Recently, Xi'an JD Energy Co., Ltd. (JD Energy for short) announced the completion of a series B financing of over 700 million yuan. This round of financing was led by Goldstone Investment and followed by Jinyi Capital, GL Ventures, GF Xinde Investment, Yellow River Industry, Huajin Capital, Wenergy Capital, SparkEdge Capital, Shang Capital, Capital For Science & Industry and Capitech. Historical investors IDG Capital, Source Code Capital, CAS Star and Chendao Capital continued to increase their investment. Lighthouse Capital served as the exclusive financial advisor. After the financing is completed, JD Energy will further accelerate the production line expansion and R&D investment.
JD Energy was founded in 2018 by Liu Weizeng, senior engineer and doctor from Xi'an Jiaotong University, and several senior engineers with master's or doctor's degree and more than ten years experience in product development. JD Energy is committed to technology research and product development of advanced energy storage systems, providing solutions to promote large-scale clean energy access and energy Internet construction. At present, the company has formed the R&D and manufacturing capabilities of battery PACK, BMS, PCS, EMS and integrated energy storage product eBlock smart energy block. It has the system integration and intelligent operation and maintenance capabilities of industrial and commercial energy storage power stations, photovoltaic, energy storage and charging power stations and new energy storage power stations. It can provide users with complete energy storage power station overall solutions and one-stop energy management services.
With the support of policy and market, the energy storage industry has entered a period of rapid development
Over the past hundred years, with the rapid development of global industry and economy, the total demand for energy by mankind has increased dramatically, and the environmental problems caused by fossil energy have become increasingly prominent. After the Paris Agreement in 2015, countries began to incorporate clean energy use and continuous environmental improvement into their national development strategies. China also committed to the world "3060" carbon peaking and carbon neutrality goals at the United Nations General Assembly. To achieve this goal, the best path is to vigorously develop clean energy and continuously increase its proportion.
However, as the penetration rate of variable renewable energy (VRE) including wind and solar power increases, the problem of insufficient grid carrying capacity comes along. According to International Energy Agency's definition of different stages of low-carbon transformation, China's VRE power generation accounts for 13.9%, falling into the third stage of low-carbon transformation. The obvious feature of this stage is that it is difficult to further increase the penetration rate of VRE on the basis of optimizing the original power system. At this time, it is necessary to use energy storage to improve the carrying capacity and safety of power grid and provide a more solid backing for the development of clean energy.
According to the Guiding Opinion on Accelerating the Development of New Energy Storage issued by the National Development and Reform Commission and the National Energy Administration, China's new energy storage installed capacity will reach more than 30 million kilowatts by 2025. At the same time, Xin Baoan, Chairman of the State Grid Corporation of China, proposed in a signed article in People's Daily that in response to the actual requirements of developing energy storage to improve the regulation capacity of power system, we will vigorously strengthen the construction of pumped-storage power stations with mature technology and actively support the large-scale application of new energy storage, striving to increase the installed capacity of pumped-storage and electrochemical energy storage power stations in the company's operating area from the current 26.3 million kilowatts to 100 million kilowatts and from 3 million kilowatts to 100 million kilowatts respectively by 2030. According to GGII, as of June this year, 12 provinces have clearly stipulated the installed capacity of new energy storage during the 14th Five-Year Plan period. By 2025, the planned installed capacity of new energy storage will exceed 40GW in total. Domestic new energy storage has unprecedented development space. Therefore, electricity is the central link in energy transformation and a key area for carbon emission reduction. The low-carbon transformation of electricity is of global significance to achieving the goals of carbon peak and carbon neutrality. Standing at the bonus period of energy storage industry development, the industry has more opportunities and room for development. In pursuit of system economy and safety, it also tests the professional competitiveness of enterprises.
The first "All in one" product design concept achieves a safe and economical dual-effect system solution
JD Energy was co-founded by well-known power electronics technology experts and senior engineers with master's or doctor's degree and more than ten years experience in development. In the first three years after the company establishment, the founding team conducted a comprehensive market survey and deeply explored the pain points of the energy storage industry. In order to solve common problems such as poor safety, low economy and short life in the energy storage industry, we devoted ourselves to product research and spent three years honing our skills. In 2020, we launched the JD Energy eBlock distributed energy block storage system solution for the first time in the industry.
Picture
Technology is the core driving force for the development of energy storage industry. It is the ultimate means to resolve the difficult and painful issues faced by the energy storage industry, such as cost, life and safety. For the key issues of safety and economy faced by the centralized and distributed system solutions in the industry, JD Energy is the first company in the industry to propose and adopt the "All in One" design concept, integrating long-life cells, battery management system (BMS), high-performance power conversion system (PCS), active safety system and efficient thermal management system into a single cabinet, forming an integrated plug-and-play smart energy block product eBlock. Each energy block has the ability to store energy and convert AC/DC power, and can achieve flexible expansion and building block construction of energy storage power station through parallel connection of multiple machines, defining a new standard for energy storage system integration.
While improving product safety and economy, JD Energy is solving core supply chain bottlenecks and achieving mass production and delivery capabilities through continuous technological innovation and in-depth industry cooperation. The company currently has a technical team of more than 200 experts and has established a complete electrochemical energy storage technology and power electronics laboratory. It has obtained more than 100 invention patents and technical certifications.
In terms of product, JD Energy has always insisted on creating value through innovation and driving change with technology. The new user-side energy storage product eBlock-200 launched in 2021 solved the problems of inflexible energy storage deployment, weak security, cumbersome operation and maintenance and power replenishment difficulty on the user side of traditional energy storage solutions, attracting much attention in the industry. After that, JD Energy launched a new source and grid side energy storage product eBlock-372 in 2022. The product has a DC side voltage of 1,500V and a rated capacity of 186kW/372kWh. It uses industry-leading liquid cooling technology and PACK-level immersion fire protection that far exceeded the industry level at the time. In the same year, it signed contracts for over 800MWh and was widely recognized by the industry. In December 2022, Ningxia Tongli 100MW/200MWh energy storage power station, the world's first fully distributed modular energy storage technology solution, was successfully connected to the grid and put into operation. The project is composed of 538 independently operated eBlock-372 products, which are combined like building blocks. Each energy block product can not only operate independently, but also respond to grid dispatch as quickly as a single device through advanced parallel cluster control algorithms. The project's construction time, actual charge and discharge capacity, and operating efficiency are all at the industry-leading level.
In April 2023, JD Energy launched a new 4-hour energy storage product eBlock-745. Facing the 4-hour energy storage needs in Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia and other places, JD Energy launched the eBlock-745, which has a rated power of 186kW and a rated energy of 745kWh and can be directly installed outdoors. The AC output is 690V, enabling direct expansion in parallel on the AC side and connection to the 10kV or 35kV power grid through a transformer for on-site voltage boosting. It is the best choice for large-scale and long-term energy storage power stations on the power source side and grid side. At the same time, JD Energy is about to release new household products to meet the needs of European and American household markets. In 2023, JD Energy will establish a full-scenario product line and a corresponding global online and offline service system.
With the support of technical capacity and industrial resource, JD Energy's distributed energy block storage solution has been applied on a large scale in energy storage projects implemented by State Grid, China Southern Power Grid, Power China, CEEC, etc. The annual shipment volume has increased by nearly 30 times and the solution has been widely recognized by customers. In the future, JD Energy will always maintain its original intention of driving change with innovation, concentrate on polishing products and promote technology upgrade and system optimization. It will also consolidate the long-term advantages of product economy and safety and promote the development of the energy storage industry and new energy industry. In this way, it aims to make contributions to help achieve the carbon peaking and carbon neutrality goals.
Dr. Liu Weizeng, Founder of JD Energy, said that JD Energy will always focus on maximizing customer value and adhere to the design concept of engineering productization and product modularization. We will analyze and solve the safety and economy problems faced by the energy storage industry from a system perspective, and continuously bring differentiated leading solutions to the industry through new software architecture and hardware topology innovation and new material and device application.
Under the guidance of carbon peaking and carbon neutrality and energy security goals, China's renewable energy has entered a new development stage of large-scale, high-proportion, market-oriented and high-quality development. Electrochemical energy storage will also play a vital role in this development process. The energy storage industry is in its infancy and there is a long way to go. JD Energy will always adhere to the concept of focusing on product and customer value, and continuously create safer, more economical, and higher customer value products and solutions, so as to help the energy storage industry develop healthily with high quality and help achieve the carbon peaking and carbon neutrality goals!
The Goldstone Investment team said: "We are currently at a critical juncture for large-scale grid connection of new energy sources. The rigid demand for energy storage is becoming increasingly prominent. Benefiting from policy and business model innovation, independent shared energy storage can gradually achieve industrial closed loop. Large-scale energy storage is expected to continue to grow in volume in 2023. Meanwhile, as the electricity spot market is gradually liberalized, industrial and commercial energy storage will open up a second growth curve for energy storage system integration companies. Based on its self-developed highly integrated PCS, BMS and EMS architecture, JD Energy applied distributed energy blocks to large-scale energy storage for the first time in the industry, demonstrating excellent economic efficiency. The energy storage market is a long and snowy track with increasingly fierce competition. Relying on its self-developed technology in power electronics, JD Energy will have great room for technology iteration and cost reduction in the future. It is expected to be applied in more scenarios and create greater value for customers. We look forward to JD Energy's standing out! "
Li Hui, Founder and Managing Partner of Jinyi Capital, said: "Energy storage is an inevitable requirement for global carbon neutrality and is currently in the early stage of explosive growth. It is a golden track with a long slope and thick snow. Jinyi highly values JD Energy team's profound industry accumulation, forward-looking vision and strategy execution capability. The company's standardized energy storage system solutions combine safety, flexibility and full life cycle economy, reflecting a new product concept. They have also been highly recognized by mainstream customers in the market and represent the future development direction of the industry. Jinyi is very pleased to work hand in hand with JD Energy to promote the sustainable development of energy storage business and make stable and clean electricity benefit everyone. "
Yu Xinhua, Partner of IDG Capital, said: "IDG Capital can be said to be the earliest investment organization in China to start investing in new energy. At a time when the proportion of renewable energy on the energy supply side and the proportion of electrification on the consumer side are constantly increasing, energy storage development is particularly urgent. We have also made forward-looking arrangements in this field very early, investing in high-tech links such as key materials, cells and energy storage products in the industry chain to help achieve the national carbon peaking and carbon neutrality goals. Relying on its technical strength, JD Energy has truly achieved underlying innovation in product architecture and transformed energy storage engineering problems into product solutions, improving battery life and efficiency while resolving industry safety pain points. In the future, we will continue to support JD Energy in promoting and leading technological innovation in the energy storage field. "
The project leader of GL Ventures said: “We are very happy to participate in the financing of JD Energy. Energy storage is an indispensable key link in new energy development and a key part in fully utilizing energy in new energy power generation forms such as photovoltaic and wind power. We are optimistic about the energy storage market that is about to explode. As a leader in energy storage industry innovation, JD Energy has very unique and forward-looking judgments on the product development direction of energy storage industry. It has taken the lead in launching distributed energy block products in the industry and has led the development of energy storage solutions. We believe in JD Energy's continuous innovation and excellent products, and hope that it can continue to lead the development of energy storage industry and fully assist in the realization of China's carbon neutrality. "
The GF Xinde Investment team said: "Under the background of carbon neutrality, the cost per kilowatt-hour of wind power and photovoltaic power has dropped rapidly and entered the fair price range. Energy storage can effectively alleviate the instability of renewable energy and its impact on the power grid. Electrochemical energy storage has experienced explosive growth in the past few years, and JD Energy is a leading company in the energy storage system field. The JD Energy team, led by Founder Dr. Liu Weizeng and based on their professional understanding of distributed energy storage, has taken the lead in integrating product concepts and technologies such as BCS system architecture and PACK-level fire protection to create an energy storage system that combines high safety, high efficiency and ease of use. We look forward to JD Energy's moving forward in the long-term development of China's carbon peaking and carbon neutrality and continuing to bring safe, economical and efficient products to the market. "
Mu Yingjiang, Chairman of Yellow River Industry, said: "Yellow River Industry has advantages in the energy industry. As an industry-enabling investment organization concentrating on green science and technology innovation, we focus on and make in-depth layout in energy storage. JD Energy's distributed energy block smart energy storage solution truly transforms energy storage engineering into products. Starting from customer needs, it eliminates safety concerns, improves system efficiency and reduces operation and maintenance cost, thus bringing users the lowest cost per kilowatt-hour over the entire life cycle. Since 2022, JD Energy has achieved large-scale delivery on both the grid side and the industrial and commercial side. We sincerely congratulate JD Energy on its successful series B financing. We have full confidence and expectations in the company's team and will help the company and the industry achieve rapid development through continuous empowerment. "
Liu Feihong, Managing Director of Huajin Capital, said: "JD Energy has become one of the leading energy storage system integration suppliers in China, and its team strength is in the first echelon. The company covers a broad and diverse downstream application market space and has comprehensively laid out R&D centers and production bases, becoming a scarce new energy target in the market. "We are firmly optimistic about the development prospects of JD Energy. In the future, we will support JD Energy to accelerate business expansion and technology research and development in order to lead the technological upgrading and innovative development of China's energy storage industry. "
The Wenergy Capital investment team said: "With the formulation and promotion of China's strategic goals of carbon peaking and carbon neutrality, the proportion of clean energy such as photovoltaic and wind power and energy storage system electricity connected to the grid will increase significantly, which brings huge development space for the energy storage market. Anhui Wenergy Capital Investment Co., Ltd. relies on the industrial advantages of Anhui Province Energy Group Co., Ltd. to coordinate the group's financial equity management and investment business. In the past two years, the group has been vigorously deploying energy storage power stations. Well aware of the industry development trend, it arranged energy storage technology experts to conduct on-site research on JD Energy 100MW/200MWh distributed energy storage project in Ningxia. The project demonstrated excellent operating efficiency and strengthened our confidence in business cooperation and equity investment. JD Energy's energy storage products have obvious technical advantages and are gradually recognized by market customers. We firmly believe that JD Energy will develop well. "
The Source Code Capital team said: "Energy storage is an area that Source Code Capital has been researching and focusing on for a long time. JD Energy has a good team that is very rare in the industry, integrating both DC side and AC side technologies, and taking into account both grid side and user side scenarios. The team has profound industry knowledge, effective strategy execution, strong product implementation and continuous lean iteration in technical solution, organizational form and delivery capability, so we believe that JD Energy's energy block storage products with high safety, extreme efficiency, standardized delivery and long-term cost advantage will continue to contribute to good brands, drive the company forward and continue to play a positive role in the industry development. "
Hui Hengyu, Partner of SparkEdge Capital, said: "JD Energy's complete 3S design and integration capability, market-leading distributed product design concept and unremitting pursuit of system safety and efficiency have created its super strong competitiveness! The comprehensive competitiveness of JD Energy's energy storage products has received a lot of praise and recognition from SparkEdge Capital's industry partners. We believe that JD Energy will surely ride the wave and become an industry leader in the fiercely competitive energy storage market with its leading product and value concepts, strong R&D capability and excellent technical cost-reduction solution. "
Zhang Yaqin, Vice Investment President of CAS Star, said: "JD Energy is a hard-core technology company that we participated in investment during the angel round, and we are honored to be able to increase our investment in this round. The energy storage is a track that CAS Star continues to be optimistic about. JD Energy has greatly reduced the cost per kilowatt-hour of energy storage and reduced the difficulty of design and installation through the distributed energy block smart energy storage system. It can not only avoid the capacity loss caused by parallel connection on the DC side, but also truly ensure system safety and reliability, and build a differentiated competitive advantage in the industry. Today, China's energy storage industry is not only in a critical period and window phase for achieving the carbon peaking target stipulated in the 14th Five-Year Plan, but also in a strategic opportunity period for the energy storage industry. JD Energy's distributed energy block storage system solution has brought more possibilities to the entire energy storage market. We expect JD Energy to continue to lead the sound industry development with continuous technology innovation and high-quality market growth in the future. "
Ru Huajie, General Manager of Shang Capital, said: "Based on the deep insight into the potential problems and pain points in system integration, JD Energy has developed a modular smart energy block product eBlock relying on its technical strength in PCS. It has truly transformed energy storage engineering into products and is driving the industry to leap from the assembled machine era to the branded machine era. After experiencing initial wild growth, the energy storage market will inevitably see intensified integration in the future. System integrators that lack core technologies with small scale and low level will inevitably be eliminated. Professional integrators like JD Energy will rely on their innovative development capabilities and differentiated value-added services to quickly gain more market opportunities and help the new energy storage industry develop with high quality. "
Gao Nahui, Co-founding Partner of Capital for Science & Industry, said: "Thanks for the trust of JD Energy. Since the start of business, Liu Weizeng, Chairman of JD Energy, and his team have been interacting and communicating with the entrepreneurial team of Capital for Science & Industry. Chairman Liu's strategic vision, prediction and rhythm control of industry, and ability to build a team are all admirable and convincing. In just a few years, JD Energy has rapidly iterated, promoted industry development and led innovation, becoming a dark horse in the energy storage industry. We believe that JD Energy will continue to lead and promote energy innovation and revolution, bringing users a more economical and efficient energy experience, just like a single spark that can start a prairie fire. "
Zhang Nian, General Manager of Capitech, said: "As a professional organization engaged in venture capital and fund management under Xi'an High-tech Financial Holdings Group, Capitech has been committed to supporting and promoting the development of enterprises in the High-tech Zone. JD Energy is a representative of outstanding enterprises that have grown up in the High-tech Zone. The company's core team has been engaged in the power industry for a long time with leading R&D and innovation capabilities. Developing energy storage is a necessary path for China to adjust energy structure, achieve carbon peaking and carbon neutrality goals, and ensure the stability and reliability of power grid. There is huge room for future market growth. "
Li Hao, Managing Director of Lighthouse Capital, said: "It is an honor to help JD Energy complete this round of financing. Since its establishment in 2018, the company has been focusing on technology innovation and product polishing. Since 2021, energy storage, as a key link in achieving carbon neutrality, has shown a trend of full-scale outbreak. Safety and economy are necessary conditions for the long-term sustainable development of energy storage industry. Through ten years of unremitting efforts and forward-looking judgments on the industry development direction, JD Energy has launched a distributed energy block solution that takes into account both safety and economy, and successfully promoted the iteration and upgrading of energy storage industry solutions. We believe and expect that the company will continue to leverage its technology innovation advantages and lead the industry trends in the future, thus promoting the rapid development of China's energy storage industry. "
