Dong Mingzhu: Gree will enter the smart home

At the provincial science and technology innovation conference held on the 27th, the "R&D of new high-efficiency reluctance motors and their applications in variable frequency compressors and air conditioners" (hereinafter referred to as "rare earth-free compressors") project developed by Gree Group won 2014 Guangdong Provincial Science and Technology Award. Dong Mingzhu said after the meeting that the main purpose of the project is to protect rare earth resources. R&D is not for monopoly purposes. Dong Mingzhu also said that in the future, Gree may enter the smart home and mobile phone industry, and it is expected that a year later it will see a smart home model home.

"Rare earths are scarce resources in the world. Air-conditioning needs such materials. If it is used for a long time, it will eventually be consumed. Therefore, we must develop technologies that do not require rare-earth resources." Dong Mingzhu told reporters that if China's 2013 production All of the 112 million air conditioners used in the application of rare earth-free compressors, can save 13,500 tons of rare earth permanent magnets, accounting for about 13% of the country's annual production of rare earth.

With the rapid development of inverter air conditioners, rare earth resources will become scarce in the future, and Gree's efficiency in this technology will also double. Dong Mingzhu said, "The research is not to immediately make big money. I think it is 5 years and 10 years. I can say that It is a sense of social responsibility."

However, Dong Mingzhu also admits that the economic benefits of this technology come from the patent transfer fee. “I attended this provincial science and technology innovation conference and felt that the government’s attention to innovation-driven development was unprecedented and increased the protection of intellectual property. In order to make enterprises that really want to innovate see the hope."

When a reporter asked whether Gree would enter the smart home in the future, Dong Mingzhu replied with a "complete possibility."

"What is a smart home? I can use a mobile phone to see the temperature at home is called a smart home? No. Smart home must be something that has connotation, is to bring health, safety, comfort and convenience to consumers. You don't need to care about it's intelligence. It automatically achieves what you want. It's called smart."

Dong Mingzhu introduced that Gree has been developing humanized and intelligent appliances, and it is expected that Gree's smart appliances model home will be seen in one year.