From knock-off old-man's electric vehicles to industrial giant

Chapter 264: The Leading Domestic Power Battery Manufacturer!
There was considerable public discussion below the article.

Soon, industry insiders once again countered by stating that "the density of lithium iron phosphate has reached its physical limit."

Xu Yi and his company team traveled to Hong Kong for a roadshow, officially conveying the value of Weineng Battery to global investors.

"In the future, Weineng Battery will build a comprehensive ecosystem, not only providing cell production capacity for new energy vehicle companies, but also providing complete CTP chassis integration solutions. In this regard, we have gained the recognition of many partners. For example, Yutong and JAC have signed cooperation orders with us. While providing chassis solutions, we can also provide design services for the three-electric architecture, which is what distinguishes us from other power battery manufacturers."

In response to the attention from the media and investors, Xu Yi did not exaggerate the solid-state battery issue, but instead focused on the current business of Weineng Battery.

"Mr. Xu, some people say that the energy density of lithium iron phosphate is approaching its limit. What do you think of this statement?" an investor asked.

The investment market remains divided on the ternary lithium route and the lithium iron phosphate route.

Let alone investors who don't understand technology, even those who do understand some technology are very conflicted about this.

Many institutions bet on both sides.

We've invested in both ternary lithium and lithium iron phosphate lithium, since both are experiencing rapid growth.

"In my opinion, this statement is not accurate. Improvements in battery energy density depend not only on advancements in materials, but also on optimizations in structure and processes, such as CTP battery-vehicle integration technology... Before we launched it, no one in the industry had achieved a capacity increase of more than 10% through structural optimization, which is no less significant than advancements in materials."

Xu Yi smiled faintly, "Moreover, CTP is not just the beginning. Our next-generation CTP 2.0 technology will further improve volumetric efficiency by 30%, not only reducing the module structure but also reducing the weight of the battery pack, while effectively reducing manufacturing costs. These improvements are far from the limit."

Boos from the crowd!

Everyone stared wide-eyed at Xu Yi!

His face was filled with shock!

To everyone's surprise, another bombshell dropped at the scene!

The sudden release of this technological trump card caused just as much shock as the first appearance of CTP technology on the market!
How could the module structure of a battery pack be optimized and integrated to such an abnormal degree?

This is something CATL (Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited) cannot do at present.

Other companies have just launched their CTP modules, and we've already iterated to version 2.0?

Many people have also reflected on what Xu Yi said, because Xingchen is a car company, so its subsidiary, Weineng Battery, is better able to develop and promote the development of new energy power battery packs from the perspective of car companies.

Such a battery pack would probably be sufficient even for high-end new energy vehicles!
Market enthusiasm continues to rise.

Then came the usual boasting and routine answers, such as how the company's technological advantages would cope with the subsidy reduction, and when the 15GWH project capacity would be released next year... Xu Yi gave appropriate answers to these questions.

The roadshow lasted for several days, and the date was January 9, 2018.

Xu Yi, along with the senior management team of Weineng Battery, arrived at the Hong Kong Stock Exchange to officially complete the bell-ringing ceremony, marking the official listing of Weineng Battery's stock code.

With the stock market officially opening, the issue price of Vaillant Battery's stock rose from HK$25.14 per share to HK$31 in less than half an hour, and it is still rising!

By the time the closing price appeared on the first day, it had risen to 38.2 yuan per share.

On its first day of trading, Vaillant Battery's market value exceeded 800 billion yuan, solidifying its position as the number one power battery manufacturer in China by market value.

Liu Yongcheng and a group of veteran shareholders of Weineng Battery were very excited. The equity they now hold is worth at least dozens or even hundreds of times more than when Weineng Battery was struggling as a second-rate company. Today, the stock options held by core R&D personnel and senior management have also yielded extremely generous returns as the market value has soared.

Of course. The listing of Weineng Battery is not for cashing out like other internet companies, but for raising funds as quickly as possible to expand production capacity and increase R&D investment. This is the only way to achieve the goal of breaking through 100GWh of production capacity as soon as possible. Both the power battery market and the energy storage market have been breaking through with an average annual growth rate of 60% in recent years.

The growth of the new energy vehicle market will be directly proportional to the growth of the power battery market. Cashing out now is like throwing away the watermelon to pick up a sesame seed.

Meanwhile, the listing of Vaillant Battery has stirred not only the hearts of shareholders but also those of its competitors.

Zeng Yuqun stared at the trending topic, "Weineng Battery tops the list of domestic power battery manufacturers in terms of market value."

He was lost in thought!
"This—the lithium iron phosphate battery has achieved the number one position in China?!"

He simply couldn't believe that the capital market would be so optimistic about a battery factory that only makes lithium iron phosphate batteries.

How can players who mainly produce ternary lithium batteries accept this?!
From last year to this year, many people in the industry have gradually developed a fondness for CATL: "King Ning"!
But now?!
Vaillant Battery has gone public, and its high market value is like an invisible pressure.

How can they possibly deserve those two words?

From now on, I'll just call you "Xiao Ning" when we go out.

"Mr. Zeng, it's not that lithium iron phosphate has become number one, it's that Weineng's lithium iron phosphate is number one..."

Wu Kai, who serves as the R&D director of the battery system, offered words of comfort, saying, "I think the overall market value is too high, especially with the support of Xingchen Automotive."

Given Xingchen Automotive's current strong revenue and phenomenal performance in the new energy vehicle market, its market value could easily increase dozens of times once it goes public. However, it remains a privately held car manufacturing company. When its battery technology is put into the industry, people naturally associate it with Xingchen Automotive's sales figures.

In other words, this is currently the safest lithium iron phosphate battery in China and even the world, and it also has the highest energy density. They can even design modules, which is far superior to those domestic power battery manufacturers.

CATL is currently only barely keeping up with the pace.

They've definitely lost out in the lithium iron phosphate market, but fortunately, their main business is ternary lithium.

"No matter what, they've become the leaders now." Zeng Yuqun sighed, feeling uneasy.
CATL plans to go public in June or July of this year and has made ample preparations for it. They also have a plan to expand battery production by 18g this year.

“I think we need to pay more attention to the news about CTP2.0. Their structural design and process integration have improved again. If this continues, when the technology is finally launched, it may impact the existing ternary lithium market for passenger vehicles,” Wu Kai said.

The passenger vehicle market has relatively high requirements for energy density, and ternary lithium batteries are now the mainstream.

But the CTP2.0 that they just announced sounds terrifying to industry insiders, and the energy density improvement rate is astonishing when you calculate it carefully!

Lithium iron phosphate versus ternary lithium?

This would have been considered a complete rebellion against the Heavenly Spirits in the past.

However, if the structural design and manufacturing process are significantly different, it is indeed possible to catch up.

It's not that lithium iron phosphate can surpass it, but rather that its density has also met the requirements, which highlights its advantages in terms of price and safety.

If some mid-range car manufacturers with ample space and low weight requirements abandon ternary lithium batteries and switch to the lithium iron phosphate market, CATL will suffer huge losses!

Zeng Yuqun's heart sank upon hearing this.

"We need to speed up our IPO!"

(End of this chapter)