On the evening of January 16th, TCL Zhonghuan announced that the company intends to invest in Yidao New Energy Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Yidao New Energy") and sign a "Letter of Intent for Cooperation Framework" with it. Both parties will leverage their relative advantages in technology, scale, and efficiency to connect the entire chain of N-type battery technology and promote the industry's transformation towards quality and efficiency.
The announcement shows that the signatories of the "Cooperation Framework Letter of Intent" are Liu Yong, the founder of Yidao New Energy, and the major shareholder Quzhou Zhidao Enterprise Management Partnership (Limited Partnership) (hereinafter referred to as "Quzhou Zhidao"). Among them, Quzhou Zhidao holds 17.46% of the shares, while Liu Yong holds 12.6% of the shares.
The letter of intent stipulates that TCL Zhonghuan intends to invest through methods such as acquiring shares, accepting voting rights delegation, and increasing capital, and has set a 90 day exclusivity period. After the transaction is completed, a new energy board of directors will undergo restructuring, and TCL Zhonghuan will have the right to nominate directors based on the final shareholding ratio. This transaction is not expected to constitute a related party transaction and does not constitute a significant asset restructuring as stipulated in the Measures for the Administration of Major Asset Restructuring of Listed Companies.
According to the announcement, Yidao New Energy was established on August 8, 2018, with a registered capital of 529 million yuan, engaged in the research and development, manufacturing, and sales of high-efficiency solar cells, photovoltaic modules, and system applications. It is understood that it had previously attempted an IPO on the ChiNext board, but ultimately failed. According to the official website of the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, its IPO was accepted on December 29, 2023, entered the inquiry stage on January 24, 2024, and terminated on August 16, 2024.
Currently, photovoltaic cell technology is undergoing an iteration from P-type to N-type to achieve higher theoretical efficiency limits, lower attenuation rates, and lower cost per kilowatt hour. The current mainstream N-type battery technologies include TOPCon, HJT (heterojunction), BC (back contact), etc. Among them, the characteristic of BC technology is to place all the positive and negative electrodes of the battery on the back side without any grid line obstruction on the front side, thereby improving the conversion efficiency. It can also be combined with TOPCon, HJT and other technologies to further improve performance and efficiency through optimized design and manufacturing processes.
The performance of a new energy source in the field of N-type batteries is particularly outstanding, with advantages in BC battery module manufacturing process and production capacity. By 2025, the production capacity of a new energy N-type high-efficiency battery and high-efficiency component has reached 40GW, and research and development reserves have been accumulated in different application scenarios, BC battery technology, and other fields.
TCL Zhonghuan maintains the industry's leading position in the comprehensive market share of high-efficiency photovoltaic silicon wafers. As the core raw material for photovoltaic cells, silicon wafers form an upstream downstream linkage with the company's accumulation in this field and a new energy battery business.
More noteworthy is that SunPower, the predecessor of Maxeon, a subsidiary of the company, was established in 1985 and has accumulated over 40 years of BC battery technology. At present, Maxeon has over 1900 patents in more than 30 countries and regions, including BC battery structure patents, unique materials, and proprietary processes, but the technology has not yet been truly applied and promoted.
In 2023, TCL Zhonghuan had planned to build battery production capacity through refinancing, intending to issue convertible corporate bonds totaling no more than 13.8 billion yuan for the "35GW annual production of high-purity solar ultra-thin monocrystalline silicon wafer smart factory project" and "TCL Zhonghuan 25GW N-type TOPCon high-efficiency solar cell Industry 4.0 smart factory project". Subsequently, the "involution" phenomenon caused by the imbalance of supply and demand in the photovoltaic industry led the company to terminate its plan and stop expanding production on November 29, 2024.
TCL Zhonghuan stated that after this transaction, the company will collaborate with its subsidiary's BC battery patent technology and a new energy company's advantages in BC battery module manufacturing and production capacity to build a complete technical barrier; Accelerate the transformation of patent technology, fill in business gaps, and accelerate the promotion of integrated strategies. At the same time, both parties will seek collaboration in global layout, multi scenario applications, products, brands, and channels to enhance overall market competitiveness.
In terms of finance, TCL Zhonghuan's operating cash flow has significantly increased year-on-year in the first half of 2025. The semi annual report for 2025 shows that the net cash flow generated from operating activities during the reporting period was 523 million yuan, an increase of 308.4% year-on-year.