On August 16, the "Science and Technology Innovation Board Daily" (Reporter Chen Mei) reported that the website of the China Securities Regulatory Commission disclosed that Guofu Hydrogen Energy completed the listing filing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and plans to issue no more than 37.839 million ordinary shares.

According to data from the Caixin Venture Capital Platform, Guofu Hydrogen Energy was founded in 2016. Its founder, Wu Pinfang, was the former chairman of Zhangjiagang Furui Special Equipment (300228). He owns 26.89% of the voting rights of Guofu Hydrogen Energy through direct and indirect holdings.

The list of shareholders of Guofu Hydrogen Energy shows that Shanghai Lingang New Area and a state-owned capital investment platform under Zhangjiagang are both included.

At the age of 68, the chairman Wu Pinfang started his second IPO venture.

According to its prospectus, Wu Pinfang is the head of Guofu Hydrogen Energy and is responsible for strategic planning and operational arrangements. Wu Pinfang is now 68 years old. Perhaps due to his age, he was appointed as chairman and director of Guofu Hydrogen Energy in March 2020, and was later transferred to the position of executive director in March of this year.

It was found that Wu Pinfang has a close relationship with Zhangjiagang. The company he founded, Zhangjiagang Furui Special Equipment (300228), is also located in Zhangjiagang. It is reported that Wu Pinfang has more than 44 years of experience in the chemical machinery industry and enterprise management. From 1980 to 2004, he served as the factory director, chairman and general manager of several chemical machinery factories and companies.

In 2011, Wu Pinfang sounded the bell and took the long-standing Furui Special Equipment (300228) public on the GEM. At that time, Wu Pinfang held 18.85% of the shares and became the co-controlling shareholder of the company.

Five years after the listing, Furui Special Equipment (300228) began its capital operation and jointly established Guofu Hydrogen Energy with Xinyun Technology. Regarding the equity relationship, Wu Pinfang is also a shareholder of Xinyun Technology.

In 2018, Furui Special Equipment (300228) transferred its 56% stake in Guofu Hydrogen Energy to Xinyun Technology for RMB 56 million. At the same time, Wu Pinfang resigned from his position in Furui Special Equipment. Since then, through equity transfers and incentive plans, Wu Pinfang has become the actual controller of Guofu Hydrogen Energy and holds an important proportion of the company's equity and voting rights.

In August 2020, Guofu Hydrogen Energy completed its share reform and submitted an application for listing on the Science and Technology Innovation Board of the Shanghai Stock Exchange in June 2022, but voluntarily withdrew it four months later. Subsequently, Guofu Hydrogen Energy turned to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and recently completed the listing filing. In this way, at the age of 68, Wu Pinfang will usher in his second IPO venture.

Regarding the entrepreneurship of hydrogen energy, Wu Pinfang, the leader of Guofu Hydrogen Energy, once stated that he wants to build China's hydrogen energy industry manufacturing and "make the industry through equipment." In the past three years, Guofu Hydrogen Energy has provided hydrogen supply systems to more than 3,000 fuel cell vehicles nationwide. At the same time, it has provided complete equipment to more than 50 hydrogen refueling stations across the country.

Aiming at hydrogen energy, both Shanghai Lingang New Area and Zhangjiagang state-owned capital have entered the market.

With the completion of the listing filing of Guofu Hydrogen Energy, the layout of hydrogen energy industry by Shanghai Lingang New Area and Zhangjiagang state-owned capital investment platforms has emerged.

According to equity transparency, Shanghai Jinpu Lingang Intelligent Technology Equity Investment Fund Partnership Enterprise (limited partnership) (hereinafter referred to as "Jinpu Intelligent") and Zhangjiagang Jiayang Hydrogen Energy Venture Capital Partnership Enterprise (limited partnership) (hereinafter referred to as "Jiayang Hydrogen Energy") are both shareholders of Guofu Hydrogen Energy. Among them, Jinpu Intelligent holds a relatively high proportion of 5.12% of the shares; Jiayang Hydrogen Energy holds 0.52% of the shares.

In particular, the largest shareholder of Jinpu Intelligent is supported by Shanghai Lingang Economic Development Group and a private equity fund in Shanghai Lingang New Area. On the hydrogen energy industry, Shanghai Lingang New Area has been vigorously developing it.

An investor stated in an interview with Science and Technology Innovation Board Daily that after several years of development, Shanghai Lingang New Area's hydrogen energy industry has initially taken shape. "International Hydrogen Valley" has gathered many industry chain companies, including core links such as complete vehicles, engine systems, core components, key materials, etc. Top companies such as Cummins, Shaanxi Automobile Group Deerechuang, and Hydrogen Morning Technology are all located here.

After Jinpu Intelligence acted, reporters from Science and Technology Innovation Board Daily noticed that Guofu Hydrogen Energy has established two companies in Shanghai, one of which is located in Shanghai Lingang New Area - Guofu Hydrogen Energy was established in Shanghai in January 2022 with a registered capital of 1 million yuan. The company's main business is to produce and sell Type IV vehicle-mounted high-pressure hydrogen storage cylinders and PEM water electrolysis hydrogen production equipment. Another company, Shanghai Hydrogen Ping, is located in Qingpu, Shanghai.

With the investment of Jiangyang Hydrogen Energy in February 2024, Guofu Hydrogen Energy's valuation in Zhangjiagang has increased to 3.837 billion yuan. In 2022, before Guofu Hydrogen Energy tried to go public on the Science and Technology Innovation Board, it increased its valuation to 3.05 billion yuan from 1.555 billion yuan in April 2021 by introducing investment institutions to meet the listing standards.

Reporters from Science and Technology Innovation Board Daily noticed that Jiangyang Hydrogen Energy is the first racing fund focusing on the hydrogen energy field managed by Zhangjiagang Industrial Investment Management Company. The total size of the fund is 1 billion yuan, and the first phase is 100 million yuan, mainly invested in the Zhangjiagang hydrogen energy industry chain.

In recent years, Zhangjiagang has issued the "Zhangjiagang Hydrogen Energy Industry Development Plan" and the "Zhangjiagang City 14th Five-Year Plan for Hydrogen Energy Industry Development", which clarify the development goals, major tasks and other aspects of the hydrogen energy industry. Zhangjiagang plans to build more than 6 hydrogen refueling stations by 2025 to meet the growing demand for hydrogen fuel cell vehicles.

The aforementioned investor told reporters from Science and Technology Innovation Board Daily that when Zhangjiagang released the hydrogen energy industry plan in 2021, there were about 30 hydrogen-related companies in Zhangjiagang, including leading companies such as Guofu Hydrogen Energy and CIMC SinoHydro.

"Currently, there should be more than 40 hydrogen-related enterprises in Zhangjiagang, with a relatively complete hydrogen production, transportation and equipment, and hydrogen fuel cell industry chain. Previously, Guoxiang Hydrogen Energy (09663.HK), which was listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, had business layout in Zhangjiagang. The company focuses on the research and development of hydrogen fuel cell stacks and systems." the investor said.

The total accumulated losses exceeded 0.23 billion, and the raised funds were invested in Zhangjiagang and Qingpu, Shanghai.

According to the prospectus, in the field of domestic hydrogen refueling equipment and hydrogen supply systems, Guofu Hydrogen Energy has had the highest market share in recent years. Correspondingly, in terms of revenue, Guofu Hydrogen Energy has also shown a growth trend.

From 2021 to 2023, Guofu Hydrogen Energy achieved revenues of 329 million yuan, 359.4 million yuan, and 522 million yuan, respectively. However, during this period, Guofu Hydrogen Energy did not make a profit and suffered continuous losses. The total amount of losses exceeded 0.23 billion yuan, with losses of 75.249 million yuan, 96.218 million yuan, and 75.043 million yuan, respectively.

Guofu Hydrogen Energy stated that the main reason for the losses is due to the high raw material costs and continuous research and development investment. Reporters from Science and Technology Innovation Board Daily noticed that since 2021, Guofu Hydrogen Energy's raw material purchases have almost all come from domestic carbon fiber suppliers.

An investor who spoke with reporters from Science and Technology Innovation Board Daily said that carbon fiber is one of the important raw materials in hydrogen energy equipment. "Due to its lightweight and high-strength characteristics, carbon fiber composite materials are often used for the inner lining of hydrogen cylinders to increase hydrogen storage density and safety. Carbon fiber winding composite materials are also indispensable key components of hydrogen cylinders, which can further improve hydrogen storage quality ratio. At present, the domestic carbon fiber localization process is accelerating, and Shanghai Petrochemical and Zhongfu Shenying have begun to produce carbon fiber materials."

In terms of research and development investment, Guofu Hydrogen Energy has shown a fluctuating trend, with expenditures of 41.007 million yuan, 42.007 million yuan, and 39.001 million yuan from 2021 to 2023, respectively, and the proportion of revenue is decreasing.

Regarding raising funds, Guofu Hydrogen Energy stated that the IPO financing will be used to expand production capacity, including increasing the electrolyzed water hydrogen production equipment capacity to 500 sets, the Type III hydrogen storage bottle production capacity to 0.06 million, and the new Type IV vehicle-mounted high-pressure hydrogen storage bottle in Qingpu District, Shanghai. The production capacity will be increased to 0.05 million and so on.

Reporters from Science and Technology Innovation Board Daily noticed that in June 2024, Guofu Hydrogen Energy's intelligent factory in Zhangjiagang Economic Development Zone was officially put into production. This production makes Guofu Hydrogen Energy one of the largest intelligent hydrogen energy equipment production bases in China.

Guofu Hydrogen Energy plans to go abroad in the next three years and copy the domestic hydrogen energy equipment manufacturing technology and intelligent production line construction experience to countries such as Germany, the United Arab Emirates, Brazil, Egypt, India and so on.