36Kr Exclusive | Wärtsilä Veteran's Startup Equips Ships with Chinese "Hearts", Garnering Over RMB 50 Million in Orders in Half a Year

Author: Ou Xue

Editor: Yuan Silai

Yingke learned that Lianyungang LiiPuS Marine Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "LiiPuS") has recently completed a seed round and an angel round of financing in succession, with a total amount of tens of millions of yuan. Among them, the seed round was exclusively invested by Jiangsu Jinqiao Fund, and the angel round was exclusively invested by Yunshi Capital. The funds from this round will be mainly used for the prototype testing, continuous improvement and small - batch delivery of high - end marine integrated electric propulsion systems and products, accelerating the large - scale application of domestic high - end propulsion systems in scenarios such as port tugs, offshore support vessels, and luxury yachts.

LiiPuS was established in Lianyungang in July 2025, focusing on the R & D, design and production of large - scale marine integrated electric propulsion systems. Its products cover a full - matrix series including the leading - generation L - type permanent - magnet full - azimuth thrusters, permanent - magnet podded thrusters, and ice - breaking full - azimuth thrusters. All products in the series adopt the design and manufacturing concepts of standardization and modularization, with advantages such as small size, light weight, high power density, and high reliability.

Li Xiangbiao, the founder of the company, has worked in Suzhou Shipbuilding, Nanjing Gaojing, Wärtsilä and SKF successively, with nearly 20 years of experience in thrusters. He is familiar with the technical routes, manufacturing processes, and quality levels of similar products at home and abroad, and deeply understands the pain points of domestic users. There is still a significant quality gap between Chinese products and European products. LiiPuS is expected to solve the industry pain points and narrow the gap with international brands.

Yingke learned that permanent - magnet thrusters are regarded as the most efficient marine propulsion solution at present due to their compact structure, high efficiency, and flexible operation. However, in the niche market with high - power and high - quality requirements, international brands such as Wärtsilä, Kongsberg, and Schottel have long occupied a monopoly position, and there is huge room for domestic substitution.

In addition, as China transforms into a strong shipbuilding country, the localization rate of core equipment is gradually increasing. At the same time, the trends of carbon reduction and electrification are driving the acceleration of the elimination of old ships and the construction of new high - efficiency and environmentally friendly ships in scenarios such as port tugs, offshore support vessels, and inland river ships. As a key component of the electrified power system, the demand for permanent - magnet thrusters is clear and continuously strong.

At present, the company has completed the serialized development of products such as 0.5 - 5MW L - type permanent - magnet full - azimuth thrusters, 0.2 - 2MW permanent - magnet podded thrusters, and 2 - 10MW ice - breaking full - azimuth thrusters, and has established mass - production and delivery bases in Lianyungang and Nantong in Jiangsu and Jiangmen in Guangdong.

Related products of LiiPuS (Image source: the company)

Half a year after its establishment, LiiPuS had accumulated more than 50 million yuan in on - hand orders, mainly covering three major fields: port tugs, offshore support vessels, and luxury yachts. The company expects to achieve a small goal of 100 million yuan this year and maintain a 2 - 3 - fold growth every year in the future.

Li Xiangbiao told Yingke that in the future, the company's products will also move towards the direction of intelligence, providing AI - assisted driving control software and algorithms for ships to achieve intelligent navigation and intelligent control of ships. It is expected that the R & D and testing of intelligent - related functions will be completed this year, and the promotion and use will start next year.

The following is an excerpt from the dialogue between Yingke and Li Xiangbiao:

Yingke: International giants have monopolized the thruster field for a long time. What are the specific differential advantages of LiiPuS?

Li Xiangbiao: The products we research and produce are one - generation ahead of domestic products, and their quality and reliability are comparable to those of European brands. Both the L - type permanent - magnet full - azimuth thruster and the permanent - magnet podded thruster adopt the concept of integrated design of the motor and the thruster. The torque curves of the motor and the propeller are calculated in a coupled manner, which improves the matching between the engine and the propeller and the propulsion efficiency.

Yingke: Will private enterprises face great competitive pressure from state - owned enterprises or research institutes?

Li Xiangbiao: There is no direct competitive relationship at present. Our product positioning, design concepts, and manufacturing processes are all different. Shipyards are mainly responsible for ship construction, and many core equipment such as thrusters, motors, and electronic control systems are provided by private enterprises. Our customers are mainly in the fields of port tugs, offshore support vessels, and luxury yachts. These fields have extremely high requirements for product quality and performance and still rely heavily on imports at present, with a very strong market demand.

Yingke: What is the biggest challenge the company is facing at present?

Li Xiangbiao: Our biggest challenge at present is not how many orders we can receive, but the production - capacity preparation to meet the precision manufacturing of high - end equipment. We have been established for less than a year, and the production - capacity layout has not been fully expanded, so we cannot accept large - scale orders. It will be very troublesome if we accept too many orders and cannot deliver them on time and up to high - quality standards. The focus in the second half of this year is on industrial planning and layout and classification society qualification certification. We have planned three manufacturing bases in Lianyungang, Nantong, and Jiangmen. The production - capacity delivery capacity will increase from the current 20 - 30 units to about 150 units in 2027.

Views of investors:

Yunshi Capital: LiiPuS is composed of a well - organized team from international first - class manufacturers. The founder has extremely advanced innovation concepts and engineering practice capabilities, and has rich experience in the field of high - power marine thrusters. The global trends of marine electrification and intelligence are significant, and China, as a major shipbuilding country, leads in this regard. The marine industry is also a top priority in the 14th Five - Year Plan. We are very optimistic about the future development potential of LiiPuS and look forward to the company becoming an important pillar of the next - generation marine software and hardware systems.

Jiangsu Jinqiao Fund: LiiPuS has a well - organized team that really understands products, the market, and manufacturing. With nearly 20 years of practical experience in international leading enterprises, the founder Li Xiangbiao enables the company to have the ability to directly compete with European brands in the field of high - end marine propulsion systems. Its products have reached the international first - class level in terms of power density, efficiency, and reliability. At the same time, with significant cost and delivery - cycle advantages, it precisely addresses the pain points of domestic substitution in scenarios such as port tugs, offshore support vessels, and luxury yachts.

With the global wave of marine electrification and intelligence and the inclusion of the marine industry in the key directions of the 14th Five - Year Plan, LiiPuS is expected to become the core pillar of the next - generation marine integrated electric propulsion system. We are firmly optimistic about the company's long - term growth potential.