Welcome to Future Energy HUB.Over a decade in new energy. Through ups and downs, I've seen my share of stories and mishaps.Today, information is fragmented, and the playbook is too full of gimmicks.I'll share some experience and judgment based on real cases and reflection.Straight talk. New energy, new stories. Let's figure this out together.
01 | How Did They Get Up There?
There's a well-known joke:
Three people step into an express elevator going straight to the top floor.
- One does push-ups frantically.
- One keeps banging his head against the wall.
- One just sits quietly in the corner.
On the top floor, when people ask how they got there:
- The push-up guy says, "Pure grit and hard work."
- The head-banger says, "I endured the pain."
- The quiet one says, "I stayed calm and waited."
The truth is, they all took the elevator.
This is the parable of the new energy industry over the past two decades.
A person's fate depends on their own struggle, but also on the course of history.
02 | Years Fly By, Worlds Apart
The magic and cruelty of this industry is that within a few short years, the gap between people and companies can become as deep as the Mariana Trench.
My specific experiences in China are really a microcosm of the global industry. These stories aren't unique to China; in different countries, the elevator just rises at different speeds.
Let's talk about the rise and fall of technical roles.
When energy storage exploded a few years ago, how scarce was talent?
At industry dinners, you couldn't avoid the topic: "Bro, know anyone good?"
In the fiercest 18 months of the 2021-2022 storage boom, fresh graduates' salaries doubled overnight.
Not to mention core talent at major firms—stock options and million-yuan salaries, with headhunters calling nonstop.
Meanwhile, in automotive, a traditional major player like the Shanghai plant shut down.
Unofficial data says roughly 6,000 people were "optimized" in recent years, and fresh graduate salaries dropped 15%.
At the same time, new EV players hired aggressively. Anyone working on the "three electrics" (battery, motor, ECU) got 30-50% pay bumps.
The curve for founders and bosses is even steeper and more ruthless.
In charging infrastructure, a manufacturer in Shanghai took the lead just before product homogenization, riding standardization, local subsidies, and brutal cost control.
A listed company in Hebei soared early on grid connections and tech reserves, fell behind when their roadmap lagged, and recently clawed back with 40kW modules to reclaim a seat at the table.
In energy storage, Deye's trajectory is the most thought-provoking. Crossing over from home appliances, they precisely hit South Africa, Germany, and Brazil—reaching 7 billion RMB in revenue in three years. An industry myth.
And the vanished companies? They became the silent majority. I've watched at least five firms with decent products and solid teams fail because they couldn't open the market or burned cash too fast. They died at dawn.
These stories aren't unique to China.
Take my German acquaintance D, whom I met on a business trip.
Laid off by a traditional Tier 1 in 2018, he joined a Nordic storage startup the same year.
By 2021, the company merged and went public at a ~$1.4 billion valuation. He made ten years' money in three.
Years passed. Whether it was a bet or hype, the bubble burst.
By end of 2024, they sold their U.S. factory and exited completely.
D got out in mid-2023. I cursed him for being a lucky dog! He told me, "It's really just like a dream."
In this business, few people aren't anxious or confused.
Sometimes you can't help but sigh.
There is an old Chinese poem that puts it this way:
When fortune is with you, heaven and earth lend their strength; when it turns, even heroes are powerless.
03 | Who I Am
I'm Joey, based in Shenzhen, China.
- Founding partner at LAC Power, product&solutions for energy storage, inverters, and EV charger.
- FutureEnergyHub—a lighter service model. We do consulting, supplier matching, and technical solutions.
- Also invested in several product-solution companies in charging and inverters, including GO-iot and Willdigits.
My resume isn't glamorous; the path has been bumpy:
Huawei veteran. Been through startups and listed companies. Later I founded my own, burned boards, and burned money.
From the lab to overseas delivery, from project management to market hustling.
Fifteen years in this industry, almost without noticing.
Now trying to catch the elevator of the era, focusing on new energy and global markets.
04 | Why I Write This Blog
These days, industry information is too fragmented.
You can skim 100 reports and still have an empty head.
Lots of sellers use cheap tricks and empty talk to grab attention, wasting everyone's time.
Knowledge without a framework is just information—loose sand that blows away with the wind.
Rapid industry growth means confusion and hard choices are the norm.
I write these notes first and foremost to organize my own thinking.
Outside of day-to-day work, I quietly summarize and befriend time.
If they offer peers or clients any useful reference, that's a bonus.
Posts will be a mixed bag—
covering core technical solutions, cost breakdowns, and judgment calls.
Including regional policy details, industry dynamics, and trend insights.
Feel free to reach out.
Let's have a real conversation and walk this road together.
If there's a chance to work together, even better.
Contact Me
Name: Joey Chen
WhatsApp / WeChat: +86 15201322534
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/joey-chen-502a139a
Email: Futureenergyhub@gmail.com
Website / EN: blog.futureenergyhub.cn
中文网站: https://aienergyhub.blogspot.com/
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