On August 12, overseas media representatives visited the Function (Qingdao) Marine Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Function Technology") in Qingdao City, east China's Shandong Province, during the "Opportunities in China, Innovative Qingdao" Overseas Media's Visit in Qingdao. The delegation visited Function Technology's transparent krill-oil factory and R&D base, exploring Qingdao's practices in tapping marine resources and fostering new-quality marine productive forces through scientific and technological innovation.

Function Technology's 100,000-grade GMP transparent factory.

Photo by Wang Xianxin

Stepping into Function Technology's 100,000-grade GMP transparent factory, automated krilloil production lines and digital sol-gel systems are running in good order. Targeting bottlenecks in developing high-value-added krill products, the company has tackled core technologies for the separation and purification of marine phospholipids to achieve high concentration of active substances in its products. Furthermore, it has independently developed a unique marine phospholipid delivery technology, which enables targeted absorption of nutrients and effectively improves the bio-availability of products.

At present, Function Technology holds 51 intellectual property rights, including 22 invention patents. It has led and participated in formulating 3 national standards and 10 association standards. Meanwhile, the company is tapping into the higher-value-added marine biomedicine sector. It has cooperated with China Pharmaceutical University to develop pharmaceutical excipients of krill phospholipids, set up a high-end marine pharmaceutical preparation R&D center in partnership with Qingdao University, and built multiple marine phospholipid medical innovation platforms jointly with Ocean University of China.

Function Technology's eight-year growth serves as a microcosm of China's marine biological industry shifting from following others' lead to taking the lead globally. It also stands as a typical example of Qingdao fostering blue new-quality productive forces. Leveraging its marine advantages and taking specialized, refined, distinctive and innovative enterprises as the pivot, Qingdao keeps advancing the high-value and refined utilization of marine resources, thus continuously expanding the boundaries of its marine economy.