Shenzhen Center Power Tech.Co.,Ltd. recently announced plans to terminate its "Shenzhen Center Power Hydrogen Fuel Cell Industrial Park Project" and postpone the "Hubei Center Power New Energy Lithium Battery (5GWh) Production Base Construction Project."
Notably, these two projects were part of a 2020 private placement that had already completed fundraising. This means that, six years after their initiation, only one of three originally planned hydrogen-related projects has been completed. In 2025, the company's fuel cell business revenue fell below 10 million yuan, accounting for a mere 0.25% of total revenue. The "hydrogen story" promoted since 2018 has effectively been disproven.
Since 2023, Center Power has experienced three consecutive years of declining revenue and net profit. Its core businesses of lead-acid batteries and lithium-ion batteries have also shown weakness. A 2023 plan to raise funds through a private placement for lithium battery and energy storage operations was ultimately abandoned without success.
It is important to note that over 30% of Center Power's net profit comes from government subsidies. Concurrently, the company has introduced a low-priced equity incentive plan for a select group of mid-to-senior level employees. The lenient performance conditions attached to this plan raise questions about whether it constitutes a disguised form of福利distribution.
**Only One of Three Hydrogen Projects Completed After Six Years; Fuel Cell Revenue Contributes Just 0.25%**
On April 24, Center Power announced the termination of the "Shenzhen Center Power Hydrogen Fuel Cell Industrial Park Project," citing reasons such as underdeveloped hydrogen infrastructure, the impact of subsidy policies, rapid iteration of hydrogen fuel cell technology, and insufficient speed and distribution of infrastructure construction like hydrogen refueling stations. The remaining raised funds of 129 million yuan from this project will be permanently used to supplement working capital.
Additionally, due to cyclical fluctuations in the lithium battery application industry and conservative order forecasts from downstream customers, the company also announced the postponement of the "Hubei Center Power New Energy Lithium Battery (5GWh) Production Base Construction Project."
In 2020, Center Power completed its previous private placement, raising approximately 652 million yuan. The funds were intended for the Wuhan Center Power Hydrogen Fuel Cell Power System Industrialization Base Project, the Shenzhen Center Power Hydrogen Fuel Cell Industrial Park Project, the Shenzhen Center Power Hydrogen Fuel Cell Stack R&D Project, and to supplement working capital.
In July 2023, the company announced a change from the "Wuhan Center Power Hydrogen Fuel Cell Power System Industrialization Base Project" to the "Hubei Center Power New Energy Lithium Battery (5GWh) Production Base Construction Project." Now, this adjusted lithium battery expansion project has been postponed again.
This means that, of the three hydrogen-related fundraising projects planned six years ago, only the smallest one - the hydrogen fuel cell stack R&D project - was completed. The two larger hydrogen projects were both ultimately abandoned.
On the same day as the project termination announcement, Center Power disclosed its 2025 annual report. The company reported annual revenue of 3.478 billion yuan, a decrease of 2.14% year-over-year, and a net profit attributable to shareholders of 79.7073 million yuan, down 17.91% year-over-year.
Revenue from the fuel cell business was only 9 million yuan, accounting for just 0.25% of total revenue. This represents the lowest value since the company began separately disclosing fuel cell revenue in 2018, confirming the failure of its long-promoted "hydrogen story."
**Three Consecutive Years of Declining Revenue and Profit; Core Businesses Struggle Amid High Subsidy Dependence and Low-Barrier Incentives**
Center Power's main businesses include the R&D, production, and sales of lead-acid batteries, lithium-ion batteries, hydrogen fuel cells, and sodium-ion batteries. Lead-acid and lithium-ion battery businesses contribute approximately 50% and over 40% of total revenue, respectively, serving as the company's primary income sources.
However, from 2023 to 2025, Center Power saw consecutive year-over-year declines in both revenue and net profit. As the hydrogen narrative collapsed, its core battery businesses also faltered.
In July 2023, the company announced plans for a private placement aiming to raise 1.224 billion yuan to bolster its lithium battery and energy storage operations. However, just two months later, this fundraising effort was terminated, citing changes in market conditions and the company's own operational circumstances.
A significant portion of Center Power's net profit in recent years, cumulatively over 30%, has originated from government subsidies. Meanwhile, the company proceeded with a low-priced equity incentive plan for a limited number of mid-to-senior level staff.
In March 2026, Center Power announced an employee stock ownership plan targeting no more than 40 individuals, including company directors, mid-to-senior managers, and core technical and business personnel. The plan involves up to 6.4091 million shares with an exercise price of 19.66 yuan per share, representing a discount of approximately 26% to the company's stock price at the time.
Furthermore, the company will provide interest-free loans of up to 80 million yuan to support these employees' participation in the plan.
The performance conditions for the vesting of these shares stipulate that the net profit attributable to shareholders—after excluding expenses from equity incentives, employee stock ownership plans, and non-recurring gains and losses—must achieve a growth rate of no less than 10% in 2026 compared to the 2025 base figure, and an average growth rate of no less than 15% for the combined years of 2026 and 2027.
Given the 26% discount, the provision of interest-free loans, and the low profit base in 2025, concerns are raised regarding whether Center Power is using a low-barrier equity incentive plan as a means to provide disguised福利to a select group of mid-to-senior level employees.
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