Category: Fund Raising

NIO invests in nuclear fusion startup Neo Fusion

Post author By Phate Zhang/CnEVPost
Post date May 19, 2023

NIO has acquired a 19.9 percent stake in Neo Fusion and NIO Capital has acquired a 10.1 percent stake.

(Image credit: CnEVPost)

NIO (NYSE: NIO) has invested in a new nuclear fusion startup, its second such investment in the past year or so.

The Chinese electric vehicle (EV) maker has invested in nuclear fusion startup Neo Fusion and told CnEVPost that the project will be funded by multiple parties, including NIO and NIO Capital, in phases, and that it plans to attract additional strategic and financial investors to support the project's long-term development.

The investment was first reported by Reuters earlier today. NIO invested RMB 995 million ($142 million) for a 19.9 percent stake, while NIO Capital, an investment firm founded by its founder, chairman and CEO William Li, invested RMB 505 million for a 10.1 percent stake, according to the report.

The newly formed Neo Fusion will research and develop technologies aimed at making controlled fusion available for global commercial use within 20 years, the report noted.

Neo Fusion has a registered capital of 5 billion yuan and is 50 percent controlled by China's eastern province of Anhui government-owned energy companies and investment arms, according to the report.

"Fusion power is a clean and efficient energy source, and also potentially one of the ultimate clean energy solutions to sustainability, making fusion power strategically significant to carbon peaking and carbon neutrality, as well as solving the global energy crisis," NIO said in a statement sent to CnEVPost.

Staying true to the original aspiration of Blue Sky Coming, NIO aims to facilitate the R&D and commercialization of nuclear fusion technology by making financial investment into this project, so that it can play a bigger part in realizing long-term suitability and enhance its influence industry-wide, the statement said.

Notably, NIO Capital had invested in a company engaged in a similar business a year earlier.

On February 25, 2022, Energy Singularity, a startup researching nuclear fusion technology, announced the closing of a nearly RMB 400 million round of funding, its first since founding in 2021.

NIO Capital and local gaming giant miHoYo were co-leaders in the funding, with Sequoia China Seed Fund and Bluerun Ventures participating in the financing.

The funds will be used primarily to develop and build the world's first small-scale tokamak experimental device based on high-temperature superconducting materials, and to develop advanced magnet systems that can be used in the next generation of high-performance fusion devices.

($1 = RMB 7.0217)

NIO Capital invests in nuclear fusion technology startup

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China Deals Electric eMobility eV Fund Raising Industry News Smart Tianqi Lithium

Chinese Lithium giant Tianqi reportedly mulling stake in Mercedes-Geely JV Smart

Post author By Phate Zhang/CnEVPost
Post date May 4, 2023

Smart delivered 4,390 vehicles in China in April, down 25.73 percent from 5,911 units in March.

(A Smart #1 on display at the Shanghai auto show in April 2023. Image credit: CnEVPost)

Chinese lithium giant Tianqi Lithium is considering buying a minority stake in Smart Automobile, a joint venture between Mercedes-Benz and Geely Holding Group, as part of the latter's latest round of private funding, Bloomberg said today, citing people familiar with the matter.

Tianqi is in advanced talks to invest $100 million to $200 million in Smart in a deal that could value Smart at several billion dollars, people familiar with the matter said, adding that an agreement could be reached as soon as the next few weeks.

Shenzhen-listed Tianqi, one of China's largest lithium producers, raised about HK$13 billion in a Hong Kong IPO on July 13, 2022.

Mercedes first launched Smart in Germany in 1998 and brought the brand to the US a decade later, with the original two-seat model aimed at urban buyers with crowded parking spaces, the Bloomberg report noted.

Geely and Mercedes-Benz officially announced a 5.4 billion yuan ($783 million) Smart joint venture in Hangzhou Bay, Ningbo, in early 2020.

As part of the agreement, Mercedes-Benz designers will design the Smart cars and Geely will engineer them.

Smart has been considering raising capital as part of its effort to revive the compact car as an all-electric brand. The company was initially aiming to raise between $500 million and $1 billion in fresh funds, according to a Bloomberg report last year.

Smart delivered 4,390 vehicles in China in April, down 25.73 percent from 5,911 units in March, according to data monitored by CnEVPost.

The brand currently has only one model on sale in China, the Smart #1, which went on sale in China on April 25, 2022, with deliveries starting on September 24.

The model was designed by Mercedes-Benz, with the Smart R&D team leading the engineering development, and is based on Geely's SEA (Sustainable Experience Architecture) architecture.

On April 17, Smart unveiled its new Smart #3, its second product since its electrification transition, on the eve of the Shanghai auto show.

($1 = RMB 6.8964)

Regulatory filing: Smart's second EV, Smart #3, coming soon

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Tags Geely

China Electric eMobility eV Fund Raising Nio NIO Capital

NIO Capital invests in Chinese SiC chip maker

Post author By Lei Kang/CnEVPost
Post date April 26, 2023

Qingchun was founded in March 2021, and the core team members have been involved in SiC semiconductor technology for over 20 years, according to NIO Capital.

(Image credit: NIO Capital)

NIO Capital has invested in a local Chinese silicon carbide (SiC) chip maker as it continues to expand its investments in the new energy vehicle (NEV) industry chain.

The company recently co-led a several hundred million yuan Series A+ round of financing for Qingchun Semiconductor (or SICHAIN), which will be used to improve the SiC chip maker's supply chain layout, expand its team and build mass production labs, according to a press release today.

Founded in March 2021, Qingchun's core team members have been involved in SiC semiconductor technology for more than 20 years and are one of the few companies in China currently capable of achieving world-class performance and reliability of SiC devices, according to NIO Capital.

The SiC chip maker is also one of the companies able to mass produce automotive SiC MOSFETs based on its production line in China, and its products have been used in new energy power generation and NEVs, according to the release.

Since its inception, Qingchun has made a series of significant advances in SiC device technology and product development, including the maturation of its 1200V SiC MOSFET platform technology and the mass production of multiple products.

The company launched the first 15V drive SiC MOSFET to be mass-produced in China, shipping nearly one million units to various industries, particularly photovoltaics and energy storage, according to the release.

Qingchun also launched the 1200V 14mΩ SiC MOSFET, which has the lowest on-resistance and is currently being validated by several vehicle companies, according to NIO Capital.

The SiC market is spacious and growing fast, with a wide range of application scenarios in areas such as NEVs, and Qingchun is one of the best startups in China for that, said Ian Zhu, managing partner of NIO Capital.

Earlier today, Geely's electric vehicle brand Zeekr announced a long-term supply agreement with US chip maker Onsemi involving silicon carbide power devices.

Zeekr will use Onsemi's M3E 1200V EliteSiC MOSFET products to complement its expanding lineup of high-performance all-electric models, according to a press release.

The SiC module is an upgrade to the IGBT (insulated gate bipolar transistor chip) module, a third-generation power semiconductor with higher efficiency, higher temperature resistance and higher voltage characteristics.

The module will help upgrade the electrical architecture of NEVs from 400V to 800V and enable NEVs to charge from 0 to 80 percent in 10 minutes.

NIO Capital leads latest funding round in US-based suspension startup ClearMotion

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Tags Geely, Zeekr

China Electric eMobility eV Fund Raising Nio NIO Capital

NIO Capital invests in Chinese SiC chip maker

Post author By Lei Kang/CnEVPost
Post date April 26, 2023

Qingchun was founded in March 2021, and the core team members have been involved in SiC semiconductor technology for over 20 years, according to NIO Capital.

(Image credit: NIO Capital)

NIO Capital has invested in a local Chinese silicon carbide (SiC) chip maker as it continues to expand its investments in the new energy vehicle (NEV) industry chain.

Qingchun also launched the 1200V 14mΩ SiC MOSFET, which has the lowest on-resistance and is currently being validated by several vehicle companies, according to NIO Capital.

Earlier today, Geely's electric vehicle brand Zeekr announced a long-term supply agreement with US chip maker Onsemi involving silicon carbide power devices.

Zeekr will use Onsemi's M3E 1200V EliteSiC MOSFET products to complement its expanding lineup of high-performance all-electric models, according to a press release.

The module will help upgrade the electrical architecture of NEVs from 400V to 800V and enable NEVs to charge from 0 to 80 percent in 10 minutes.

NIO Capital leads latest funding round in US-based suspension startup ClearMotion

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Tags Geely, Zeekr

China Deals Electric eMobility Enovate eV Fund Raising Industry News

Financially troubled Enovate reportedly close to getting life-saving money

Post author By Lei Kang/CnEVPost
Post date March 16, 2023

Enovate has already owed its employees two months of salary arrears and its factory in Changsha, Hunan province, has shut down production this year, according to local media.

(Image from Enovate's Weibo)

Enovate Motors, the Chinese new energy vehicle (NEV) startup that announced late last year that it would build a production base in Saudi Arabia, is actually facing financial woes in its home market. However, the good news is that it is about to receive life-saving money.

Enovate is set to close a new round of funding in the near future, amounting to RMB 750 million yuan ($108 million), a report in local media Auto Time today said, citing multiple sources.

The money will arrive no later than March 24, one of the people familiar with the matter said. Another source with access to the financing said that it is indeed happening and that specific plans are being negotiated.

Enovate was formerly known as Zhejiang Dianka Automobile, which was founded in 2015 and produces mini electric vehicles (EVs). The Enovate brand was officially launched in November 2018.

In September 2020, the company's first model, the all-electric SUV Enovate ME7, was launched.

Enovate made its second model, the SUV Enovate ME5 with extended-range technology, available in China on July 13, 2021.

Enovate has closed eight financing rounds totaling more than RMB 11.5 billion, with the company's most recent financing round on October 13, 2020 for more than RMB 5 billion, Auto Time's report noted.

So far this year, Enovate has owed its employees two months of salary arrears, and its factory in Changsha, Hunan province, has shut down production this year, according to the report.

In addition to the Changsha manufacturing base, Enovate is also building factories in Shaoxing, Zhejiang and Nanning, Guangxi, with a planned total capacity of 220,000 units for the three production bases.

The money Enovate is about to receive will first be used for employee payroll and to push the plants back into production, the report said, citing an internal employee.

The company's performance in China has been weak over the past two years, with sales of just 1,778 units in 2021 and 5,321 units in 2022.

Enovate has begun targeting overseas markets as competition in its home market grows fiercer.

Enovate signed a contract with Sumou Holding in Saudi Arabia on December 7 to jointly build a NEV production plant here, as CnEVPost previously reported.

The two companies will form a joint venture that will make two phases of spending totaling about $500 million in Saudi Arabia to build a production and R&D base with an annual capacity of about 100,000 NEVs.

The facility, when completed, will be the first Chinese-branded NEV production base in Saudi Arabia, Enovate said at the time.

Enovate is another carmaker besides WM Motor that has run into financial difficulties.

WM Motor has been in serious financial trouble, leading to disruptions in its operations over the past few months. On March 7, the company announced that it was addressing its challenges and was working hard to resume production.

WM Motor also has plans to enter Saudi Arabia, with an insider saying the company is planning a joint venture to set up a plant in the Middle East, according to an Auto Time report today.

The EV maker is currently in talks with the Saudi government and local wealth funds, and the exact timing of the plan is unknown, according to the report.

Chinese EV startup Enovate to build production base in Saudi Arabia with annual capacity of 100,000 units

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Tags WM Motor

China Electric eMobility eV Fund Raising Nio NIO Capital Standard Robots

NIO Capital’s portfolio firm Standard Robots closes new financing

Post author By Lei Kang/CnEVPost
Post date March 7, 2023

Standard Robots aims to use driverless, robotics and artificial intelligence technologies to create efficient and flexible logistics solutions to help manufacturing companies improve productivity.

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