Since Wuxi Suntech, founded by the "father of solar energy", Shi Zhengrong became the richest man in China in 2006, the solar photovoltaic industry has attracted waves of aspiring young people to start a business in this field to "create wealth", such as Jinlang Technology Wang Yiming, GoodWe Huang Min have become frequent visitors to major wealth lists.
It is observed that as industrial capital and financial capital accelerate closer to the photovoltaic industry, wind power, photovoltaic and other new energy sources accelerate the pace of replacing traditional fossil energy, and the number of photovoltaic tycoons landing on the Hurun Rich List or other wealth lists continues to increase, reaching about 70 at the peak. Some of these photovoltaic tycoons have been going to the sea for a long time to start a business, and some have seized the double carbon time outlet, resigned from their old employers and succeeded in starting a business, such as Liu Yong, chairman of a new energy, Xu Zhiqun, chairman of Gaojing Solar, etc.
So, which bigwigs in the photovoltaic industry have achieved a gorgeous turn from a worker to a boss?
1. Tao Longzhong, founder of Runyang Co., Ltd
Tao Longzhong, founder, chairman and general manager of Runyang Co., Ltd., graduated from the Institute of Solar Energy System of Sun Yat-sen University with a doctorate degree in 2008. In 2008, after returning to China, he joined JA Solar Holdings Co., Ltd. In 2010, he joined Hairun Photovoltaic Technology Co., Ltd. as the group's R&D director. In 2013, Jiangsu Runyang New Energy Technology Co., Ltd. was founded.
At present, the IPO of Runyang shares has long passed and may be listed in the near future. The company plans to raise 4 billion yuan, of which 2.5 billion yuan will be invested in the construction of 50,000 tons of high-purity polysilicon and an annual output of 5GW heterojunction cell production projects, and the other 1.5 billion yuan will be used to supplement working capital. According to the valuation of 10 times the amount of funds raised, the valuation of Runyang shares reached 40 billion yuan, which is 13.6 billion yuan higher than the market value of the battery Longer Aiko shares.
2. Liu Yong, the founder of a new energy
Liu Yong, the founder of Yiyi New Energy, has worked in JA Solar and LONGi Green Energy, two major super first-tier module manufacturers, and has successively served as General Manager of JA Solar Yangzhou Company, Director and Senior Vice President, Chief Technology Officer (CTO), Chief Operating Officer (COO), and General Manager of LONGi Solar Module Division. Later, Liu Yong came to Jolywood and served as deputy general manager from May 2016 to August 2018.
After resigning from Jolywood, Liu Yong founded a new energy on August 8, 2018, and the day was better chosen, with an "8" in the year, month and day, carrying the beautiful meaning of "888" all the way. After its establishment, Yixin Energy began to develop TOPCon cells and modules, and rose strongly by seizing the opportunity of N-type technology iteration. At present, a new energy has started the IPO process, planning to raise 2.5 billion yuan, with a valuation of 25 billion yuan.
3. Xu Zhiqun, founder of Gaojing Solar
Xu Zhiqun graduated from Jilin University in 1990 with a major in semiconductor materials and chemistry, and he initially worked in Henan Province with China Sijia Semiconductor Materials Co., Ltd. Since then, he has worked in Liaoning and Shanghai, working for Saint-Gobain Quartz (Jinzhou) Co., Ltd., Shanghai General Silicon Crystal Materials Co., Ltd. and Hairun Solar Technology Co., Ltd. In December 2008, Xu Zhiqun came to JinkoSolar and worked his way up from vice president and general manager of the wafer division to COO. In 2021, after serving as the COO of JinkoSolar for two years, Xu Zhiqun resigned to start a business and established Gaojing Solar.
On May 25, 2023, Gaojing Solar submitted an IPO application to the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, planning to list on the GEM. The IPO application was withdrawn on September 27, 2023, and the IPO was restarted on November 28, 2023, with plans to raise 5 billion yuan, 3.57 billion yuan for the construction of 25GW monocrystalline silicon rods and 5GW monocrystalline silicon wafers in Yibin, and 1.25 billion yuan to supplement the flow association funds. Gaojing Solar has strong shareholders, including IDG Capital, Huafa Group, etc., and the other counseling brokerage is CICC, a first-line leading brokerage.
4. Xu Xiaohua, founder of Huasheng New Energy
Xu Xiaohua, the founder of Huasun New Energy, is the former department of Li Hejun, the founder of Hanergy Group, and was the vice president and executive director of Hanergy Thin Film Power Group. In April 2020, after weighing the invitations of several local governments, Xu Xiaohua took his team to Xuancheng, Anhui Province and founded Huasheng New Energy.
Huasun New Energy is the world's largest HJT cell and module manufacturer, with 3GW of HJT module shipments in 2023. As early as 2022, Huasheng New Energy announced that it was ready to sprint for an A-share IPO in 2024. At present, the valuation of Huasheng New Energy has reached more than 10 billion yuan.
5. Duan Yong, chairman of Qinghai Lihao
According to industrial and commercial data, the chairman and general manager of Qinghai Lihao is Zhang Li, and Duan Yong also attended relevant activities as chairman of Qinghai Lihao. According to his resume, Duan Yong was born in 1974 and worked in Oriental Hope Group, and later joined Tongwei Co., Ltd. and served as the chairman of Sichuan Yongxiang, a subsidiary of Tongwei Co., Ltd. On May 27, 2021, Duan Yong resigned as a director of Tongwei Co., Ltd. and various other positions.
6. Jin Jian, founder of Jinghua New Energy
Yangzhou Jinghua New Energy was established in July 2019, and the chairman and legal representative is Jin Jian. Prior to founding Jinghua New Energy, Jin Jian was the Deputy General Manager of GCL Integration. Jinghua New Energy has won many awards, such as "2023 Global Top 20 Modules, PVBL Most Growing Brand Award", "2023 Good Photovoltaic Enterprise of the Year New Talent Award", "2022 and 2023 Most Influential Photovoltaic Module Enterprise" and many other awards.
7. Xie Yi, founder of Heguang Tongcheng
In March 2023, Tongwei Co., Ltd. announced that Xie Yi resigned as chairman and director of the eighth board of directors of the company due to personal reasons, and also resigned as the company's CEO, convener of the strategic decision-making committee of the board of directors, member of the nomination committee of the board of directors, and member of the remuneration and assessment committee of the board of directors. After resigning from Tongwei, Xie Yi founded Heguang Tongcheng. The shareholders of Heguang Tongcheng, in addition to Wuliangye, also include Yibin State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, Kunde Investment, etc.
After its establishment, Heguang Tongcheng entered the N-type TOPCon cell track, announcing an investment of 15 billion yuan to build a solar cell base with an annual output of 32GW in Yibin, Sichuan, and the project will build an annual cell production capacity of 16GW in two phases. On September 28, 2023, the first solar cell of the first phase of the Yibin project of Heguang Tongcheng officially rolled off the production line. The project started in April 2023.
8. Wang Tongxin, founder of Hongdao New Materials
Dr. Wang Tongxin, graduated from the University of Science and Technology of China in 2013 with a major in polymers, founded Suzhou Hongdao New Materials Co., Ltd. in 2021 and served as the chairman of the company.
9. Xu Yingtong, founder of Sig New Energy
On May 4, 2022, Xu Yingtong registered and founded Shanghai Sigo New Energy Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Sigo New Energy"). In March 2020, Chen Guoguang, President of Huawei's Global Sales and Service for Inverters, officially succeeded Xu Yingtong, and Xu was transferred to Huawei's newly established Ascend Computing Business (AI computing platform).
Sigo New Energy has received hundreds of millions of yuan in angel round investment, and its valuation has reached nearly 3 billion yuan. According to public information, the first round of financing was jointly invested by Hillhouse Capital and Walden International, followed by Yunhui Capital and Zhongding Capital.
10. Daniel Zhang, chairman of Aishiwei
Daniel Zhang, born in 1974, Ph.D., served as R&D engineer of Shanghai Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. from December 2002 to August 2005; from September 2005 to May 2009, he served as product line manager of Shanghai Siemens Medical Devices Co., Ltd.; from May 2009 to August 2011, he served as purchasing director of Siemens Wind Power Blades (Shanghai) Co., Ltd.;
From September 2011 to December 2011, Daniel Zhang served as the deputy general manager of Suslan Energy Co., Ltd., and joined SMA Group China from January 2012 to February 2019, when he served as the president of SMA Group China. Since March 2019, he has served as the chairman and general manager of AISWEI. In 2019, Daniel Zhang realized the management buyout of the German SMA Group China company, and only then did Aishiwei have it.
On November 30, 2023, AISWEI and its sponsor withdrew their application for issuance and listing, and the IPO was terminated. AISWEI originally planned to raise 1.5 billion yuan for the production of energy management system products such as smart photovoltaic inverters, the upgrade project of Shanghai R&D center, the construction project of global marketing network, and the replenishment of working capital.
11. Zhu Jingcheng, founder of Maitian Energy
Zhu Jingcheng, CEO of Maitian Energy, born in 1987, joined Shanyi New Energy Co., Ltd. in October 2010 and officially entered the photovoltaic industry, and since July 2013, he first served as sales director of Zhejiang SolaX Power Co., Ltd., and then served as deputy general manager of Hangzhou Sunny Energy Technology Co., Ltd. In September 2019, Maitian Energy Co., Ltd. was founded.
In late July 2023, Maitian Energy officially registered with the Zhejiang Securities Regulatory Bureau for IPO counseling, and the counseling agency is CITIC Securities. At present, the valuation of Maitian Energy is 10 billion+.
12. You Hongming, founder of Lanhai Energy
You Hongming, a Canadian, was the Assistant Vice President of Trina Solar's Overseas System Division in 2016 and the President of Trina Solar's Overseas System Division since 2019. According to industrial and commercial information, the chairman and general manager of Lanhai Energy and the legal person are shown as YOU, HONG MING, which has been verified to be You Hongming, a former executive of Trina Solar.
13. Shen Chengyong, co-founder of Renshuo Solar
In March 2022, GCL Integration (002506) announced the resignation of the company's director Shen Chengyong. Soon after, public information showed that Shen Chengyong was appointed as the CEO of Renshuo Solar. According to the official website, Renshuo Solar was established in 2021 by Professor Tan Hairen of Nanjing University, and its main business is the research and development, production and sales of new perovskite photovoltaic modules. In fact, Renshuo Solar was co-founded by Shen Chengyong and Tan Hairen. According to calculations, Shen Chengyong directly and indirectly holds about 23.637% of the equity of Renshuo Solar.
Article source: Global Photovoltaics