materials industry into a new economic growth driver to promote local high-quality development, according to local officials.

Last year, 47 new materials enterprises in Dongying posted a business income of 22.1 billion yuan, up 14.8 percent year on year, with total profits hitting 3.55 billion yuan, up 122.5 percent year on year, official statistics showed.