On Nov. 17, NaaS (NASDAQ: NAAS), the first US listed EV charging service company in China, announced a partnership with Wuhu Jiangbei New Area, whereby the parties plan to build integrated digital energy demonstration project. The joint venture co-founded by NaaS and Wuhu Qianwan Group Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Wuhu Qianwan Group) is dedicated to development of NEWLINKS, public transport hub “NewLink Cube”, integrated PV-storage-charging demonstration station, PV and energy storage system, direct supply of green electricity and other energy infrastructure, and provision of energy asset operation services. The project, in the amount of over RMB 1 billion, is intended to make the joint venture a city-level digital energy partner in Jiangbei New Area in response to the national “carbon peaking and neutrality” strategy. 

The signing ceremony was in the presence of Liu Meisheng, Member of Party Working Commission and Deputy Director of Management Committee of Jiangbei Industrial Clusters, Li Ruifeng, Secretary of Party Committee and Board Chairman of Wuhu Qianwan Group, and Liang Xing, Vice President of NaaS.

As agreed, the parties will engage in the design, planning, operation, settlement, investment and construction of NEWLINKS, with plans afoot to build the public transport hub “NewLink Cube” integrating charging, battery swapping, PV, energy storage, power distribution, and work scheduling; in order to meet energy demand of “NewLink Cube”, a digital energy operation & maintenance platform integrating charging & battery swapping and optimization of energy scheduling will be set in place, alongside supply and installation of integrated PV-storage-charging equipment. Leveraging big data analysis and AI algorithms and using multiple energy sources to supplement each other, the project will result in inexpensive but efficient use of energy.

Via Tuanyou and Kuaidian, an affiliate and strategic partner of NewLink, the parent company of NaaS, the parties will carry out digital energy and refined oil sale, block trade of refined oil, pile equipment payment and settlement, etc., establish a data center for supply chain settlement and payment in energy digitization, and play a part in electricity marketplace initiated by Anhui Electric Power Center, in an attempt to bring down customers’ cost of energy consumption.

Subsequently, the parties will further expand scope of businesses, e.g., integrated PV-storage-charging demonstration station construction, charging station construction, distributed and centralized PV, energy storage project, and direct supply of green electricity.

Jiangbei New Area is instrumental in fulfilling national strategies, such as development of Yangtze River Economic Zone, integrated development of Yangtze River Delta and rise of the central region. Seizing the opportunity of development, it forms integral part of Wuhu’s layout plans of “one body with two wings” and “four bays and one pole” and main battlefield for building provincial sub-center in the city. Jiangbei New Area is now stepping up efforts of establishing an industrial system with two pillars, advanced manufacturing and modern services, and relocating emerging industries at high quality and standard, with focus on elevating capacity of industrial foundation and level of industry chain. The six leading industries, including intelligent computing, new energy and ICV, green new energy, bio-pharmaceutical, construction technology and modern financial services, are initially taking shape.

Co-founded by the Management Committee of Jiangbei Industrial Clusters and Wuhu State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission in 2020 under the mandate of the Wuhu Municipal Government, Wuhu Qianwan Group, with registered capital of RMB 5 billion, is a state-owned company under the administration of the municipal government. Wuhu Qianwan Group, a platform for project development, construction, investment, financing, and asset operation management in Jiangbei New Area, is responsible for infrastructure construction, municipal utility building, city landscaping, real estate development, urban public service facility building, industrial park building, as well as investment and financing of development and construction projects, investment and development of projects of strategic emerging industries, management and operation of state-owned assets, etc.

NaaS, a new energy asset operator, provides one-stop industry chain service package from charging station siting consulting, EPC, operation & maintenance, energy storage, PV to autonomous charging robots inclusive, to boost industrial efficiency by leveraging digital technologies and AI. This year, NaaS and its parent company NewLink, in collaboration with the Government of Tengzhou City, Shandong Province, CEEC, Hubei Provincial Communications Investment Industrial Development Co., Ltd. (CIID), Anhui Province Energy Co., Ltd. (Wenergy), CR Capital MGMT, PICC Real Estate and other local authorities and large state-owned corporations, has been accelerating digital and intelligent development of new energy, PV-storage-charging integration, and construction of green transport infrastructure, while facilitating integrated development of new energy and all manners of transport infrastructure. As of September 30, 2023, NaaS connected over 767,000 chargers covering 73,000 charging stations; in the third quarter of 2023, NaaS’ charging volume reached 1.383 billion kWh, representing 21.8% of the public charging volume in China.

Originated in 2016, NaaS’ parent company NewLink is an energy IoT solution provider and one of Chinese enterprises specializing in energy digitalization. It pledges to improve the stability and efficiency of global transport energy network. Leveraging big data, IoT, AI and other digital technologies, it spurs actions of saving energy, reducing emissions, lowering costs and increasing efficiency across all links in the energy industry, alongside arrangements in autonomous driving and smart energy supply among other cutting-edge fields; it has been rated a world’s top 500 new energy enterprise, national/international unicorn, etc.