SMax is a high-tech enterprise specializing in the R&D, production, and application of industrial electrodialysis membranes (IEM), with over 10 years of industry experience. Leveraging the strategic cooperation platform of the National Salt Lake Center, the company has assembled a highly qualified professional team, including 12 PhDs/Masters, 35 specialized engineers, and 8 other technical personnel, possessing robust capabilities in technological R&D and engineering implementation. The company maintains its headquarters in Shanghai, operates membrane production and stack assembly facilities in Yantai, Shandong, and has an office in Golmud, Qinghai, forming a comprehensive layout that covers R&D, production, and application services. With continuous innovation, the company has successively obtained certifications as a National High-Tech Enterprise, a Science-and-Technology-Based SME, and a Specialized, Fine, Distinctive, and Innovative Enterprise. In terms of intellectual property, the company holds complete proprietary rights to membrane materials and related processes, boasts strong capabilities for iterative development of membrane products, and actively engages in industry–university–research collaborations to continuously drive technological innovation. On the supply chain front, the company has achieved 100% domestic sourcing of upstream raw materials and established a network of qualified suppliers, ensuring a stable and controllable supply chain. Its product performance meets international advanced standards and has been specifically optimized and upgraded to address domestic industrial electrodialysis application needs. With an annual membrane production capacity of 250,000 square meters, the company has implemented a comprehensive, standardized production system (SOP) covering the entire process, while also offering customized membrane solutions tailored to customer requirements. Backed by an experienced technical and engineering service team, the company has accumulated more than 10 years of industrial electrodialysis service experience, supporting the stable operation of over 200 sets of equipment. It provides customers with full-lifecycle technical services—from solution design and product supply to system operation and maintenance—committed to becoming a trusted partner in the field of industrial electrodialysis.
Development history
The company originated during the R&D phase from 2010 to 2019, leveraging East China University of Science and Technology (ECUST) to conduct research on ion-exchange membrane technology and explore its industrialization. In 2020, the company completed construction and put into operation a production line with an annual capacity of 60,000 square meters of ion-exchange membranes, while simultaneously finishing the R&D and industrial application of bipolar membranes (DD) and electrodialysis (ED) concentration membranes. In 2021, the company’s bipolar membrane technology was rapidly applied in areas such as aluminum foil anodic oxidation etching solutions, power plant desulfurization wastewater, and zero-liquid-discharge (ZLD) treatment of chemical wastewater. In 2022, the company further expanded its production capacity to 60,000 square meters per year and promoted the practical application of electrodialysis technology in projects involving material desalination, phosphoric acid recovery, lithium extraction from brine, and copper resource recovery. In 2023, the company successfully developed a monovalent/divalent ion-selective anion exchange membrane and built China’s first wide-format production line with an annual capacity of 120,000 square meters; meanwhile, related products have been deployed in battery‑production wastewater resource recovery projects, earning the company honors such as “High-Tech Enterprise” and “Innovative SME.” In 2024, the company launched an alkali‑resistant cation exchange membrane, continuing to expand the applications of monovalent/divalent ion-selective membranes in wastewater resource recovery, seawater desalination, battery‑production wastewater treatment, salt‑lake lithium extraction, and bipolar membrane electrodialysis, and was recognized as a “Specialized, Fine, Distinctive, and Innovative” SME. In 2025, the company further achieved industrial-scale application of monovalent/divalent ion-selective membranes, with related products successfully implemented in projects such as sulfuric‑acid‑based titanium dioxide production, soy sauce desalination, and whey desalination. After more than a decade of technological accumulation and industrial development, the company has established a complete industrial system covering ion-exchange membrane R&D, large-scale production, and resource recovery solutions. Its products are widely used in new energy, salt‑lake lithium extraction, industrial wastewater treatment, seawater desalination, and resource recycling sectors.
Engineering Technology Research Center
The center was approved by the Ministry of Science and Technology in 2009 and jointly established by East China University of Science and Technology and Qingpu Industrial Park. It is one of the earliest domestic platforms to conduct research on the resource utilization of industrial waste and the international strategic needs for solid waste resource recovery. The center addresses the demands of local economic development and industrial growth, focusing on key fundamental theories, common technologies, and industrial upgrading issues within the resource‑utilization industry chain, and is committed to the reduction, resource recovery, and engineering application of industrial solid waste. The director of the center is Professor Yu Jianguo (doctoral supervisor), who has been recognized as an Outstanding Expert of Shanghai and a National Leading Professional in Environmental Protection, and holds multiple national-level research and academic positions. In terms of its research team, the center comprises 1 distinguished expert, 5 professors, 6 associate professors, along with 31 doctoral students, 37 master’s students, and 30 R&D engineers, forming a well‑structured collaborative innovation network involving industry, academia, and research. Regarding research achievements, the center has undertaken and completed numerous national and provincial‑ministerial research projects, received multiple science and technology awards, and obtained authorized patents. It has achieved significant results in areas such as the resource utilization of industrial solid waste, environmental protection, and the circular economy, providing crucial support for technological advancement in related industries and regional economic development.
