In view of the surging demand for energy storage technologies, China’s leading electricity meter manufacturer Linyang Energy has again partnered with major domestic battery manufacturer EVE to invest in a joint venture that will attempt the seize the growth initiative in this booming market.
According to the information recently provided by Chinese business registry platform QCC, Linyang and EVE have established their second joint venture named “Hebei Linyang-EVE Energy Storage Technology Co. Ltd.” Linyang, EVE, and other investors are holding shares in the joint venture through indirect means. The registered capital of the joint venture is almost RMB 10 million. It main businesses include generation service, transmission service, distribution service, power equipment installation and maintenance, and integrated data system.
Linyang was established in 1995 and is headquartered in Qidong, which under the administration of Nantong in China’s Jiangsu Province. It is regarded as a top-tier domestic company that specializes in advanced and smart energy solutions. Also, it was formally listed on the main board of the Shanghai Stock Exchange on August 8, 2011. In China, Linyang has established a presence in the major cities such as Shanghai and Nanjing. Outside China, the company has set up branch offices and R&D centers in countries such as Singapore.
Linyang’s three core businesses are smart energy, energy storage, and new energy solutions. Its wide-ranging offerings include smart electricity meter, electricity consumption monitoring systems, energy storage systems based on Li-ion battery technology, and EPC and O&M services for PV power plants. The company can serve as a one-stop solution provider for the development of PV power plants and smart energy management platforms. For instance, the company can provide sources of investments, construction services, and operation services when it comes to the setup of a PV power plant.
As of the end of 2021, Linyang had around 1.6GW of operating PV projects under its ownership, more than 6GW of PV projects in its pipeline, and more than 3.5GW of PV projects covered under its O&M service. The locations of these projects are concentrated in the central and eastern parts of China (e.g., Jiangsu, Anhui, Shandong, and Hebei Province) as well as the Hohhot region of Inner Mongolia.
Linyang’s main domestic clients in recent years include Huawei, SGCC, CSG, China Huaneng Group, and CGN. Outside China, the company has also formed strategic partnerships with companies in many other countries. French energy multinational Engie is an example.
As for EVE, it entered the energy storage market in 2014. Since then, it has expanded into numerous market segments including energy storage solutions for communication infrastructure, energy storage solutions for renewables, grid energy storage solutions, distributed energy systems, etc.
In 2016, EVE used RMB 20 million of its own capital to acquire a 12.5% stake in Wotai Energy. Later in 2017, EVE entered into an alliance with Linyang to jointly develop and promote solutions for “smart distributed energy storage”. These solutions target industrial and commercial end-users.
EVE and Linyang have been expanding their partnership since 2020, cooperating in areas such as system integration for energy storage equipment, battery cell manufacturing, and formation of an industry chain.
In June 2021, Linyang and EVE established their first joint venture named “Jiangsu EVE-Linyang Energy Storage Technology Co. Ltd.” They invested RMB 3 billion into this entity, which is being used to set up a major production base for LFP batteries. With a planned production capacity of 10GWh per year, the base is expected to formally enter operation in the fourth quarter of 2022.
It is also worth noting that EVE and the authority that governs the Hubei Hi-Tech Zone have just inked a cooperation agreement. EVE will soon begin building a new head office and a new R&D center in the “solar valley” that is within the Hi-Tech Zone. From the new head office, EVE will consolidate the operations of its various business units that are involved in the energy storage market. These units vary with respect to the regional markets that they serve, the kinds of products that they sell, and the patents that they hold. Regarding the new R&D center, it will mainly be used to create key technological solutions for the designs of Li-ion batteries used in energy storage equipment. The R&D center will thus have sections dedicated to energy storage batteries, power supply systems, etc.
This article is a translation of a Chinese article written by Wendy at TrendForce. It contains information that is either sourced from other news outlets or accessible in the public domain. Some Chinese names are transcribed into English using Hanyu Pinyin.