Double Carbon 2024: Energy storage may reshuffle, job hunting in new energy vehicles shows pressure, and green finance positions are refined | Year-end Review of Workplace Dividends ⑧
"Workplace Bonus" (ID: ZhiChangHongLi)
One of the values and significance of "Double Carbon" is that humanity is exploring to be self-disciplined in the face of the climate crisis in a way that is in line with human nature and economic laws.
In China, green finance is booming in multiple areas, and recruitment demands for multiple job types are open. The national carbon emission trading market is about to expand for the first time, and the participation of more industries will drive the demand for related positions such as "carbon management" and "carbon consulting". China's green finance market is showing explosive growth, and "green and low-carbon", "green loans", and "green bonds" are being stimulated. The sustainable development of the financial industry has given rise to the cultivation of a talent echelon, and financial institutions are accelerating the expansion of green talents and skill teams, including related positions such as "green finance standard formulation, assessment, and supervision".
The surging entrants and fierce involution - the energy storage industry is moving forward in the storm. The further application of the new "perovskite solar cells" and "silicon-based lithium-ion energy storage batteries" has stimulated market demand, and there is still a gap in the recruitment of scientific researchers such as "battery research and development". The energy storage revenue in the overseas market has increased, and energy storage enterprises are going overseas to seek new ways out, with a large demand for recruitment in marketing and other personnel. "New Energy Storage" has been written into the government report, and the demand is prominent. Various technologies such as flywheel energy storage and gravitational energy storage have made breakthroughs, and there is still a demand for technical R & D personnel.
The industrial ecology is becoming more and more complete, the market scale is continuously expanding, and new energy vehicles are steadily entering a new stage of development. "Lithium iron phosphate batteries" are rising, the automotive energy storage battery market is continuously innovating and upgrading, and vehicle enterprises have a high demand for "three-electric" talents. The manufacturing process is gradually becoming greener and lower in carbon emissions, and progress has been made in the research and development and application of lightweight materials such as aluminum alloys, magnesium alloys, and carbon fiber "composite materials", and there is a large demand for positions such as "automotive manufacturing engineers", "process engineers", and "mechanical engineers".
Green Finance: Carbon Market Expansion, Opportunities for Carbon Management and Financial Consulting ╱ 01
Energy Storage: Intense Involution, Demand for R & D and Marketing Positions ╱ 02
New Energy Vehicles: From Batteries to Materials, Technical R & D Remains Key ╱ 03
Green Finance: Carbon Market Expansion, Opportunities for Carbon Management and Financial Consulting
In September, the national carbon emission trading market (referred to as the carbon market) finally launched the first round of expansion procedures. The Ministry of Ecology and Environment, referring to the mature construction and management experience of the power generation industry, has compiled and formed the "Work Plan for Covering the Cement, Steel, and Electrolytic Aluminum Industries in the National Carbon Emission Trading Market (Draft for Comment)". This means that more entities will have the opportunity to participate, making the carbon market more efficient and dynamic.
At present, the preparations for the first expansion of the national carbon market are steadily advancing. Once the building materials (cement), steel, and non-ferrous metals (electrolytic aluminum) industries are included in the management of the national carbon emission trading market, the proportion of the national carbon emission trading market's coverage of emissions to the national total will reach approximately 60%.
With the expansion of the carbon market, the demand for carbon management and carbon consulting talents from enterprises, governments, and related institutions will rise rapidly. Enterprises in high-emission industries, in order to participate in carbon trading and achieve the preservation and appreciation of carbon assets, require a large number of professionals to design and implement emission reduction measures, monitor and manage carbon emissions, and other work.
Positions such as "carbon emissions" and "carbon management" are called "niche and promising". Compared with other occupations in the same field, the entry threshold for this position is relatively low, and the salary is relatively considerable.
According to the recruitment data of the BOSS Zhipin platform, as of August this year, the average monthly salary of "carbon emission managers" is about 9165 yuan, and the specific salary range varies from 6k to 20k. Salaries vary according to regions, work experience, and abilities.
"Workplace Bonus" (ID: ZhiChangHongLi)
Green finance, as a new financial format, is gradually becoming a global focus. Data from the Institute of International Finance (IIF) shows that in recent years, the global green finance market has been growing at an average annual rate of more than 15%, and this year's scale has exceeded 40 trillion US dollars.
The improvement of policies has promoted the development of the industry. As the market continues to improve, green finance-related positions are being refined. In September this year, the "Guiding Opinions on Further Strengthening Financial Support for Green and Low-Carbon Development" issued by the People's Bank of China and other seven departments proposed the improvement of the green finance standards and evaluation system, which will give rise to positions related to "green finance standard formulation", "assessment", and "supervision".
At present, green bonds and green loans have become new financial tools, and financial institutions are accelerating the expansion of green talents and skill teams.
"Workplace Bonus" has noticed that financial institutions such as "Industrial Bank", "Shanghai Pudong Development Bank", and "Dagong Global Credit Rating Co., Ltd." have appeared in social recruitment as "green finance managers" / "product managers", and generally have higher requirements for practitioners, requiring more than 3 years of work experience.
The "green finance product manager" is a hot recruitment position for financial institutions, and employers tend to prefer talents who are familiar with the business and pay attention to and understand the industry dynamics in real time. There is also a large demand for other positions such as "carbon accounting", "carbon credit", and "impact assessment".
Not only the financial industry needs green finance talents, but other industries also have demands. For example, in the work of enterprises writing ESG reports and improving ESG rating performance, positions such as "ESG investment", "ESG risk management", and "ESG analysts" are also in demand in enterprise recruitment.
"One-specialty and multi-skilled" talents are more likely to be favored by employers. In specific job recruitment, employers require job seekers to have knowledge and skills in multiple aspects such as finance, environmental protection, and regulations, and prefer financial talents with a background in science and engineering.
Energy Storage: Intense Involution, Demand for R & D and Marketing Positions
"Some people praise while others are pessimistic", the energy storage industry is still seeking a way out in the turmoil.
Recent data shows that the market size of China's energy storage industry is expected to reach 297.3 billion yuan this year, achieving nearly a doubling growth compared to last year's market size, showing its huge development potential.
"Workplace Bonus" (ID: ZhiChangHongLi)
In terms of policies and technology, the energy storage industry always shows an upward trend. Politically, new energy storage was written into the government work report for the first time. From January to July this year, a total of 497 new policies were issued, and currently, about 2200 energy storage policies have been accumulated.
The research and development and application of new perovskite solar cells have attracted market attention. Currently, China's patent application quantity in this field has occupied 68% of the global share, and the huge market dividend has stimulated enterprises to layout.
The favorable application prospects of perovskite in the photovoltaic energy storage field require R & D talents to promote technological innovation and industrialization. The demand for "battery material engineers" and "electrochemical engineers" has surged, and from the fine formulation of material recipes to the innovation of preparation processes, the participation of high-end R & D talents is required.
Taking "Longi Green Energy" as an example, its Central Research Institute specializes in green energy technology. In this year's campus recruitment, the demand for battery R & D personnel is 80, and the recruitment positions include "battery R & D engineers", "battery process engineers", "chemical R & D engineers", etc., and the academic qualifications are required to be master's degree or above.
The wave of going overseas has also affected energy storage enterprises, and many domestic enterprises are competing in the overseas market. "Sungrow Power Supply" successfully signed the world's largest energy storage project in Saudi Arabia, ALGIHAZ, with an order size of up to 7.8GWh, and full capacity grid connection in 2025. "EVE Energy" is building a 30GWh/year cylindrical battery factory in Debrecen, Hungary, deeply embedded in the European new energy industry supply chain.
Behind the enterprises going overseas is the huge attraction of the overseas market. The energy storage policy is favorable, with continuous benefits such as subsidies and tax credits, and the market demand is showing a blowout trend. Emerging markets in Southeast Asia, Africa, the Middle East, etc. have unlimited potential and an urgent demand for energy storage.
Energy storage enterprises have deployed a large number of personnel overseas, and "marketing" and "sales" have become the main positions. Taking "CATL" as an example, in its campus recruitment for the overseas energy storage product line this year, the demand for "energy storage sales representatives" is large, and it is recruiting talents majoring in international trade, foreign languages, and new energy.
The original blue ocean market of the energy storage industry is now crowded with entrants, and it is not easy to get a share in the market with intensified involution and competition.
Taking industrial and commercial energy storage as an example, 2023 is the first year of domestic industrial and commercial energy storage, and the market dividend has attracted many players to enter the game. According to the "Industrial and Commercial Energy Storage Solution White Paper" of Sungrow Power Supply, in 2023, 50,000 new enterprises related to industrial and commercial energy storage were added, with an average of 150 new ones per day.
The fierce competition has led to an oversupply, and the price of industrial and commercial energy storage products has shown a significant decline trend. Shell companies lacking core technologies and scale advantages are gradually losing their market competitiveness in the fierce competition. According to statistics, about 30% of players in the market have exited this field.
In the future, the energy storage industry may usher in a major reshuffle, forming an industrial pattern dominated by a few leading enterprises and coordinated development of many specialized small and medium-sized enterprises.
New Energy Vehicles: From Batteries to Materials, Technical R & D Remains Key
In November, China's annual output of new energy vehicles exceeded 10 million for the first time.
Lithium iron phosphate batteries are favored by various vehicle enterprises for their high safety, long life, and low cost, and this market is currently continuing to expand. The latest data released by the China Automotive Power Battery Industry Innovation Alliance in December shows that from January to November this year, the cumulative installed capacity of domestic power batteries is 473GWh, with a cumulative year-on-year growth of 39.2%, and the growth rate has slightly increased compared to the same period last year. Among them, the cumulative installed capacity of lithium iron phosphate batteries is 348GWh, accounting for 73.6% of the total installed capacity, which is 6.3 percentage points higher than the whole of last year.
"Workplace Bonus" (ID: ZhiChangHongLi)
In order to seize the market, enterprises are constantly researching and developing newer and more practical battery products. In April, "CATL" released the world's first lithium iron phosphate battery, Shenxing PLUS, which combines a 1000km range and 4C ultra-fast charging characteristics. In June, "Geely Automobile" released its self-developed and self-produced Shendun Short Knife Battery. The involution among various vehicle enterprises has intensified, and competing for technical talents is a crucial battle.
In order to occupy the technological high ground, vehicle enterprises have a significant demand for "three-electric (battery, motor, and electronic control)" talents. Taking "NIO" as an example, in this year's expansion plan of its R & D center, 20 positions are reserved specifically for the "battery thermal management system engineer". "CATL" has been continuously expanding the recruitment of battery production process engineers this year, focusing on improving the production efficiency and yield of lithium iron phosphate batteries.
In the recruitment of detailed positions under the "three-electric" R & D positions, the recruitment position number of "electrical engineers" accounts for the highest proportion, reaching 33.6%, followed by battery engineers and electronic control engineers.
"Workplace Bonus" (ID: ZhiChangHongLi)
The continuous low-carbon and greening of the automotive manufacturing process has brought new opportunities. At the beginning of the year, "SERES" officially put into use a super factory built based on the national-level "green factory" specification, reducing carbon dioxide emissions by about 70,000 tons.
The greening of the manufacturing process is not only reflected in the construction of the factory but also in the research and development of materials. Currently, various vehicle enterprises are investing a lot of energy in the research and development and application of lightweight materials such as aluminum alloys, magnesium alloys, and carbon fiber composite materials.
"Chery Automobile" jointly with Zhongwang Group to carry out lightweight design, using an all-aluminum body with "aluminum instead of steel". "SAIC Motor" released the second-generation magnesium alloy electric drive housing and the three-in-one electric drive assembly system applying this solution, promoting the application of magnesium alloy lightweight materials in new energy vehicles.
In the future, the design of new energy vehicles will pay more attention to the multi-material composite application, and there is a large demand for positions such as "manufacturing engineers", "process engineers", and "mechanical engineers".