Legend Capital Leads $145M Round For Chinese Battery Solutions Provider Rongke

Chinese energy storage solutions provider Dalian Rongke Power has raised over 1 billion yuan ($145.4 million) in a Series B round of financing led by Legend Capital, the fund management arm of Legend Holdings.

The investment marks the latest bet in the carbon neutrality space by Legend Capital, which manages over 70 billion yuan ($10.2 billion) across RMB and USD funds. Having invested in carbon neutrality for over 15 years, it focuses on areas including de-carbon solutions for traditional energy industries, synthetic biology, and smart, electrified products.

In total, the Beijing-based investment firm has backed almost 600 companies, of which 106 are publicly listed, in the fields of smart manufacturing, new energy, digital technology, healthcare, and corporate services.

Founded in 2008, Rongke specialises in the R&D and production of vanadium redox flow batteries, which are rechargeable flow batteries promising for applications in electric vehicle (EV) power supply and large, utility-scale energy storage projects, such as photovoltaic (PV) power stations and wind power plants.

The firm has delivered products and solutions to clients across countries including the US, Australia, and Germany. In China, its clients include state-owned electricity generation giants State Power Investment Corp Ltd (SPIC), China Huadian Corp, China Datang Corp, and China General Nuclear Power Group.

The new financing will help Rongke speed up the expansion and upgrade of its product innovation platform, as the firm seeks to continue its focus on vanadium redox flow batteries as well as the R&D of new-generation energy storage products and key components.

Moreover, the firm plans to further expand its global footprint and hire tech professionals with an aim to cash in on the accelerating industry growth fueled by carbon-neutral goals of governments in China and worldwide.

“We are now in a new era of global energy transformation. Carbon peak and carbon neutrality have won a lot more actions globally nowadays compared with before, when it was only a consensus,” said Liu Yanhui, Rongke’s founder and Chairman.

“Vanadium redox flow battery is a critical technology option for large-scale, medium- to long-term power grid management given its distinct advantages in battery safety, ultra-long life span, and eco-friendly nature,” said Liu. “We look to advance the commercialisation of vanadium redox flow batteries through continuous tech innovations, capital support, and cooperation with partners in the industry. “

Prior to the Series B round, Rongke signed an agreement with Essence Securities in October 2022 to receive listing tutorial from the Chinese securities firm as it plans to go ahead with a domestic initial public offering (IPO), according to a filing with the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), the securities regulator in China. The firm has yet to disclose its listing location and the targeted IPO size.