HLM – Chapter 1049 Patent Rights

After getting a general idea of this material, Wang Bo told Na Qingyang to contact the design team behind it. This wasn’t difficult — the team members had graduated from that very school, still kept in touch with their teachers, and some classmates even continued to work there.

A little over an hour later, Na Qingyang came to him and said, “Boss, I’ve contacted them. Want to go talk? I’ve set up a video call with Professor Fan, the head of the team. They were very happy to hear we’re interested in their material.”

Wang Bo nodded. “Alright.”

The video connected, and a middle-aged man with graying hair appeared on the screen.

It was clear he had already heard an introduction about Wang Bo from Na Qingyang. After exchanging greetings, he smiled and said, “Mr. Wang Bo, you’re truly distinguished at such a young age. I just looked you up online — you’re a pride of our Chinese nation living overseas, able to build such a remarkable town. Truly impressive.”

Hearing this, Wang Bo immediately realized the professor didn’t know he had actually graduated from the Ocean University of China. To avoid awkwardness, he didn’t correct him and instead replied politely, “I’m just an ordinary man who works hard like any Chinese. Scholars like you, Professor Fan — you’re the backbone of our nation. Your research achievements are what truly amaze people.”

Professor Fan also became polite, but once the topic of the super-hydrophobic microporous metal wire material came up, pride naturally rose on his face.

As a purely academic researcher, he wasn’t great with social skills — and he knew it. So the moment the material came up, he followed the thread of the conversation and began explaining enthusiastically:

“This material uses copper-based alloys, mainly brass. It’s a compromise — ideally, we’d want a harder, lighter alloy or plastic instead.”

Wang Bo asked, “Then why did you choose copper?”

Professor Fan explained, “Because with copper, we can easily perform a simple displacement reaction to deposit a binary micro-nano structure on the surface of the copper mesh. This structure is critical for super-hydrophobicity…”

“According to our experimental data, compared with ordinary boats that don’t use this new surface technology, vessels using this material float more stably. Even when the material’s edge dips below the waterline, it still remains suspended. And it has an astonishing load-bearing capacity. Thanks to the special dual micro-nano structure, even if it sustains physical damage, the boat can still restore its super-hydrophobic properties…”

Wang Bo and Na Qingyang were completely lost. They’d heard of nanomaterials, sure — but the principles and details were beyond them.

Only after lecturing for quite a while did Professor Fan notice their blank stares. Embarrassed, he said, “Ah, apologies. I tend to ramble when it comes to my area of expertise.”

Wang Bo replied, “Not at all, we actually enjoy listening — it’s good to learn something new.”

He regretted the politeness immediately.

The professor was an honest man. Hearing that, he became even more delighted. “Many young people nowadays aren’t this eager to learn! Your attitude is excellent — one should study for a lifetime. Come, let me continue…”

“…The practical value is still limited for now. The real highlight of this project is how it transforms fundamental research into meaningful applied research. If we can achieve that, we’re satisfied.”  Half an hour later, the professor finally concluded his impromptu science lecture.

Wang Bo and Na Qingyang applauded like they were back in college attending a seminar.

Once the lecture ended, they finally moved to the main topic. Wang Bo presented his idea: using this material as the foundation to build a floating house.

Professor Fan nodded. “That’s feasible. Using it for shipbuilding has limitations, but for water-based mechanical equipment — like platforms for marine monitoring devices — it works well. Building floating houses is also doable. The air film formed on the surface increases air resistance and hydrodynamic resistance, improving the base’s ability to withstand wind and waves.”

Wang Bo asked, “How much would it cost? A base for a house about twenty square meters, with the house weighing around one ton.”

Professor Fan said, “The load isn’t heavy, but the material is expensive. Coverage for one square meter is about 20,000. For twenty square meters — about 400,000.”

Wang Bo hesitated. That wasn’t just expensive — it was very expensive. Four hundred thousand could build a proper villa in New Zealand.

No wonder the material wasn’t useful for building ships. A cargo ship’s hull would need several thousand cubic meters — the cost would skyrocket into the billions!

Seeing Wang Bo’s reaction, Professor Fan sighed helplessly, “There’s no helping it. Super-hydrophobic materials depend on preparing micro-nano surface structures and applying low surface-energy coatings. The ideal alloy would actually use gold as the main component — but of course, who could afford that?”

“Using copper is already the cheapest compromise. Copper oxidizes easily and isn’t strong enough. Ship hulls are usually steel alloys. But preparing micro-nano structures on those would be even more expensive.”

He shook his head, clearly pessimistic about the future of his research topic.

Taking notes beside them, Na Qingyang raised his head and asked, “Professor Fan, is that four hundred thousand RMB, NZD, or USD?”

“RMB.”

Hearing this, Wang Bo let out a breath of relief. They had been using different currencies — Wang Bo was thinking in New Zealand dollars. But in RMB, the cost dropped to around 80,000 NZD, which wasn’t bad.

Even with the full base structure, it would cost only a bit over 100,000 NZD per house. Building fifty floating houses would be about 5 million — expensive, but acceptable.

Wang Bo then asked whether they could mass-produce it. If they could, his demand would be in the tens of millions of RMB.

For a research project, a demand of tens of millions was huge. Professor Fan became instantly ecstatic. “No problem at all! The patent belongs to our lab. If we partner with a factory, production is easy.”

Hearing that, Na Qingyang shot Wang Bo a sharp look and whispered, “Buy the patent — try.”

Wang Bo had already thought of it himself. Though the material wasn’t very practical right now, it held immense unrealized potential.