Central New Energy (01735): From Green Construction PV to Zero Carbon Industry Pioneer

Zhitong Finance App learned that in the context of the accelerated transformation of the new energy industry, Zhonghuan Renewable Energy Holding Group (01735) handed over an impressive report card. Recently, Zhonghuan Renewable announced its 2024 results, with revenue of approximately HK$6.032 billion, an increase of 49.74% over the previous year. Profit attributable to company owners was approximately HK$106 million, an increase of 60.42% over the previous year.

According to the announcement, the increase in revenue was mainly driven by a strong increase in sales volume of N-type cells and photovoltaic modules in the reporting year, resulting in a net increase in revenue of approximately HK$4.127 billion in the new energy and EPC segment (approximately HK$2.12 billion in the previous reporting year).

With its technological innovation and strategic focus, Zhonghuan Renewables has attracted the favor of global asset management giant BlackRock (BlackRock). According to the latest financial disclosure, BlackRock ETF funds have become an important institutional investor with a 0.46% shareholding ratio.

BlackRock is one of the world's largest asset management companies, with an asset management scale of about 11.5 trillion US dollars. Its investment decisions are often viewed as a weather vane for smart capital. Its continued increase in holdings conveys confidence in China's economic growth potential to the market, particularly in the fields of new energy and consumption.

The capital market's value recognition, and the investment logic behind BlackRock's holdings attracted attention.

Why are international asset management giants optimistic about Zhonghuan Renewable Energy, a Chinese new energy company?

The PV business, which is leading in production capacity and technology, has entered a strong stage

Why is BlackRock optimistic about this Chinese new energy company?

According to public information, BlackRock has continued to increase China's new energy industry chain in recent years, and its heavy companies such as BYD and Ningde Times are all on the same track as Zhonghuan New Energy.

Since entering the new energy industry, Zhonghuan New Energy has been committed to technological innovation. With the strategic goal of becoming a manufacturer and brand of next-generation batteries and building an integrated supplier of green energy systems, it has simultaneously developed multi-dimensional technology routes such as optical storage and charging, BC, hydroaminol oil, and perovskite, and has also digitized and intelligent production and operation processes.

Currently, Zhonghuan Renewable Energy has set up four production bases in Huainan City, Fengtai County, Tongcheng City, and Tongxin County in Ningxia. In July 2024, the 12GW N-TOPCON battery was officially put into operation at Zhonghuan New Energy's Tongcheng Photovoltaic Industrial Base. The goal is to achieve a production capacity of 60+ GW of N-type TopCon batteries in the next 5 years. At present, its N-type TopCon battery conversion efficiency has exceeded 26.72%, reaching the industry-leading level.

In terms of component products, with leading advantages in the field of N-type TopCon high-efficiency battery technology, we ensure that component products are reliable and have stable power output in various extreme environments. Zhonghuan CHGMN series component products successfully passed the 2x IEC enhanced PID test, the 2x IEC enhanced cold and heat cycle test, and the 4x IEC enhanced wet freeze test. Facing a series of high-intensity tests, Zhonghuan CHGMN series component products have shown excellent stability and durability in extreme environments such as high temperature and high humidity.

High-quality products have enabled Zhonghuan New Energy to gain a foothold in the fiercely battled photovoltaic industry. This is an important reason why it achieved a nearly 50% year-on-year increase in revenue in 2024. As an industry participant, Zhonghuan Renewable Energy is also committed to maintaining the sustainable development of the industry. Facing the phased imbalance between supply and demand in the industry, technological innovation and industry self-discipline are important conditions for achieving continuous and stable development.

In December 2024, Zhonghuan Renewable Energy was listed as one of the 19 companies participating in China's power construction tenders at a reasonable price (0.69 yuan/W) in the article “Distinguish between leading and key enterprises” published by the China Photovoltaic Industry Association. Zhonghuan New Energy refuses to disrupt the market order with lower cost prices and supports the healthy and stable development of the industry with practical actions. With good reputation and product advantages such as high conversion efficiency and stability, Zhonghuan Renewable Energy has established stable cooperative relationships with many central state-owned enterprises.

In fact, Yu Zhuyun, chairman of Zhonghuan New Energy, has emphasized on several occasions that the company does not participate in vicious price competition in the industry.

At the 2025 Huishang Conference held in March of this year, when Yu Zhuyun, chairman of Zhonghuan New Energy, was elected as the chairman of the Anhui New Energy Chamber of Commerce, he once again stated that he is determined to “not fight a price war”, strengthen industry self-discipline, put product quality, efficiency and customer needs first; provide users with green and clean energy solutions, and form a new growth curve by expanding new energy applications, such as zero-carbon industrial park construction and one-stop integrated energy services.

Hard power+hard technology: using zero-carbon solutions to break the PV consumption bottleneck

Led by the “dual carbon” goal, the photovoltaic industry has become the core engine of the global energy transition. However, the consumption problem is becoming a key bottleneck limiting the continued rapid growth of photovoltaic power generation. Zhonghuan New Energy innovatively proposed solutions to break the game from the user side. By constructing an integrated “source-network-load-storage” system, it has effectively opened up the “last mile” of green power consumption. According to Bloomberg New Energy's financial forecast, the global zero-carbon park solution market will exceed 200 billion US dollars in 2030, and Zhonghuan New Energy already has a card position advantage as a pioneer.

In fact, Zhonghuan New Energy determined plans from the strategic layout period to provide efficient green energy solutions and focus on diverse application scenarios.

In March 2025, the “Zero Carbon Park Evaluation Technical Specification” prepared by Zhonghuan Mathematics (Jiangsu) Intelligent Technology Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of Zhonghuan Renewable Energy, was officially released by the Carbon Neutrality Professional Committee of the China Energy Conservation Association. By establishing a unified evaluation system, the standard provides a quantitative basis and implementation path for local and park emission reduction, and is a specific action guide for implementing the “dual carbon target.”

At present, Zhonghuan New Energy has successively laid out zero-carbon smart industry demonstration parks in many places, such as Huainan City in Anhui Province, Nantong City in Jiangsu Province, and Damaoqi in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, etc., to empower the local economy and help transform green energy through standardized, expandable and large-scale integrated zero-carbon smart solutions for sources, networks, cargo and storage.

Relying on the core technical advantages of integrating source, network, load and storage, the Central Zero Carbon Smart Industrial Park organically integrates photovoltaics, energy storage, hydrogen energy, green alcohol, integrated energy stations and charging stations through 5G, the Internet of Things and artificial intelligence communication and control systems to reduce energy consumption and emissions in the production process, and achieve a closed loop of zero-carbon industries from green power generation to efficient electricity use, from digital intelligence, lean energy carbon management to energy carbon trading.

This model has also been widely recognized by the international market, and Zhonghuan Renewable Energy has begun the construction layout of a global zero-carbon industrial park. At international climate summits such as COP28 and COP29, the proposed “photovoltaic+energy storage+smart park” integrated plan attracted great attention. Through in-depth cooperation with more than 10 countries including Germany, the United Arab Emirates, and India, its technology has been applied to energy projects in the Middle East, Southeast Asia, etc., to help build a low-carbon energy system in the region.

The industrial layout of Zhonghuan New Energy has not only solved the problem of photovoltaic consumption, but also profoundly influenced the future direction of the energy industry. Through the integration of “source network cargo storage”, the company achieved a dynamic balance between regional energy supply and demand, relieved the pressure on overcapacity in the photovoltaic manufacturing industry, and injected stability into the healthy development of the industry. At the same time, its zero-carbon industrial park model expands photovoltaic applications from a single power generation scenario to various fields such as industry, agriculture, and urban construction, promoting the deep integration of energy and industry.

Consumption of photovoltaic power means that all generated photovoltaic power can be effectively used, while effectively mitigating the market situation of overcapacity in the PV manufacturing industry. This is essential for achieving a sustainable supply of energy.

Increase research and development to enable energy structure innovation by going overseas

Standing at the historical juncture of global energy transformation, Zhonghuan New Energy Holding Group continues to increase investment in R&D. Through the construction of an innovative ecosystem integrating the “university+enterprise+industry”, it has achieved breakthrough progress in key fields such as multi-energy integration, perovskite batteries, and hydrogen energy storage and transportation, and has cooperated deeply with top institutions such as Sunshine Power, Fudan University, and Nanjing University.

In May 2024, Zhonghuan New Energy and Sunshine New Energy, a subsidiary of Sunshine Power, jointly built a joint laboratory. Under the cooperative vision of jointly researching core photovoltaic technology and building a highland of ecological innovation, the two sides focused on integrated “optical hydrogen storage and charging” technology; Zhonghuan New Energy also established cooperative relationships with many universities such as Fudan University and Nanjing University.

For example, the “Fudan Guojin - Zhonghuan New Energy Industry Research Center”, which was established in cooperation with Zhonghuan New Energy and Fudan University, will give full play to the financial characteristics of the college and utilize the academic and talent advantages of Fudan General University to jointly carry out cutting-edge research on the new energy industry; in addition, the “Zhonghuan Low Carbon - Nanjing University School of Physics Perovskite Joint Laboratory” has also been formally established.

With multi-path preparation and high investment in research and development, Zhonghuan New Energy actively researches and reserves various solar cell technologies such as BC batteries, perovskite batteries, and perovskite/crystalline silicon laminated batteries to create a hierarchical innovation system, promote digital intelligence transformation and upgrading, and actively cultivate new quality productivity.

Through continuous research and development, Zhonghuan New Energy has introduced China's high-quality photovoltaic products to the world, and by actively exploring the global layout, it has taken the initiative to “go global” and join global competition. On the one hand, Zhonghuan New Energy has obtained Topcon single/double glass IEC certification and reliability test certificates for salt spray, ammonia, sand and dust issued by TÜV Rheinland, which prove that Zhonghuan New Energy's products still have stable and reliable performance in harsh environments. The products can be sold to most countries around the world, and have now cooperated with some overseas customers (Europe, Southeast Asia, etc.).

At the same time as technological innovation, Zhonghuan New Energy has also actively established strategic partnerships with China Power Investment Corporation, China Resources Electric Power, National Energy Group, Datang Anhui, Huaihe Energy, CNNC Energy, Guoxuan Hi-Tech, Sunshine Power, Longji Green Energy, Jingao Technology, Jingke Energy, and Yilong New Energy, etc., to achieve the launch and commissioning of a number of important photovoltaic and zero-carbon projects.

On the other hand, Zhonghuan New Energy is driven by advanced technology, strict quality control as the core, and is vigorously developing advanced new energy industry clusters based on domestic policy conditions and market demand. At the same time, it also lays out regions such as Asia Pacific, Europe and America to strongly expand international futuristic business and strive to develop the world's cutting-edge photovoltaic market.

Zhonghuan Renewable Energy has successfully reached cooperative ties with companies from more than a dozen countries, including the European Union such as France and Spain, the Middle East such as the United Arab Emirates and Turkey, and South Asia such as India, Africa, and Southeast Asia; overseas plant construction is being actively promoted.

The growth trajectory of Zhonghuan New Energy reveals a new trend in China's NEV industry: the competitive dimension is shifting from a single manufacturing scale to a complex capacity of “technological innovation × scenario penetration × carbon asset operation”. Zhonghuan New Energy is using technological innovation and model restructuring to prove that the next step in China's new energy industry is one of those ecological builders that can simultaneously handle “breakthroughs in hard technology” and “export of soft power.”