Zeng Yuqun, Chairman of CATL (SHE: 300750), donated 1.5 million CATL shares to the Ningde Advanced Research Institute of Shanghai Jiao Tong University on October 15 at the 2026 World Energy Storage Conference, a gift worth approximately 400 million yuan based on the current share price.
Zeng Yuqun, a 1989 undergraduate alumnus of Shanghai Jiao Tong University in naval architecture, has now donated more than 3.8 billion yuan to his alma mater over a six-year period.
The Ningde Advanced Research Institute of Shanghai Jiao Tong University was officially established in Ningde in June of this year. It is a joint initiative built by the Ningde Municipal People's Government, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, the Fujian Provincial Department of Education, and CATL.
On October 10, the Fujian (Ningde) Advanced Research Institute of Shanghai Jiao Tong University announced the launch of graduate admissions for the class of 2027. The full-time professional master's degree program has a duration of 2.5 years, comprising one year of study on campus plus 1.5 years of practical work at the research institute. About 50 professional master's students are planned for the 2027 cohort, including 20 special slots for the CATL joint training base.
Leveraging the globally leading industrial and technological strength of CATL and other partners, students are deeply integrated from the moment they enroll into research and development in new productivity fields such as new energy batteries, perovskite photovoltaics, zero-carbon systems, embodied intelligence, electric vehicles, electric ships, electric aircraft, smart health, and smart factories. The study period follows the graduate student status management regulations of Shanghai Jiao Tong University. Students complete professional coursework on the Shanghai Jiao Tong University campus in the first academic year, and from the second academic year onward conduct research practice at the Ningde Advanced Research Institute until graduation. The graduation certificate and degree certificate are identical to those of other graduate students in the same major within the admitting department. A dual-mentor team composed of experts from leading enterprises such as CATL and high-level scholars from the university provides collaborative guidance.
According to reports, CATL has donated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University on multiple occasions and has carried out cooperation with the university. In October 2020, Shanghai Jiao Tong University and CATL signed a cooperation agreement to jointly build a Clean Energy Technology Joint Research Center focused on tackling key technologies in the energy sector. In April 2021, on the occasion of the university's 125th anniversary, Zeng Yuqun donated 2 million shares to establish the "Zeng Yuqun Education Fund," with the donation amount corresponding to a market value of approximately 1.4 billion yuan based on the share price at the time. In August 2021, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, CATL, the Municipal Economic and Information Commission, and Minhang District signed a four-party strategic cooperation framework agreement to jointly build the School of Future Technology and the Future Energy Research Institute. In December 2023, a donation established the "Zeng Yuqun Medical Education Fund" to support the comprehensive development of the university's medical education. In April 2024, construction began on the Puyuan School of Future Technology building, which will together with the CATL Future Energy Research Institute building form a brilliant "twin tower" complex. In April 2026, on the occasion of Shanghai Jiao Tong University's 130th anniversary, Zeng Yuqun donated 5 million A-shares of the company he personally holds to support the development of education. Based on the closing price that day, the donated shares corresponded to a market value of approximately 2 billion yuan.
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