HC TECH GP (01116) merges with EPS: Breaking through the localization of foreign technology, the billion-dollar energy storage market welcomes a new player in "Sino-British synergy".

When domestic energy storage companies are still fiercely competing in the medium temperature market, the Hong Kong-listed company HC TECH GP (01116) has quietly built a "international technology + local production capacity" synergistic bridge. Recently, through its subsidiary Guangzhou Meiya, it reached a deep strategic cooperation with the international phase change energy storage technology leader Environmental Process Systems Limited (referred to as "EPS"). EPS acquired a 30% stake in the group subsidiary "Meiya Technology," introducing core patented technology covering the full temperature range from -100C to 885C, pioneering a differentiated path for global technological synergy in the energy storage industry amidst the dual challenges of "technology redundancy" and "excess production capacity." Core technology: EPS's full temperature range patented technology secures six major domain case applications As a leading international phase change energy storage technology supplier, EPS's five core patented technologies cover chilled water air conditioning systems in agriculture, commerce, and industry, passive cooling, heating applications, cold storage energy storage and load shifting, and temperature-controlled logistics, forming a full-scenario technology matrix from cooling to heating. Its technological advantages are not only reflected in the "full temperature range coverage" - from -100C deep cold environments (such as medical freezing) to 885C high temperature scenarios (such as industrial waste heat recovery), far exceeding the mid-range limit of 0C-80C of most domestic companies. After undergoing multiple global scenario validations, EPS's technological strength has been validated in benchmark projects in six core areas: Public health and government agencies: the Royal Wolverhampton Hospital in the UK uses a 30m tank (1500kWh storage) to ensure stable operation of medical equipment, while the Netherlands Cancer Institute uses a 45m tank (2000kWh storage) to reduce research costs using low nighttime electricity prices; Educational and research institutions: the University of Bergen in Norway uses 4 240m tanks (12000kWh storage) to cope with campus peak cooling loads, and the University of Swinburne in Australia's project achieves a 15-20% reduction in power consumption; Commercial offices and mixed-use buildings: the Stone 34 office building in Seattle, USA (LEED Platinum certified) saves over 75% energy with a 25m tank (1250kWh storage), and the National Theatre on London's South Bank incorporates CHP system waste heat recovery; Industrial production companies: TECHTRONIC IND in Dongguan, China achieves a 100m tank (4250kWh storage) shut down of the chiller during the day, and Hitachi Chemical Electronics project in Guangzhou minimizes loop upgrades to achieve 6400kWh storage; Transport hubs and infrastructure: the T3 Energy Centre at Bergen Airport in Norway uses 4 60m tanks (10000kWh storage) to adapt to nighttime noise restrictions, while the Haramain High-Speed Railway in Saudi Arabia uses 73-227m tanks (3200-10000kWh storage) to cope with extreme temperatures of 55C; Special facilities: the PREMERA medical data center in Seattle has a 30m customized tank to guarantee 2 hours of cooling during grid outages, and the UK Parliament's voting control room has a 6m tank (270kWh storage) for emergency temperature control. Collaboration structure: Breaking the deadlock with a 7:3 equity+local ecosystem, phase change energy storage accelerates toward the mainstream The energy storage market in China is in a critical period of "policy-driven and technological iteration." Phase change energy storage, as the core technology direction in thermal storage, has long been limited by inadequate wide temperature compatibility and lagging high-end implementations. The strategic cooperation between Huiyuan Tongchuang and EPS from the UK precisely breaks through this dilemma with the integration model of "international technology + local ecosystem." HC TECH GP (through its subsidiary Guangzhou Meiya) holds 70% of the shares in Meiya Technology, leading local operations and production capacity. EPS holds 30% of the shares to inject core patents and global resources into the collaboration. Furthermore, the cooperation is not limited by a specific period, balancing efficiency and decision-making power through a three-tier decision-making mechanism of shareholder meetings, boards of directors, and operating layers, securing long-term collaboration from an institutional perspective. EPS chose Guangzhou Meiya as a strategic partner, primarily due to the latter's localization advantages: on one hand, Meiya has a stable customer base in traditional material processing fields and has cooperated with official institutions such as the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of China and data center operators, enabling rapid promotion of technology implementation. On the other hand, its scalable production capacity is expected to provide solid support for cost control. Market feedback has confirmed the attractiveness of this model: the joint venture company has already received intention orders from various sectors, with positive responses from high-end scenario clients in medical storage and transportation and fresh cold chain. With the collaboration plan, the related business is expected to bring substantial revenue to Huiyuan Tongchuang in 2026-2027. Furthermore, the gross profit margin of high value-added orders will significantly exceed that of traditional business, driving profit structure optimization. More importantly, this collaboration not only elevates phase change energy storage from a "niche supplement technology" to a "mainstream energy storage solution" but also signifies Huiyuan Tongchuang leading the Chinese energy storage market into a new stage of "technological diversification, application scenario-based, and industrial ecosystem," providing more efficient technological support for energy transition under the "dual carbon" goals. Market layout: Anchoring three high potential tracks, policy dividends open up a hundred billion space The business expansion of the joint venture company perfectly fits China's "dual carbon" goals and energy storage industry policy directions. The "14th Five-Year Plan for the Development of New Energy Storage" specifies that by 2025, the installed capacity of user-side energy storage will exceed 30 million kilowatts. Data centers, cold chain logistics, and facility agriculture are the fastest-growing submarkets, making them the focus of both partiesthe layout not only follows the national policy direction but also accurately targets the market growth space, laying a strategic foundation for business implementation. The demand side is showing clear structural breakout characteristics: as data center energy consumption rises with the surge in computing power demand, the market size of low-energy data centers in China reached 277.3 billion yuan in 2024, a year-on-year increase of 26.7%. Although energy efficiency continues to improve (with an average PUE below 1.3), overall electricity consumption remains high, directly driving the rapid expansion of waste heat recovery markets. It is expected that by 2025, the special market size for data center waste heat recovery will exceed 12 billion yuan, and the industrial sector has the potential to enter the billion-dollar level; in the field of facility agriculture, the national area of facility agriculture has exceeded 45 million mu, with the acceleration of intelligent upgrades, the market size of intelligent facility agriculture in 2025 is expected to reach 120 billion yuan, with the core demand for intelligent environmental control systems reaching 42 billion yuan, driving the agricultural energy storage market to grow at an average annual rate of over 20%; the market for commercial building energy-saving renovations is also maintaining high-speed expansion. By 2024, the carbon emissions in the construction sector accounted for 37% of the national total. Under the promotion of green building standards, it is expected that the market size of building energy-saving will exceed 550 billion yuan in 2029, with an average annual growth rate of over 15%. In addition, the deepening of electricity market reforms has led to a widening peak-to-valley price gap of over 4:1, significantly improving the economic efficiency and penetration of energy storage technologies, creating a resonant effect of multiple demands and opening up broad growth space for smart energy storage. It is worth mentioning that this collaboration also lays an important foundation for Huiyuan Tongchuang's overseas market layout. EPS has established mature sales channels and project experience in Europe (UK, Norway, the Netherlands), the Middle East (Saudi Arabia), Oceania (Australia), etc. Although the joint venture company currently focuses on the Greater China region, the agreement includes provisions for "overseas customer consultations to be promoted through mutual negotiation," providing a critical interface for future expansion. This means that leveraging the cost advantages of the Guangzhou base, the joint venture company can gradually undertake EPS's high-end overseas orders, gradually forming a business pattern of "local production + global sales," further opening up growth space. Industry value: Reshaping competitive logic, driving the industry from "internal competition" to "upgrade" For a long time, the domestic energy storage industry has faced the dilemma of "excess low-end production capacity and lack of high-end technology": most companies are concentrated in low-technology threshold areas such as electrochemical energy storage, leading to frequent price wars; while the high-end phase change energy storage market is dominated by European and American companies, lacking core technology and standard discourse power. The cooperation between Huiyuan Tongchuang and EPS achieves for the first time the localization production of world-class phase change technology, establishing a new benchmark for the industry driven by "technology + production capacity." For Huiyuan Tongchuang, this cooperation is a key step in strategic transformation. From the global strategy brand upgrade in 2025 to focusing on smart energy technology fields and promoting the industrialization of the joint venture company, it has completed the transformation from a "traditional steel company" to a "green technology group." With the increase in the proportion of energy storage business revenue, the company's valuation logic is expected to switch from "manufacturing PE" to "new energy PS," opening up market value growth space. Against the backdrop of the "dual carbon" goals, the collaboration between Huiyuan Tongchuang and EPS is not only a strategic partnership between companies but also a deep integration of international advanced technology and the potential of the Chinese market. As new orders turn into production line operations, when -100C deep cooling technology serves domestic medical storage and transportation, a new energy storage ecosystem, consisting of "global technology synergy, local production support, and market-driven demand," is forming. For Huiyuan Tongchuang, a Hong Kong-listed company, the gate to the hundred billion energy storage market has just opened.