36Kr Exclusive | A military-industry background team enters the ship electrification field and has secured an order for 500 ships from Hainan Huatie.

Author: Ou Xue

Editor: Yuan Silai

Yingke learned that Bidian Technology, a full - stack supplier of the three - electric systems for new - energy ships, recently completed a Series A financing of tens of millions of yuan. The investors in this round are composed of Jinqiao Fund and other industrial capital. China Renaissance serves as the long - term strategic financial advisor. The funds will be mainly used for the development and certification of modules and containerized batteries, the expansion of the R & D team, the construction of automated production lines, and market expansion.

Founded in 2023 and headquartered in Lianyungang, Bidian Technology focuses on the electrification and intelligent upgrading of new - energy ships. It builds a full - stack product system covering battery systems, electronic control systems, electric drive systems, and ship energy management systems, forming a core technology base of "three - electric + AI".

Yuan Wei, the founder of Bidian Technology, graduated from North China Electric Power University. He once worked at the National Institute of Confidential Technology and has long been engaged in the military industry. In 2023, the team judged that the military business was facing adjustments and was optimistic about the direction of ship electrification, so they transformed and entered this track.

Against the background of the "dual - carbon" goal and the accelerated green transformation of the shipping industry, ship electrification is entering a period of rapid growth. According to the statistics of the Ministry of Transport, as of the end of 2023, the number of inland transport ships in China exceeded 100,000. Some industry research believes that if only new - energy ships in the strict sense, such as pure - electric cargo ships, are considered, their penetration rate is still less than 2%. According to the forecasts of institutions such as EVTank, the demand for power batteries from electric ships in China will reach 11.2 GWh in 2026.

In August 2024, the Ministry of Transport issued subsidy policies for the renovation of old ships and the construction of new ones. Many places simultaneously introduced supporting measures such as priority for passing locks and toll exemptions. Yuan Wei judged: "The current stage is equivalent to the level of new - energy vehicles around 2012. The industry is shifting from policy - driven to market - driven and will enter a period of rapid explosion in the next few years."

The core difficulty of ship electrification lies in the long - term stable operation of complex systems and the collaborative delivery of multiple parties. Through the path of "large - scale verification of small ships + system breakthroughs in medium - and large - sized ships", Bidian Technology has completed the commercial closed - loop from 0 to 1.

Within one year of its establishment, the company has obtained domestic and international authoritative certifications such as the Type Approval of the China Classification Society (CCS), the EU CE, and UN38.3. It has the system - level delivery ability from small ships to medium - and large - sized electric transport ships of up to 2000 tons.

As of now, the company has delivered more than 100 ships of various types, covering sub - scenarios such as unmanned ships, cleaning ships, support ships, and passenger ferries. As the shipowner's representative, the team participated in the whole process of the first batch of pure - electric cargo ships in China. This ship has a load capacity of 2000 tons, is equipped with a 300KW electric propulsion system, uses a voltage platform of more than 700 volts, and has a power capacity of 3500 KWH. As of now, this ship has operated for more than 20,000 kilometers, and the whole system is operating normally, verifying the company's system integration and delivery ability for medium - and large - sized electric ships.

In the first quarter of 2026, the company's revenue increased by more than 200% year - on - year. The concentrated deliveries are in the third and fourth quarters, and the company is expected to achieve break - even in the middle of the year.

In terms of customer expansion, Bidian Technology signed a contract with listed company Hainan Huatie Lianhang Technology Co., Ltd. at the beginning of this year to deliver 500 new - energy yachts in the next three years. In April, it completed the signing of a contract with Hangxi Logistics to design and supply three - electric systems for 30 pure - electric engineering ships in the next two years.

At the same time, the company focuses on private shipowners, who account for 70% of the total domestic cargo ships. By providing value - added services such as pre - ship design and classification society drawing review, it binds the supply of three - electric systems and has locked in hundreds of potential renovation orders.

In the overseas market, since the second half of 2024, the company has been deploying in Southeast Asia and Central Asia, mainly targeting the bulk cargo transportation scenario. It supplies ships through cooperation with leading domestic logistics companies. Yuan Wei revealed: "The overseas prices are much better than those in the domestic market, and it will be an important growth pole in the future."

In addition, the company is entering emerging near - shore scenarios such as marine ranches, exploring a micro - grid model constructed by "unmanned ships + drones + offshore wind power/photovoltaic" to provide integrated energy solutions for coastal aquaculture.

The following is an excerpt from an interview with Yuan Wei:

Yingke: What is the biggest difference between ship electrification and automobile electrification? Where is Bidian's core barrier?

Yuan Wei: The biggest difference between ships and cars lies in their volume. A car's battery is about 100 kWh, while a ship's battery can easily reach several thousand kWh. This leap in magnitude makes the electronic control system, BMS, and DC/DC completely different from those of cars. After one or two years of accumulation, the three - level architecture (main control - slave control - cell level) has become relatively mature. The real barrier lies in the system integration ability and in - depth understanding of ship operating conditions.

In addition, the ship industry "values certification, engineering, and delivery". We spent nearly two years polishing our products, obtaining the CCS certification, and running through the entire process from design, drawing review to delivery. This cannot be achieved by simply buying cells and assembling them.

Yingke: With a short establishment time, how did you get orders worth over 100 million yuan and bind private shipowners?

Yuan Wei: 70% of domestic cargo ships are in the hands of private owners, who pay attention to cost - effectiveness. One of our differentiating advantages compared with other competitors is that we can help shipowners with pre - ship design and classification society drawing review. In the past, it might cost hundreds of thousands of yuan to find a design institute. We solve this problem for them in the early stage on the condition that they use our three - electric systems.

In addition, many cargo shipowners are from provinces such as Anhui and Henan and operate in family - based forms. Through resource accumulation, we have bound three or four families, and there are hundreds of expected renovation orders in the future.

Yingke: What are the strategic focuses in the next two to three years?

Yuan Wei: First, complete the batch delivery of existing orders and form a scale effect in passenger ferries and cargo ships. Second, focus on developing embodied intelligent box - type power supplies and intelligent ship data decision - making systems to achieve a leap from passive protection to active intelligent management and from single - point functions to full - ship intelligent collaboration. Third, expand to the near - shore area, including yachts and marine ranches. The energy central control of marine ranches is currently blank. Bidian Technology will create a "zero - accident, zero - emission" intelligent system through the "AI visual early warning + three - electric bottom layer" water - based life chassis and the "AI micro - grid brain" in the far - reaching sea.

Views of the investors:

Jinqiao Fund said: We have long been optimistic about the green upgrading direction of the ship and shipping industry. Bidian Technology has obvious scarcity in its industrial position and ability structure. The company has the real "whole - ship energy system" - level ability, rather than simple equipment integration. On the other hand, Bidian has completed the cross - ship - type delivery verification from small ships to 2000 - ton transport ships, proving that its technology is not only feasible but also has an engineering foundation for large - scale replication. Finally, the company has successfully obtained orders worth over 100 million yuan, laying a solid foundation for its subsequent development, which reflects Bidian Technology's irreplaceable first - mover advantage in the early stage of the industry. With the continuous development of ship electrification and intelligence, starting from 2026, Bidian Technology will also continuously expand its application boundaries in multiple scenarios such as marine ranches and yacht intelligent driving, and rely on the industrial foundation of inland rivers and coastal areas to accelerate its expansion into the overseas market and make early arrangements for the global market. Here, we also congratulate Bidian Technology on successfully completing this round of financing and look forward to the company's continuous breakthroughs in the new development stage and jointly promoting the electrification of Chinese ships to a higher level.