To: Allen Bucholski who wrote (8179 ) 5/12/2006 9:08:20 PM From: Allen Bucholski Read Replies (1) | Respond to of 8393 Ovonic battery mentioned in Rare Earth site. China Rare Earth Valley (May 12,2005) To transform resource advantage into economic advantage for rare earth and promote rare earth industry development, Inner Mongolia Baotou Rare Earth Hi-Tech Industrial Development Zone depends on research institutes and universities as technical support and develops rare earth new materials and its applications as main goal. So far there are 57 rare earth enterprises in the China Rare Earth Valley with 430 mu area of rare earth application industrial zone. Total industrial production value is RMB£¤2.1 billion and rare earth products are increased to 130 types from the past about 60 types, which improves technical value of products, application level and market competition. Shi Suzhen, assistant director of administration committee of Baotou Rare Earth Hi-Tech Industrial Development Zone, said, rare earth industry has become groups strongly in China Rare Earth Valley. REO Nickel metal hydride battery project built jointly by American Ovonic Company and Baogang Rare Earth Hi-Tech Stock Company has been put into production. France Rodia Ltd brings new technology and extends production scale. Many world¡¯s famous companies and enterprises such as Japanese Santoku Battery, Showa Denko, Ningbo Yunsheng, etc have made investment in the zone, which forms six industrial chains including Nd-Fe-B permanent magnetic materials, hybrid rare earth metals, nickel metal hydride batteries, rare earth engineering materials, rare earth advanced materials. She said, rare earth deep processing products account for 43% and rare earth basic functional materials account for 20% of total proportion in China Rare Earth Valley. Annual capacity for Nd-Fe-B alloy and permanent magnetic materials is up to 3500 tons, for rare earth hydrogen storage alloy is 2500 tons and for rare earth polishing powders is 3500 tons. The first domestic rare earth college is founded to cultivate future rare earth talents in China Rare Earth Valley. Rare earth industry spread, the industrial chains extension, and competition force improvement increase vigor for development of Rare Earth Hi-Tech Zone.