Q: Why did the company choose the energy storage industry as a new growth point? What is the company's layout in this field?
A: According to CNESA data, by the end of 2020, there are about 172.5GW of pumped hydro storage and about 14.2GW of electrochemical energy storage (including about 13.1GW of lithium battery storage) in global energy storage projects. At present, the proportion of electrochemical energy storage is still relatively low, but electrochemical energy storage has excellent frequency modulation and climbing capabilities, and the current electrochemical energy storage is already economical. On the electricity consumption side, the peak-valley spread arbitrage business model has arbitrage space in some provinces and cities; on the power grid side, peak shaving is currently economical, while frequency regulation is more economical under certain conditions; on the power generation side, policies require strong wind and wind Distributing energy storage, paired with grid ancillary services, is now starting to become economical. With the steady advancement of the "carbon peak, carbon neutral" policy, the technology of the lithium battery industry is becoming more and more mature, and electrochemical energy storage has broad market prospects. Due to the huge market size, high-growth industry trends, and years of technical reserves, the company has chosen energy storage as a new business growth point.
At present, the company's layout in the energy storage industry chain has covered energy storage cell manufacturing, BMS (battery management system) product development, EMS (energy management system) product development, and integrated energy storage products. The company's products can be applied to the power generation side, the grid side and the power consumption side. The company is committed to becoming an excellent energy storage system integration service provider. Recently, the company has signed a cooperation agreement with Three Gorges Electric Power with a total amount of not less than 1GWh, and the first batch of 50MWh supply contracts. In the future, the company will increase investment and layout in the field of energy storage, and continuously improve the construction of new energy recycling industry.
Q: What is the company's expansion in the overseas energy storage market?
A: The stability of the power grid in European and American countries is not as good as that in China, and households generally use natural gas power generation as a backup power source. Due to restrictions on nuclear power and thermal power in major European countries, electricity prices for residents have been rising for several years in a row. The superimposed heating demand has caused the cost of energy consumption to rise several times, and the demand for electrochemical energy storage has risen rapidly.
The company mainly provides household energy storage products for the overseas energy storage market, including single household household photovoltaic + energy storage overall energy system, and large-scale ground photovoltaic + energy storage overall energy system. At present, the company has an energy storage team in North America. It is expected that business and orders will be launched in the first half of 2022. Later, the company will also promote portable energy storage products (car life and emergency power supply, outdoor power supply, medical rescue power supply, etc.).
Q: The company's plan for the follow-up energy storage business?
A: The company's overall positioning of the energy storage business is: to build the energy storage business into a strategic business with leading technology, high market share, and global operation, so as to achieve two-wheel-driven development. Specific goals include:
One is cost reduction. Through the extension of upstream industries, the cost of energy storage products will be further reduced and the competitiveness of products will be improved. The goal is to reduce the cost of energy storage systems by 15%-20% by 2025.
The second is to expand production capacity. The goal is to build a new energy battery capacity of 10GWh in 2022, build a new 100,000-ton waste lithium battery recycling capacity, and build a new cylindrical battery pilot line.
The third is to expand the market. The goal is to become a leading company in the central region and have a certain market share in the domestic market.
In the company's recently released employee stock ownership plan, the revenue targets for the company's new energy sector (including energy storage and automotive low-voltage lithium batteries) for 2022-2024 determined for the incentive objects are 10/20/4 billion yuan respectively.
Q: After the car is electrified, will the role of the starter battery be provided and replaced by the power battery?
A: New energy vehicles have two battery systems, one is a high-voltage battery pack, which supplies power to the drive motor, and the other is a 12V battery, which supplies power for low-voltage electrical appliances and starts the high-voltage system.
When the new energy vehicle is parked, the high-voltage system is cut off. When starting, the low-voltage wakes up the car controller, and then further starts the high-voltage battery. If there is no low-voltage system, there is a certain risk in directly starting the high-voltage system when the high-voltage system encounters a problem; if the high-voltage battery pack keeps running when the vehicle is parked, it will lead to higher energy consumption. In theory, the high-voltage battery pack can supply power to low-voltage electrical appliances by reducing the voltage, but if the high-voltage battery pack is damaged and powered off, the vehicle cannot be used normally. Retaining the starting battery is also due to safety, stability and cost considerations. The low-voltage system is responsible for functions such as doors, windows, keys, lights, wipers, and steering wheels. When the power battery fails to work at extreme temperatures, the low-voltage system remains The basic functions of these cars can be guaranteed.
