"With the deepening evolution of global scientific and technological progress and industrial transformation, the demand for titanium and titanium alloys continues to grow, and the market prospects are broad." At the Titanium Industry Development Forum held recently, Duan Debing, Vice President and Secretary General of the China Nonferrous Metals Industry Association, said that in recent years, my country's titanium industry has shown a steady growth and continuous optimization trend, and the output and demand of major products have reached new highs.

In 2023, my country's titanium ore output will reach 3.247 million tons, accounting for 37% of the global total output; sponge titanium output will reach 218,000 tons, accounting for 63% of the global total output; titanium material output will reach 159,000 tons, accounting for 64% of the global total output; titanium material consumption will reach 148,000 tons, accounting for 59% of the global total consumption.

Titanium plays an irreplaceable role in many fields such as aerospace, marine engineering, new energy, and biomedicine with its high strength, low density, and corrosion resistance. Titanium alloys are strong, light, and heat-resistant. They are used to manufacture structural frame parts such as beams and bulkheads of aircraft, as well as engine covers, exhaust devices and other components. They can not only extend the service life of aircraft, but also reduce their own weight, improve flight performance, and reduce energy consumption. In the aerospace industry, titanium alloys are widely used to manufacture various pressure vessels, fuel tanks, fasteners, instrument straps, frames and rocket shells. In the field of daily necessities, titanium is often used to manufacture kitchen utensils, cups and pots, small household appliances, rackets, etc., and its use in outdoor activities is also gradually increasing.

Lei Rangqi, chairman of the Titanium Zirconium Hafnium Branch of the China Nonferrous Metals Industry Association, believes that the titanium industry has shown steady growth and continued optimization due to the joint efforts of the supply and demand sides and the promotion of technological innovation. my country's titanium ore output continues to maintain a growth trend, overseas resource development has achieved initial results, and sponge titanium production capacity has expanded rapidly. In terms of application, relying on the huge domestic market scale, my country's titanium industry has made significant technological progress in recent years, continuously achieved new scientific and technological achievements in the mid-to-high-end fields, and took the lead in realizing the industrialization of daily necessities. The application of new fields such as 3C products has continued to expand. In terms of smelting and processing, my country has the most complete industrial chain in the world, and all kinds of products can be produced independently. The overall technical level is in a state of running parallel with the international level, and some technologies are at the world's leading level.

Jiang Jianwei, a researcher at the 725th Institute of China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation, said that at present, my country's sponge titanium industry has increased rapidly and the competition has intensified, forcing upstream companies to increase technological innovation, improve production efficiency and reduce production costs. On the one hand, we should pay attention to the improvement of existing production technology and equipment upgrades, and on the other hand, we should study new smelting technologies and methods to achieve short processes, low costs and high efficiency.

"In recent years, the demand for various types of titanium processing materials has changed dramatically. With the increase in market demand for low-cost titanium materials, it is urgent to promote the low-cost, short-process titanium ingot production process with added return materials." Chen Feng, deputy general manager of Baoti Group Co., Ltd., believes that the titanium ingot smelting industry should develop in the direction of intelligence, automation, green and low-carbon, high quality and high efficiency.

While increasing technological innovation, strengthening international cooperation is another important measure to promote the high-quality development of my country's titanium industry. Duan Debing suggested that we should further deepen international cooperation and build a high-level and multi-faceted exchange and cooperation platform.