Contact us!
Have a question? Contact us!
I agree the Terms of Service
Seven Chinese Cleantech Companies You Should Know
April 26, 2021
Clean technology, or cleantech, is a broad field. Mention it to someone and it will probably bring to mind fields of solar panels or forests of wind turbines.
But there is much more to it. Cleantech encompasses technologies that reduce our negative impact on the environment through greater energy efficiency and more efficient use of resources.
We have seen significant activity in this field. Many startups are helping to mitigate the environmental impact of pollution while building profitable businesses as part of the broader drive to reduce emissions.
To give you a better understanding of the industry, over the past several weeks we have been tracking Chinese companies that we consider particularly interesting and that have managed to build businesses around technologies that reduce environmental pollution.
What we found is an interesting mix of companies, ranging from software providers to businesses producing the fundamental components required for clean-energy generation.
But there is much more to it. Cleantech encompasses technologies that reduce our negative impact on the environment through greater energy efficiency and more efficient use of resources.
We have seen significant activity in this field. Many startups are helping to mitigate the environmental impact of pollution while building profitable businesses as part of the broader drive to reduce emissions.
To give you a better understanding of the industry, over the past several weeks we have been tracking Chinese companies that we consider particularly interesting and that have managed to build businesses around technologies that reduce environmental pollution.
What we found is an interesting mix of companies, ranging from software providers to businesses producing the fundamental components required for clean-energy generation.
Sunman Energy
Sector: Solar Panels
Funding: Early Stage
Location: Shanghai
Founded by solar-energy pioneer Shi Zhengrong, Sunman manufactures lightweight, flexible solar panels that the company says are “70% lighter and up to 95% thinner” than conventional solar panels.
Sunman’s key innovation is the removal of glass from solar panels. Conventional solar panels use glass to transmit sunlight into each module. Sunman’s panels are instead made from a lightweight polymer material.
The new panels can reduce atmospheric emissions associated with glass production, which requires large amounts of non-renewable energy.
A glass shortage following the COVID-19 pandemic also clouded the outlook for the solar industry. According to Daiwa Capital Markets, the price of glass used to cover photovoltaic panels increased by more than 70% over the previous year.
The absence of glass means Sunman’s panels are lightweight. They can be used in applications where conventional panels cannot, including on vehicle roofs and on rooftops unable to support heavier panels. The panels can also be integrated into building materials.
Among the company’s first overseas installations, its panels are currently supplying electricity to an apartment building in Melbourne, Australia, and powering a train in Byron Bay in southeastern Australia.
Shi, the founder of Sunman, also founded Suntech Power, one of the world’s largest manufacturers of solar panels. He left the energy company after it encountered financial difficulties and was acquired in 2013. Shi subsequently founded Sunman in 2015.
In November of the previous year, the company received $7 million from Australia’s state-owned Clean Energy Finance Corporation as part of its $12 million Series B round. The round also included SoftBank China, Southern Cross Venture Partners, and Shi himself.
Carbonstop
Sector: Carbon Accounting Software
Funding: Early Stage
Location: Beijing
Carbonstop provides software that helps businesses reduce emissions. Its core product functions as a carbon-emissions accounting platform, allowing clients to analyze and assess emissions data.
China’s national carbon emissions trading system could stimulate demand for Carbonstop’s software, which may eventually allow companies to buy and sell emissions allowances.
The national carbon trading system is still at an early stage. At present, only energy companies are required to register.
Carbonstop already provides services to some of China’s largest technology companies, including JD.com, Baidu and Ant Financial. It also provides services to government agencies such as the National Development and Reform Commission.
Yan Luhui founded Carbonstop in 2011. He is also a member of the UK-based non-profit Carbon Disclosure Project. Previously, he worked for environmental consultancy Best Foot Forward.
Related article:
Helping the Environment: The Rapid Development of Clean Technologies in China
BYD
Sector: EV Batteries
Funding: Public Company
Location: Shenzhen
Founded in 1995 and listed in Shenzhen, BYD is one of China’s largest electric vehicle manufacturers.
Amid the downturn caused by COVID-19, the Warren Buffett-backed company reduced its deliveries to 179,000 vehicles in 2020, down 18% compared with 2019.
BYD is one of the world’s largest battery manufacturers, although its batteries are primarily used in vehicles produced by the company itself.
According to Nikkei Asia, the company planned to begin selling its batteries to other electric vehicle manufacturers as early as 2021.
BYD is also the world’s largest manufacturer of electric buses, which are used in public transport fleets around the world.
Battery technology is critical to the development of the electric vehicle industry. China’s ambitions in the EV sector have enabled some of the world’s largest battery manufacturers, including BYD and CATL, to emerge.
CATL
Sector: EV Batteries
Funding: Public Company
Location: Ningde, Fujian
CATL controls more than one-third of the global EV battery market.
According to research by SNE Research, the company produced 4.3 GWh of batteries in 2020, an increase of 166% compared with 2019.
The Shenzhen-listed company’s batteries are used by a growing number of automakers, including Volkswagen, Tesla, Volvo, BMW and Daimler.
Over the past decade, China has created the world’s largest electric vehicle market, and the market was expected to continue expanding rapidly.
According to Canalys, Chinese consumers were expected to purchase 1.9 million electric vehicles in 2021, almost 50% more than the 1.3 million vehicles sold in 2020.
Clobotics
Sector: Wind Turbine Inspection
Funding: Early Stage
Location: Shanghai
Clobotics aims to capitalize on China’s renewable-energy boom by automating wind turbine inspections, which can take up to six hours when performed manually.
The sector is attracting growing interest from startups across China.
Clobotics says that by using autonomous drones and a computer-vision platform, it can complete a wind turbine inspection in just 25 minutes.
The company works with businesses including Shanghai Electric, LM Wind Power, Concord New Energy and GEV Wind Power.
Once an inspection has been completed, images are uploaded to the cloud, where the company’s analytical platform examines them and identifies problems with turbine blades.
Clobotics’ investors include GGV Capital, CMC Capital, and CDIB Capital, the Taiwan-based investment arm of China Development Financial specializing in overseas investment.
China’s wind-power industry expanded significantly. In 2020 alone, the country installed turbines with a combined capacity of more than 70 GW, almost twice the previous record.
According to the U.S. Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, 1 GW is equivalent to more than 400 wind turbines.
EQuota Energy
Sector: Smart Grid Management Software
Funding: Early Stage
Location: Shanghai
The EQuota Energy platform collects data and uses it for predictive maintenance and optimization of building energy consumption.
Microsoft Accelerator Beijing selected EQuota as part of its 12th cohort in 2018.
The company is a small player in a very large market. It is a rare energy-grid technology startup operating in a sector dominated by state-owned enterprises.
Its products have been installed at the K11 shopping mall in Shanghai, the ninth-tallest building in the city.
As cleantech becomes mainstream and machines involved in energy production become increasingly connected to the cloud, companies such as EQuota Energy stand to benefit.
EQuota’s intelligent energy-management platform uses artificial intelligence to improve efficiency in the energy distribution process.
Related article:
Greening Technology: How Chinese Tech Giants Are Paving the Way to a More Sustainable Future
Alpheus
Sector: Waste Management Robots
Funding: Early Stage
Location: Kunshan, Jiangsu
Alpheus is an AIoT — artificial intelligence plus Internet of Things — startup offering a range of waste-collection devices that have been deployed in many Chinese cities.
The company provides AI-powered waste bins capable of automatically sorting waste for recycling.
Waste-sorting programs in China’s major cities have been controversial. Companies such as Alpheus claim that their systems can reduce waste volumes by as much as 40%, although implementation has not always been successful.
In some cases, people have resorted to sorting waste manually despite the availability of automated waste-sorting bins.
Alpheus envisages an entire waste-management supply chain, including waste bins, waste-sorting robots and garbage trucks.
The company’s waste bins were installed in Shanghai shortly after the city’s mandatory waste-sorting regulations came into effect in July 2019.
Waste recycling had already been well established through informal collectors who gathered and sorted waste manually. Other types of waste, however, remained a challenge for municipal authorities. At the same time, machines had been unable to match people in terms of waste-sorting efficiency.
As the government prioritizes solid-waste management, intelligent public toilets, smart waste bins and waste-sorting robots have begun replacing their conventional counterparts.
Funding will be critical to the success of these startups. They stand to benefit enormously from the clean-technology boom — a market expected to reach $16 trillion over the next 40 years.
So where will that funding come from? That is what we will discuss next time.
— Christopher Udemans and Louis Hinnant, TechNode
Sector: Solar Panels
Funding: Early Stage
Location: Shanghai
Founded by solar-energy pioneer Shi Zhengrong, Sunman manufactures lightweight, flexible solar panels that the company says are “70% lighter and up to 95% thinner” than conventional solar panels.
Sunman’s key innovation is the removal of glass from solar panels. Conventional solar panels use glass to transmit sunlight into each module. Sunman’s panels are instead made from a lightweight polymer material.
The new panels can reduce atmospheric emissions associated with glass production, which requires large amounts of non-renewable energy.
A glass shortage following the COVID-19 pandemic also clouded the outlook for the solar industry. According to Daiwa Capital Markets, the price of glass used to cover photovoltaic panels increased by more than 70% over the previous year.
The absence of glass means Sunman’s panels are lightweight. They can be used in applications where conventional panels cannot, including on vehicle roofs and on rooftops unable to support heavier panels. The panels can also be integrated into building materials.
Among the company’s first overseas installations, its panels are currently supplying electricity to an apartment building in Melbourne, Australia, and powering a train in Byron Bay in southeastern Australia.
Shi, the founder of Sunman, also founded Suntech Power, one of the world’s largest manufacturers of solar panels. He left the energy company after it encountered financial difficulties and was acquired in 2013. Shi subsequently founded Sunman in 2015.
In November of the previous year, the company received $7 million from Australia’s state-owned Clean Energy Finance Corporation as part of its $12 million Series B round. The round also included SoftBank China, Southern Cross Venture Partners, and Shi himself.
Carbonstop
Sector: Carbon Accounting Software
Funding: Early Stage
Location: Beijing
Carbonstop provides software that helps businesses reduce emissions. Its core product functions as a carbon-emissions accounting platform, allowing clients to analyze and assess emissions data.
China’s national carbon emissions trading system could stimulate demand for Carbonstop’s software, which may eventually allow companies to buy and sell emissions allowances.
The national carbon trading system is still at an early stage. At present, only energy companies are required to register.
Carbonstop already provides services to some of China’s largest technology companies, including JD.com, Baidu and Ant Financial. It also provides services to government agencies such as the National Development and Reform Commission.
Yan Luhui founded Carbonstop in 2011. He is also a member of the UK-based non-profit Carbon Disclosure Project. Previously, he worked for environmental consultancy Best Foot Forward.
Related article:
Helping the Environment: The Rapid Development of Clean Technologies in China
BYD
Sector: EV Batteries
Funding: Public Company
Location: Shenzhen
Founded in 1995 and listed in Shenzhen, BYD is one of China’s largest electric vehicle manufacturers.
Amid the downturn caused by COVID-19, the Warren Buffett-backed company reduced its deliveries to 179,000 vehicles in 2020, down 18% compared with 2019.
BYD is one of the world’s largest battery manufacturers, although its batteries are primarily used in vehicles produced by the company itself.
According to Nikkei Asia, the company planned to begin selling its batteries to other electric vehicle manufacturers as early as 2021.
BYD is also the world’s largest manufacturer of electric buses, which are used in public transport fleets around the world.
Battery technology is critical to the development of the electric vehicle industry. China’s ambitions in the EV sector have enabled some of the world’s largest battery manufacturers, including BYD and CATL, to emerge.
CATL
Sector: EV Batteries
Funding: Public Company
Location: Ningde, Fujian
CATL controls more than one-third of the global EV battery market.
According to research by SNE Research, the company produced 4.3 GWh of batteries in 2020, an increase of 166% compared with 2019.
The Shenzhen-listed company’s batteries are used by a growing number of automakers, including Volkswagen, Tesla, Volvo, BMW and Daimler.
Over the past decade, China has created the world’s largest electric vehicle market, and the market was expected to continue expanding rapidly.
According to Canalys, Chinese consumers were expected to purchase 1.9 million electric vehicles in 2021, almost 50% more than the 1.3 million vehicles sold in 2020.
Clobotics
Sector: Wind Turbine Inspection
Funding: Early Stage
Location: Shanghai
Clobotics aims to capitalize on China’s renewable-energy boom by automating wind turbine inspections, which can take up to six hours when performed manually.
The sector is attracting growing interest from startups across China.
Clobotics says that by using autonomous drones and a computer-vision platform, it can complete a wind turbine inspection in just 25 minutes.
The company works with businesses including Shanghai Electric, LM Wind Power, Concord New Energy and GEV Wind Power.
Once an inspection has been completed, images are uploaded to the cloud, where the company’s analytical platform examines them and identifies problems with turbine blades.
Clobotics’ investors include GGV Capital, CMC Capital, and CDIB Capital, the Taiwan-based investment arm of China Development Financial specializing in overseas investment.
China’s wind-power industry expanded significantly. In 2020 alone, the country installed turbines with a combined capacity of more than 70 GW, almost twice the previous record.
According to the U.S. Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, 1 GW is equivalent to more than 400 wind turbines.
EQuota Energy
Sector: Smart Grid Management Software
Funding: Early Stage
Location: Shanghai
The EQuota Energy platform collects data and uses it for predictive maintenance and optimization of building energy consumption.
Microsoft Accelerator Beijing selected EQuota as part of its 12th cohort in 2018.
The company is a small player in a very large market. It is a rare energy-grid technology startup operating in a sector dominated by state-owned enterprises.
Its products have been installed at the K11 shopping mall in Shanghai, the ninth-tallest building in the city.
As cleantech becomes mainstream and machines involved in energy production become increasingly connected to the cloud, companies such as EQuota Energy stand to benefit.
EQuota’s intelligent energy-management platform uses artificial intelligence to improve efficiency in the energy distribution process.
Related article:
Greening Technology: How Chinese Tech Giants Are Paving the Way to a More Sustainable Future
Alpheus
Sector: Waste Management Robots
Funding: Early Stage
Location: Kunshan, Jiangsu
Alpheus is an AIoT — artificial intelligence plus Internet of Things — startup offering a range of waste-collection devices that have been deployed in many Chinese cities.
The company provides AI-powered waste bins capable of automatically sorting waste for recycling.
Waste-sorting programs in China’s major cities have been controversial. Companies such as Alpheus claim that their systems can reduce waste volumes by as much as 40%, although implementation has not always been successful.
In some cases, people have resorted to sorting waste manually despite the availability of automated waste-sorting bins.
Alpheus envisages an entire waste-management supply chain, including waste bins, waste-sorting robots and garbage trucks.
The company’s waste bins were installed in Shanghai shortly after the city’s mandatory waste-sorting regulations came into effect in July 2019.
Waste recycling had already been well established through informal collectors who gathered and sorted waste manually. Other types of waste, however, remained a challenge for municipal authorities. At the same time, machines had been unable to match people in terms of waste-sorting efficiency.
As the government prioritizes solid-waste management, intelligent public toilets, smart waste bins and waste-sorting robots have begun replacing their conventional counterparts.
Funding will be critical to the success of these startups. They stand to benefit enormously from the clean-technology boom — a market expected to reach $16 trillion over the next 40 years.
So where will that funding come from? That is what we will discuss next time.
— Christopher Udemans and Louis Hinnant, TechNode
Our Clients
Research | Technology Transfer | China | Scouting | LP in China
Research | Technology Transfer | China | Scouting | LP in China
