NONGFU SPRING (09633) founder Zhong Shanshan has recently made an indirect investment in the solid-state battery material company Zhejiang Zhibang Lithium Battery New Material Co., Ltd. (Zhibang Lithium) through a holding company.
On May 22, a call was made to Zhibang Lithium. A staff member stated that the company is not accepting interviews in the short term. When asked about the company's main business, they indicated it involves solid-state electrolytes, including oxide, polymer, and sulfide solid-state electrolytes.
This marks Zhong Shanshan's first venture into the new energy materials sector. From "selling water" to investing in "water-removing" solid-state electrolytes, what industry trend has Zhong Shanshan identified?
Zhong Shanshan's career has largely revolved around water, from NONGFU SPRING to various beverage products. This time, however, his investment is in solid-state electrolytes, whose fundamental principle is the "removal of water." Current mainstream lithium batteries use liquid electrolytes. The industry trend is towards continuously reducing the liquid component until achieving a fully solid-state battery with no liquid electrolyte involvement.
It is noteworthy that current developers of solid-state electrolytes are mostly founded by individuals with technical backgrounds, such as Qingtao Energy and Weilan New Energy, or by well-funded new energy and automotive manufacturers like Toyota and CATL.
What makes Zhibang Lithium, the solid-state electrolyte company that caught Zhong Shanshan's eye, unique? A review of its shareholding structure suggests that Xu Xiaoxiong and Zhang Yongxiang are likely key figures in its establishment and development. The former guides the company's technical direction, while the latter is adept in capital markets.
According to Tianyancha data, Zhibang Lithium has five major shareholders. Zhejiang Yaozhou New Energy Technology Co., Ltd. (Yaozhou New Energy) is the largest shareholder, holding a 63% stake. Zhang Yongxiang also directly holds a 7% stake.
The largest shareholder of Yaozhou New Energy is Quzhou Huisheng Self-owned Capital Investment Partnership (Quzhou Huisheng), which holds a 50% stake in Yaozhou New Energy. The largest shareholder of Quzhou Huisheng is Xu Xiaoxiong, with a 90.7% stake. Xu Xiaoxiong is also the executive managing partner of Quzhou Huisheng, meaning he controls it both in terms of shareholding ratio and management rights. Overall, Xu Xiaoxiong indirectly holds approximately 28.57% of Zhibang Lithium.
The third-largest shareholder of Yaozhou New Energy is Quzhou Huiqiang Self-owned Capital Investment Partnership, holding a 10% stake. Zhang Yongxiang is not only the largest shareholder of this limited partnership with a 61% stake but also its executive managing partner. Additionally, Zhang Yongxiang holds a 2% stake in Quzhou Huisheng. In summary, Zhang Yongxiang directly and indirectly holds a combined approximately 11.47% stake in Zhibang Lithium.
The investment history of Zhang Yongxiang and the career backgrounds of Xu Xiaoxiong and Zhibang Lithium's chairman, Ding Li, all point to the well-known domestic solid-state battery research firm Jiangxi Ganfeng Lithium Battery Technology Co., Ltd. (Ganfeng Lithium Battery), a controlled subsidiary of Ganfeng Lithium Industry, one of China's top two lithium companies.
Tianyancha shows that Xinyu Zhonghe Service Management Center (Xinyu Zhonghe) holds a 0.6842% stake in Ganfeng Lithium Battery. Zhang Yongxiang holds a 27.8308% stake in Xinyu Zhonghe, making him its largest shareholder. Interestingly, among Ganfeng Lithium Battery's shareholders is also a Xu Xiaoxiong, holding a 0.3734% stake. This Xu Xiaoxiong has collaborated with both Zhang Yongxiang and Ding Li.
Xu Xiaoxiong, as a shareholder of Ganfeng Lithium Battery, was also a major shareholder in the now-dissolved Ningbo Helu Investment Partnership. Another shareholder in this partnership was Lin Jiu, who is the second-largest shareholder and executive managing partner of Xinyu Zhonghe, making him an important investment partner of Zhang Yongxiang.
Furthermore, Xu Xiaoxiong, as a shareholder of Ganfeng Lithium Battery, was also the legal representative of the now-dissolved Ningbo Lisakang New Material Technology Co., Ltd. (Ningbo Lisakang). Tianyancha shows that Ding Li was once the executive director of Ningbo Lisakang. The controlling shareholder of Ningbo Lisakang was Zhejiang Fengli New Energy Technology Co., Ltd. (Zhejiang Fengli), whose legal representative was Lin Jiu and whose controlling shareholder was Ganfeng Lithium Battery. This indicates that Xu Xiaoxiong, the shareholder of Ganfeng Lithium Battery, is highly likely the same Xu Xiaoxiong who is an indirect shareholder of Zhibang Lithium.
In this round of financing, Zhibang Lithium introduced three companies: Quzhou Zhiyuan Enterprise Management Partnership (Quzhou Zhiyuan), Kunshan Gezhi Phase I Venture Capital Partnership (Kunshan Gezhi), and Chengdu Xianfeng No.5 Venture Capital Partnership. The largest shareholder of Kunshan Gezhi is Yangshengtang Co., Ltd., holding an 81.9672% stake. The shareholder of Yangshengtang Co., Ltd. is Zhong Shanshan, who directly and indirectly holds 100% of its shares. Behind Quzhou Zhiyuan is the state-owned capital of Quzhou City. On April 20, 2026, Zhibang Lithium acquired a 3.714-hectare land plot in Quzhou for 7.7994 million yuan, located south of Jiangzhou Avenue and east of Jugao Road in Quzhou City.
Why would a company like Zhibang Lithium, established only in March 2024, attract investment from figures like Zhong Shanshan and Quzhou's state-owned capital in just over two years? Perhaps Xu Xiaoxiong's technical background is the reason for their investment.
According to Ganfeng Lithium Industry's 2020 annual report, Xu Xiaoxiong served as a director of the company from April 6, 2017, to March 24, 2020. The company's 2019 annual report states that Xu Xiaoxiong was born in 1979, graduated from Wuhan University of Technology in June 2002, obtained a Ph.D. in Science from the Shanghai Institute of Ceramics, Chinese Academy of Sciences in July 2007, served as a research scientist at Japan's National Institute for Materials Science from September 2007 to March 2011, served as a doctoral supervisor and researcher at the Ningbo Institute of Materials Technology and Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences from March 2011 to April 2017, was recognized as a Level 4 professional and technical researcher by the New Energy Technology Institute in December 2014, received the Youth Science and Technology Award from the Chinese Ceramic Society in December 2015, joined Ganfeng Lithium Industry in April 2017, serving as a director of the company's fourth board, chief scientist, and general manager of subsidiaries Zhejiang Fengli and Ningbo Lisakang.
Ganfeng Lithium Industry stated that Xu Xiaoxiong was primarily responsible for the research, development, and industrialization of solid-state lithium battery products, is a member of the Solid State Ionics Branch of the Chinese Ceramic Society and a member of the Energy Storage Engineering Professional Committee of the Chinese Chemical Society, and has over 10 years of research experience in materials science.
It is worth noting that in December 2017, Ganfeng Lithium Industry reviewed and approved proposals to establish a wholly-owned subsidiary to build a first-generation solid-state lithium battery pilot production line and to implement a project assessment and reward scheme for the subsidiary Zhejiang Fengli. The company agreed to establish Zhejiang Fengli to invest up to 250 million yuan in building the pilot line. To fully motivate the management and core employees of Zhejiang Fengli, stabilize and attract talent, and accelerate the construction progress, the company agreed to implement project assessment and reward management for Zhejiang Fengli.
In April 2020, Zhejiang Fengli signed an agreement with representative Xu Xiaoxiong on behalf of the incentive recipients, in which Xu Xiaoxiong and other recipients voluntarily waived a 40 million yuan share reward from Zhejiang Fengli. However, eligible recipients had already received a 20 million yuan cash reward after the first phase of assessment.
Regarding the second phase assessment, Ganfeng Lithium Industry stated that due to reasons such as adjustments in the pilot line location and overall delays in construction progress, the second-phase performance indicators were not fully met as scheduled, so the company did not grant the second-phase assessment reward. Regarding the third phase, the company stated that the third-phase performance indicators were also not completed as scheduled, and the corresponding reward was not granted.
For Zhong Shanshan, his bet is not just on a material company over two years old, but on the "second venture" of a seasoned technical expert in the solid-state battery field. From "selling water" to investing in "water-removing" solid-state electrolytes, what Zhong Shanshan likely sees is a logic of finding the scarcest supply within a deterministic trend.
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