He Xuyang, Vice President of Strategic Development at Chuangleng Technology: Facing climate challenges, technological innovation is the key to solving problems | 36Kr WISE2024 Globalization Sub-forum
In the present era when globalization has entered its prime, the development trajectory of Chinese enterprises has presented an unprecedented scenario: The path of going global is becoming more mature and is continuously evolving. What the maturity of going global brings is not only the refinement from the macro intention of going global to the localized practical operations, but also the practical solutions on how to avoid "entering a new involution battlefield".
The driving force for "evolution" lies in that in 2024, it is no longer an era of empty talk about "macro methodologies". Whether it is the new entrants into the global market or the leading enterprises in the second half of the competition, they have promptly engaged in practical battles. The power of ecological assembly is also aimed at the practical experience of continuing to sink and land.
On November 18 in Shenzhen, the 36Kr WISE 2024 Globalization Sub-forum invited enterprises, investors, government industry personnel, and high-quality service providers with successful cases of going global in eight active global markets to gather in Shenzhen to share the practical experience of going global in different industries in each market this year.
In the opinion of He Xuyang, Vice President of Strategic Development of Chuangleng Technology, in the face of the challenges of the global climate crisis, we firmly believe that technological innovation is the key to solving the problem. We use non-electric refrigeration technology to achieve zero-energy consumption refrigeration without the need for an external power source and refrigerant. We will continue to deepen the research and development of the technology and are committed to promoting it to a wider range of fields to contribute to the global carbon reduction cause.
The following is the verbatim record of the guests' speeches, edited and organized by 36Kr:
He Xuyang: Hello everyone! First, I will commence from the company's business to introduce the work we are engaged in, and then combined with today's theme, delineate how we execute in the Middle East market.
With the continuous ascent of the global temperature, we are encountering "unprecedented" extreme weather events every year. Against this backdrop, in 2015, our team collaborated with a biologist and discovered that even in the high-temperature environment of 60 - 80 degrees in the Sahara Desert, there is a kind of creature - the Saharan Silver Ant, which can still survive in the extreme environment of the desert. After research, it was found that its unique hair structure is in a Mitsubishi shape, which can effectively reflect sunlight and radiate heat to outer space.
Chuangleng Technology has developed a multi-component and multi-scale nanoparticle material by integrating the principles of material science, optics, and heat transfer. This material can efficiently reflect sunlight and mid-infrared radiation, similar to the silver ant, to achieve the transfer of heat to outer space, thereby attaining the effect of cooling and refrigeration.
Currently, Chuangleng Technology's products have encompassed multiple fields such as coatings, films, tiles, textiles, car paints, etc. The main customer groups are distributed in the mainland, Hong Kong, and overseas markets. We have applied for more than ten domestic and foreign invention patents and have obtained multiple green and environmentally friendly product certifications. Moreover, our research results on refrigeration ceramics have been published in the internationally renowned academic journal "Science" magazine, and we are also selected for the "Industry-University-Research 1 + Program" in Hong Kong.
Our team originates from the City University of Hong Kong and was co-founded by Professor Cao Zhiyin and his student Dr. Zhu Yihao in 2022. Now, Professor Cao is the Vice Dean of the School of Energy and Environment at the City University of Hong Kong, and Dr. Zhu is also a special professor in the Department of Management at the Business School of the City University of Hong Kong. Currently, we are primarily stationed in Shenzhen and Hong Kong.
The technology of Chuangleng Technology has been implemented in multiple fields such as construction, chemical engineering, power communication, new energy, logistics, energy storage, and photovoltaics. Our products have performed outstandingly in the hot climate of the Middle East, achieving a 95% sunlight reflectance and a 95% mid-infrared radiation rate, effectively reducing the temperature. For instance, the film product has also performed extremely well in the construction field, being able to reflect 99% of infrared and ultraviolet rays while maintaining a 85% visible light transmittance.
We were able to enter the Middle East market because we were discovered by EMAAR, the largest real estate developer in the Middle East, in a TV interview in Hong Kong. They invited us to participate in the "Real Estate Technology Challenge" held in Dubai, and we won the gold medal. With this achievement, we conducted pilots in the largest shopping mall in the Middle East, Dubai Mall, and the Emir's Palace in Abu Dhabi, and successfully entered the Middle East market and gradually expanded to more regions. Although our company has been in formal operation for only more than two years since 2022, our performance in the Middle East market is encouraging, and the revenue from the Middle East market accounts for 10% - 15% of our total revenue.
In the Middle East market, we expand our business through distributors. In the cooperation with Maersk of Denmark, we applied our products to the surface of logistics boxes, resulting in a maximum decrease of 14 degrees in the surface temperature and a 7 - degree decrease in the internal temperature. We also actively participated in many activities in the Middle East, including the COP28 of the United Nations Climate Change Conference, and officials from Hong Kong, China also inspected our project. In 2024, we appeared at the Leap event with investors to showcase our products.
As a startup company, we confronted many challenges when entering the Middle East market. The lack of sufficient bargaining power in negotiations led to the conditions of our first distribution agency agreement not being ideal. Our business encompasses multiple fields such as construction and industry. If the exclusive agency right covers all fields, but the other party's income only comes from the construction field, we may consider canceling their exclusive agency right during the next review.
Therefore, small and medium-sized enterprises should dare to take the first step and keep attempting. Only after establishing a firm foothold in this market can they obtain better conditions.
In addition, our products also involve the clothing field, and all our refrigeration principles can also be applied to films and clothing. Yarn is made from fibers, and the yarn then forms a refrigeration fabric. The fabric's contact cool feeling is up to 3 times higher than the Qmax value of the cool feeling fabric on the market, so it is highly suitable for use in regions such as the Middle East and Southeast Asia. We are also developing new products such as floor tiles and ceramic tiles, which can be applied in cities to alleviate the urban heat island effect. At the same time, we are also collaborating with some car companies to develop non - electric refrigeration car paints.
At present, our products have assisted enterprises in effectively saving energy consumption. As of October 31 this year, Chuangleng Technology has cumulatively saved more than 3 million kilograms of carbon emissions, equivalent to planting more than 200,000 trees for the earth. Our corporate vision is not only to assist enterprises and customers in saving energy, but also to contribute to the earth. Thank you all!