SHANGHAI, Dec. 29 (Xinhua) A domestic energy storage investment event has been disclosed. Shanghai Shenergy Group, a wholly-owned subsidiary of China’s Top 500 enterprise, Shanghai Shenergy Chengyi Equity Investment Co., Ltd., through its fund, has invested 49 million RMB in a startup energy storage system integration company, Shanghai Shenyi Roche Energy Technology Co., Ltd. (abbr. Roche Energy). This investment makes Shanghai Shenergy Group the largest single shareholder of Roche Energy. In the emerging energy storage sector, this move signifies another strategic development for Shenergy Group, accelerating the enhancement of the “zero-carbon” energy industry chain ecosystem. Roche Energy, in turn, seamlessly joins the ecosystem as one of its integral members.
Image Source: Shenergy Group Official Website
Roche Energy Technology (Jiangsu) Co., Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Roche Energy, was established in February 2023, focusing on the research and development, manufacturing and sales of industrial and commercial energy storage systems, as well as source-grid side energy storage systems, and providing customers with customized products and full life-cycle solution services. The founding team members come from the head brand companies in the energy storage and PV industry, with more than 20 years of experience in production line construction, product development, intelligent manufacturing, lean production, marketing and rich industry customer resources.
Despite its relatively short time in operation, the company has exhibited robust revenue growth. Data indicates that within the brief six-month period from February to July 2023, including the initial two months for setting up production lines without product shipments, Roche Energy has already achieved profitability. It is projected that by the year 2025, the company’s revenue scale will reach 1.4 billion RMB, with an anticipated net profit surpassing 100 million RMB.
Image Source: Shenergy Group Official Website
“Through this strategic round of financing, the company has gained the support of state-owned assets and the endorsement of credibility. This is a testament to the trust in the founding team and recognition of the company’s value. It creates favorable conditions for us to explore opportunities with central state-owned enterprise clients and effectively address complex business scenarios. This not only enhances the operational robustness and compliance requirements of the company but also allows us to fully leverage the strategic initiative and tactical flexibility of a private enterprise. With excellent adaptability to both domestic and international markets, we are well-equipped to navigate diverse business landscapes.” said Hao Ye, Founder and Chairman of Roche Energy.
The introduction of the “dual carbon” goals has made energy transition a key focus. Accelerating green and low-carbon development has driven significant investments in the energy storage application market. As of the end of September 2023, China has successfully commissioned new energy storage projects with a cumulative installed capacity exceeding 20 GW, ranking it among the global leaders. In the first half of the year alone, the newly commissioned installed capacity reached 8.6 GW, equivalent to the cumulative installed capacity of previous years.
According to industry experts, the intermittent and fluctuating characteristics of renewable energy sources necessitate the introduction of energy storage to play a role in peak shaving and filling valleys. The rapid increase in the installed capacity of photovoltaic and wind power, driven by the demand for energy storage, is boosting the overall electrification level of various industries. The energy storage market, particularly electrochemical energy storage, is expected to witness tremendous growth, propelled by the momentum of green and low-carbon transformation.
The certainty of growth has attracted a significant number of players, with participation from photovoltaic, wind power, and lithium-ion battery companies, essentially involving the entire workforce. These entities swiftly assumed crucial roles in their respective industry chains. The Energy Storage Applications Branch of the China Physical and Chemical Power Industry Association predicts that by 2025, the domestic scale of the new energy storage industry is expected to exceed 1 trillion RMB, reaching close to 3 trillion RMB by 2030.
“The new energy industry is one of the rare sectors capable of generating trillion-level industries both upstream and downstream in the industrial chain. Although the rapid development of the industry inevitably raises concerns about overcapacity, in the long run, energy storage remains a ‘long and steady’ track. Better-performing companies in competition will run faster and go farther. Through this strategic investment in Roche Energy, we aim to establish reliable products for Shenergy Group’s exploration of new electrochemical energy storage technologies. Simultaneously, it provides a ‘manufacturing validation center’ function for large-scale production, enhancing the investment landscape in the energy storage sector and nurturing exemplary equity investment cases,” stated Zhao Kai, General Manager of Shanghai Shenergy Chengyi Equity Investment Co., Ltd.
“Currently, the issue of overcapacity is more of a structural surplus, and the energy storage industry has entered a phase of ‘manufacturing competition’ and ‘efficiency competition’ as a whole. Roche Energy’s advantage lies not only in its system integration capability but also in its capability for digitalized intelligent manufacturing. This enables rapid expansion from 0 to 1 and from 1 to N,” stated Hao Ye, Founder and Chairman of Roche Energy. He believes that, similar to other industries like photovoltaics, the rapid iteration of energy storage technology is driving price reductions and industry advancements. The scarcity of the next generation of higher-quality energy storage capacity persists. Currently, Roche Energy’s entire production line is self-designed and achieves 100% customization modularity. The fixed asset investment cost is only about one-third of that of ordinary energy storage companies. The organic combination of manufacturing and energy storage provides a competitive edge in the market.
“Competition is the inevitable path for progress in the energy storage industry. It serves as the optimal means for the survival of the fittest among enterprises, a necessary route for the maturation of the market, and a new normal in the industry guided by policies. With the combined influence of the market, technology, and capital, new enterprises will continue to emerge. However, each enterprise possesses unique inherent genes and resource endowments. This necessitates the strategic capability and tactical skills of founders and management teams to navigate the intense competition in the domestic market and the uncertainties of the overseas market, making informed decisions on what to pursue and what not to,” expressed a representative from a leading energy storage company.
Image Source: Shenergy Group Official Website
“China’s energy storage industry chain is vast, featuring the coexistence of state-owned enterprises, private enterprises, foreign-funded enterprises, and joint ventures. It possesses distinct competitive advantages and capability boundaries, constituting the world’s largest unified market for energy storage and the most dynamic center for manufacturing energy storage products. This provides extremely favorable conditions for nurturing energy storage enterprises with international competitiveness. Roche Energy places a strong emphasis on building international operational capabilities, adhering to the principle of equal emphasis on domestic and foreign markets. The company is cultivating differentiated product positioning and market capabilities. It has already established operational and manufacturing centers in Shanghai, Suzhou, and Lianyungang domestically. Internationally, Roche Energy has set up overseas sales offices in countries such as the Netherlands, Italy, Spain, Australia, Japan, Vietnam, Colombia, Central Africa, among others. By the end of 2024, it aims to achieve an annual production capacity of 30 GWh for energy storage system integration products, rapidly positioning itself among the top tier of domestic energy storage system integration emerging companies,” stated the head of Roche Energy’s marketing team.