NaaS Technology Inc. (NaaS) provides EV (electric vehicle) charging services in China.
In June 2023, the company completed the acquisition of 89.999% of the issued and outstanding shares of Sinopower Holdings International Co. Limited, one of the largest rooftop solar energy developers in Hong Kong.
In August 2023, the company signed strategic collaboration agreements with Hyundai Motor Group (China), PICC Real Estate Investment, and CR Capital MGMT, expanding the company’s partnership roster....
NaaS Technology Inc. (NaaS) provides EV (electric vehicle) charging services in China.
In June 2023, the company completed the acquisition of 89.999% of the issued and outstanding shares of Sinopower Holdings International Co. Limited, one of the largest rooftop solar energy developers in Hong Kong.
In August 2023, the company signed strategic collaboration agreements with Hyundai Motor Group (China), PICC Real Estate Investment, and CR Capital MGMT, expanding the company’s partnership roster. With Hyundai, the company intends to enhance charging infrastructure and mobility connectivity tailored for Hyundai’s PEV models. With PICC, the company will work towards building a top-notch new energy charging service system, incorporating integrated infrastructure, co-branded stations, online connectivity, and comprehensive insurance services. With CR Capital MGMT, the company will construct integrated energy ports, orchestrate new energy infrastructure projects, and innovatively securitize new energy assets, aiming to incubate, invest in and operationalize digital and intelligent applications within the realm of new energy.
In September 2023, the company won a contract for the initial phase of the Anji Green and Low-carbon Supply Chain Construction Project located at Anshan Station. The company is expected to provide one-stop PV-storage-charging-swapping solutions, including supply, procurement, installation, and grid connection of charging systems, battery swapping systems, PV systems, and energy storage systems. The project entails the installation of 458 DCFC chargers, a 4,205.4 kW distributed photovoltaic system, 36 energy storage and charging cabinets, and two leading domestic heavy-duty truck battery swapping stations. The company will leverage its ‘Comprehensive Energy Management Platform’ and ‘battery detection technology’ to achieve seamless energy operations. Upon completion, the project is expected to provide charging services for 1,800 heavy-duty trucks and small EVs in the Anji County. The project is 90% complete and is expected to undergo final acceptance in the second quarter of 2024.
In September 2023, the company entered into several diverse strategic collaborations. In partnership with ZSY Financial Services and China Construction Bank, the company will help advance the integration of financial services with the domestic and global new energy sectors. With Hubei Provincial Communications Investment Industrial Development, the company will contribute to the construction of expressway service areas and energy supply infrastructure, accelerating the establishment of a comprehensive energy supply network for expressways. With the People’s Government of Tengzhou City in Shangdong Province, the company will drive innovation and promote digitalized energy management to support the transportation energy transformation in Tengzhou City.
In October 2023, the company formed a partnership with the Hong Kong S.A.R. Office for Attracting Strategic Enterprises, known as OASES, becoming one of its inaugural strategic enterprises. OASES will assist the company in setting up, developing and operating in Hong Kong, where the company will focus on energy data analytics R&D. The company expects to establish a research center in the Hong Kong Science Park by the end of 2023 and to provide algorithm support for the company’s global energy assets’ operations, leveraging local R&D and academic resources in Hong Kong.
The company offers one-stop solutions to owners of a broad range of energy assets, including charging stations and photovoltaic or PV assets. The company supports energy asset owners throughout the lifecycle of their energy assets. The company’s solutions also benefit other stakeholders along the industry value chain such as manufacturers, EV OEMs, and end-users in the following ways:
Charging Services. The company provides an integrated set of charging services to charging stations that mainly includes mobility connectivity services. The company offers effective mobility connectivity services through Kuaidian, the company’s partnered platform operated by a third-party service provider. Kuaidian boosts the visibility of charging stations and charging piles and connects end-users with suitable charging infrastructure. The company offers full station operation services and deliver charging services at charging stations that are operated under this model. The company also provides other online solutions, including software as a service or SaaS products that digitalize and upgrade key aspects of the operations and the management of charging stations.
Energy Solutions. The company offers integrated charging facilities and energy storage solutions covering the planning, deployment, production and optimization of EV charging, renewable energy and energy storage systems for energy asset owners. The company’s solutions include site selection, hardware procurement, EPC (engineering, procurement, and construction), station maintenance and upgrade, energy storage, customer support and more.
New Initiatives. The company delivers electricity procurement, non-charging and other services that aim to enhance the efficiency and profitability of energy assets. The company has launched a virtual power plant platform to facilitate the construction of a modern energy system. The company has also released a prototype of its autonomous charging robot for future unmanned driving scenarios and to realize an autonomous charging network.
Charging Services
The company offers a comprehensive set of charging services. The company’s mobility connectivity services provide integrated online EV charging solutions for charging stations and enable a frictionless and hassle-free charging experience for end-users through Kuaidian. The company is also pioneering digitalized operation and the company provides SaaS products to support the management of key aspects of charging stations’ daily task.
Mobility Connectivity Services
The company’s mobility connectivity services increase the visibility of charging stations and chargers and provide channels for them to gain access to end-users through Kuaidian which is operated by a third-party service provider. The company provides a centralized and single reliable source of charging station information, where numerous charging stations and chargers are networked and presented at the fingertip of end-users through Kuaidian.
Full Station Operation
In addition to providing mobility connectivity services, the company also independently and fully operate stations for station owners. Under this model, the company obtains the operational rights to a charging station and take full responsibility for running the entire operation of that station, including the delivery of charging services. The company retains all of the revenue after paying a fee fixed to the total transaction volume to the station owner.
Other Online Solutions
The company also provides other online solutions, including SaaS products, that extend to traffic support and management, marketing, payment, chargers management, order management, load management, and membership management. The company also provides phone support to both energy asset owners and end-users. The company also works with certain EV OEMs to provide functions and applications within the pre-installed software of their EVs.
Energy Solutions
The company’s energy solutions cover the planning, deployment, production and optimization of EV charging, renewable energy and energy storage systems for energy asset owners. The company provides site selection and EPC services of charging stations, support hardware procurement and maintain a comprehensive suite of offline solutions that facilitate the daily operation of energy assets, including the maintenance and upkeep of charging infrastructure.
EPC Services
The company’s established EV charging network and extensive industrial experience equip the company with valuable insights into market demands and business conditions, which allow the company to provide tailored one-stop construction services covering the identification of station location, station design and EPC services. The company engages third-party contractors to complete the construction work.
Procurement
The company procures suitable chargers at bulk purchase prices from the company’s partner charger manufacturers and re-sell these chargers to charging stations.
In relation to the company’s hardware procurement, NaaS had historically limited its participation to the facilitation of sales transactions, generating revenues by charging a take rate on the procurement value. The company has been directly undertaking procurement and sales activities since 2022.
Station Upgrade and Other Offline Services
The company offers solutions to upgrade existing charging stations, including the integration of smart photovoltaics energy storage and power charging. To complement the company’s EV charging services, the company also provides 24/7 offline operational and management services. Depending on their varying needs, charging stations can opt for professional operational services from the company, including outsourcing to the company their daily operations, such as the regular maintenance and upkeep of their chargers and charging stations. They can also order onsite maintenance and repair services provided by specialized technicians in the event of any equipment failure or hardware downtime. The company collects operation and maintenance fees that are based on the operating parameters of the charging station, such as its size and the number of chargers.
Energy Storage Solutions
Charging stations are subject to time-of-use electricity pricing, with varying rates during peak and off-peak hours. The company constructs predictive and optimization models, leveraging the company’s strong digital analytics capabilities, to evaluate the optimal storage capacity for a given charging station. The company develops and executes installation and on-site commissioning plans for energy storage facility at charging stations. The company also provides an energy management system and devises optimized operation strategies for peak-shaving, load-shifting, and demand response participation utilizing the company’s digital analytics capabilities, thereby enhancing the performance of energy storage and the overall charging station operation.
New Initiatives
Electricity Procurement
The company provides electricity procurement services to charging stations. Leveraging the vast number of charging stations on the company’s network, the company is able to aggregate procurement requirements for electricity and negotiate for and secure electricity at favorable prices.
The company additionally provides a cloud-based virtual power plant platform to facilitate the establishment of a modern energy system for charging stations. This is a platform to maintain the stability of a power supply that integrates distributed power sources, including conventional energy and renewable energy, including solar power, wind power and hydro power, and connects them with EVs and charging stations. It allows scattered energy sources to function as if they were one power plant. The company’s virtual power plant platform offers two types of services to charging stations: it effects trading transactions in the electricity market with the electricity it collects and stores to earn price differences; it also responds to government peak shaving and load-filling demands.
Autonomous Charging Robot
The company recently unveiled its first self-developed autonomous charging robot with features, including active vehicle locating, smart charging and automatic payment settlement to meet the rising demand for mobile charging of EVs. Empowered by deep learning, 5G, V2X, SLAM and other underlying technologies, the company’s waterproof and shock-proof autonomous charging robot brings science fiction to life with one-click ordering, active vehicle locating, precise self-parking, automatic docking, charging and undocking via mechanical arms and automatic return and recharging functions.
The company has developed autonomous charging robot to provide charging services for parking slots without charging facilities or to provide additional charging capacity. It is also designed for future unmanned driving scenarios and to realize an autonomous charging network through the technical empowerment of data interconnectivity between vehicle and robot, as well as the automatic operation of the mechanical arm.
The company’s autonomous charging robot is available in various charging power and battery capacity configurations and can connect with major EV OEMs seamlessly through an open API.
Non-charging Services
The company is able to boost charging station revenues by enabling the provision additional retail services, as well as other amenities and ancillary services.
The company is a pioneer in packaging non-charging retail and ancillary services into charging stations and have retail resources that are ready for deployment. The company helps charging stations adopt scenario-specific furniture and fixture or infrastructure designs with a variety of amenities and non-charging services, such as vending machines, massage chairs and car wash tunnels. The company is also assisting in station design and decoration, furniture and fixture procurement with discounted prices for non-charging businesses. The company charges commission fees to suppliers based on the value of the facility and the merchandise supplied to charging stations. By enabling charging stations to provide non-charging services, the company is able to label charging stations on its network based on the amenities and ancillary services they offer.
The company works with its business partners to realize the full potential of this information by efficiently matching end-users through Kuaidian with the right charging stations that offer the right non-charging services. The company is committed to decarbonization and the building of a green and sustainable future. In clean energy and the company is facilitating the adoption of EVs through the deployment and operation of EV charging infrastructure, allowing for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions caused by traditional vehicles. As certified by SGS, an independent Swiss testing agency, the company helped reduce carbon emissions by approximately 3,293,100 tons in 2023.
Sales and Marketing
The company grows its customer base through marketing activities, branding campaigns, as well as the efforts of the company’s in-house business development teams. The company also capitalizes on the operating experience, resources and insights of NewLink to acquire new customers.
The company adopts different expansion strategies for different energy asset owners. Leveraging the market leadership, industry experience and resources of NewLink and of itself, the company’s business development team has often been able to identify new charging stations and chargers at the earliest possible times, which then gives the company an advantage in initiating the first contact with the energy asset owners for a potential partnership. The company’s business development team also constantly monitors and scouts for new charging infrastructure that can potentially partner with the company’s business model, using methods including online searches and offline site visits. After the initial engagement with energy asset owners, the team then continues to maintain regular contact and will continually explore potential short-term and long-term opportunities with energy asset owners through constant relationship building activities, lead generation and market conditioning work and regular marketing. In addition, the company enters into strategic cooperation with non-private entities in China, who are often large-scale energy asset owners. Once a charging station joins the company’s network, the company’s business development team will assign designated personnel to maintain liaison with the station and provide it with comprehensive support.
The company also seeks to expand its mobility connectivity services through a variety of online and offline activities, including marketing and branding activities and promotions targeting end-users and other users of the company’s EV charging network. As an example, the company offers a VIP membership program to registered users on Kuaidian. Memberships are offered on a one-month, three-month or twelve-month basis for a fixed non-refundable upfront membership fee payable. During the validity of the membership, members are able to enjoy benefits, including exclusive discount on charging service fees and exclusive membership coupon which are issued on a monthly basis and expire after a 30-day period. As the company’s mobility connectivity services gain greater traction among end-users, these initiatives would also result in more charging stations joining the company’s network.
Research and Development
The company’s research and development expenses were RMB63.1 million (U.S.$8.9 million) in 2023.
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