Recently, the sodium-ion battery startup company Zhongke Haina has undergone industrial and commercial changes, and the new shareholders have added in addition to Haisong Capital, Aggregate Capital and other institutions, as well as Huawei's Hubble Investment. According to an informed source, the valuation of Zhongke Hai Sodium has exceeded 5 billion yuan, up more than 800% compared with March last year.
It is understood that in the short period of five years since its establishment, Zhongke Haina has gained the recognition of many industrial parties and capitals. In 2017, Zhongke Haina released sodium-ion batteries, harvesting angel round investment from GuokeJiahe and the Institute of Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences; in 2019, Zhongke Haina completed the world's first 100kWh sodium-ion battery energy storage power station demonstration and received strategic support from the Beijing Collaborative Innovation Research Institute; in 2020, Zhongke Haina and Wutong Capital injected tens of millions of yuan, and Zhongke Haina Pre-A round of financing ended; in 2021, Sycamore Capital injected hundreds of millions of yuan to help Zhongke Haina A round of financing.
Zhongke Haina financing information, image source: Qi Cha Cha
It is worth mentioning that behind Zhongke Haina is a founding team of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. The company's founder and chairman Hu Yongsheng is another researcher at the Institute of Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and its CEO Tang Kun is also a doctor of the Institute of Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
The founding team of the Chinese Academy of Sciences background has long become the most active legion in the new energy track. At the end of March, Huawei had already invested in another Chinese Academy of Sciences team in the new energy track, Weilan New Energy. Born from the Institute of Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, WeiLan New Energy stands behind Chen Liquan, Yu Huigen, Li Hong, and the company's latest valuation has been shouted to 15 billion.
Among them, Chen Liquan, 82 years old this year, is known as "the first person in China's lithium battery", is an academician of the Mainland Academy of Engineering, and a doctoral supervisor of the Institute of Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Yu Huigen, founder and chairman of Weilan New Energy, is a graduate supervisor and professor-level senior engineer of the Institute of Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Li Hong is the chief scientist of Weilan New Energy and a veteran of the Institute of Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences for more than 20 years.
Weilan New Energy also achieved two firsts in 2021: the first time to mass-produce the nano-coated cathode in solid-state lithium batteries, and the first time to mass-produce nano-solid electrolytes in solid-state lithium batteries.
Weilan new energy main personnel, image source: qi cha cha
In fact, as the largest, most complete and most powerful comprehensive research institution of natural science and high technology in the mainland, the Chinese Academy of Sciences has undertaken many state-level scientific research tasks and has accumulated a large number of scientific research achievements and talents. ”
According to the data on the official website of the Institute of Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, there are 12 holding and shareholding companies in the Institute of Physics, including 11 science and technology enterprises, with a total of 14.387 billion yuan in assets and a total operating income of 6.677 billion yuan. In 2021 alone, the enterprises under the Institute of Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences will attract a total of 1.87 billion yuan of social capital investment, guiding the development of domestic industries in many fields such as lithium batteries, sodium batteries, silicon carbide, and NdFeB.
As a technical supporter, the Institute has been highly recognized by social institutions. In addition to Weilan New Energy and Zhongke Haina, the projects supported by the Institute of Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences also include Tianke Heda and Tianmu Pilot.
It is understood that Tianke Heda, which has formed six core technical systems with independent intellectual property rights and covering the whole production process of silicon carbide substrates, has completed financing of about 800 million yuan, with an operating income of 300 million yuan in 2021; Tianmu pilot operating income of 30 million yuan, and in 2021, the construction of Liyang base was determined, with a total investment of 2 billion yuan, covering an area of 200 mu, and has started the construction of 100 mu of land.
Image source: Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences
The Institute of Engineering Thermophysics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has made outstanding achievements in the field of energy storage. Among them, the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences is known as the "cradle of China's fuel cells" and has participated in major new energy research and development projects such as "863" and "973".
Fu Yu, founder and chairman of Ji Chong Hydrogen Energy, has a background in the Dalian Institute of Chemicals of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and has participated in the research and development of stack prototypes. In 2009, he joined the industrialization company "Xinyuan Power", which the institute participated in, and was responsible for SAIC's stack product development project, accumulating a lot of market-oriented experience; in 2018, Fu Yu realized that the new energy industry had reached a critical point of commercialization, so he established JiChong Hydrogen Energy, focusing on the research and development and industrialization of hydrogen fuel cell stacks.
In the first year of its establishment, Ji Chong Hydrogen Energy received angel round financing from Zhongke Chuangxing and Shanghai Remodeling; in 2020, Ji Chong Hydrogen Energy completed the Pre-A round of financing led by Mizuki Yide; in January 2022, Ji Chong Hydrogen Energy officially announced hundreds of millions of yuan A round of financing. It is reported that after the completion of this round of financing, the company's valuation has increased by more than 20 times.
Ji Chong hydrogen energy financing information, image source: Qi Cha Cha
At the same time, various VCs/PE are also betting on energy storage equipment providers to store national energy. It is understood that the China Storage State Energy, which was established in 2018, is an industrialization company founded through scientific and technological achievements as shares, and its technology and research and development team are from the Institute of Engineering Thermophysics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
At the end of 2020, China Storage Guoneng received a 160 million yuan angel round investment led by Zhongke Chuangxing and Zhuzhou Hi-Tech, and in October 2021, the company completed a 180 million yuan Pre-A round of financing led by CMB International. It is reported that a new round of financing is coming to an end, with a valuation of billions.