Hubei Energy Group has signed a cooperation agreement with the government of Enshi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, under which the company plans to invest approximately RMB 8 billion in clean energy and related upstream and downstream industries in the region between 2026 and 2030. The investment will cover wind, solar, hydropower, energy storage, and integrated energy projects.
Hubei Energy aims to plan and develop 1 GW of new energy projects during China’s 2026-2030 15th Five-Year Plan period. Priority projects include the Hefeng integrated hydropower, wind, solar, and energy storage project; the Jiannan Fengzhuba wind project in Lichuan; and the Qiyueshan wind-storage and computing-power/electricity coordination project, also in Lichuan.
The investment plan also includes the 185.2 MW Linxihe hydropower project, as well as integrated energy projects involving distributed solar, wind power, energy storage, EV charging, and battery-swapping facilities linked to infrastructure including the airport, airport economic zone, and high-speed railway.
EV and energy storage battery manufacturer Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited (CATL) has signed strategic cooperation agreements with Xi’an Taijin New Energy & Materials (TJNE), HKC Corporation Limited, and other partners to expand its upstream lithium-ion battery copper foil supply chain.
CATL and TJNE will establish unified standards for copper foil equipment and a centralized procurement mechanism. Meanwhile, CATL, Shenzhen Huike New Materials, and another partner will jointly build 400,000 metric tons of lithium-ion battery copper foil production capacity over the next three years. The cooperation will also cover long-term supply arrangements, processing-fee mechanisms, advance payments, joint R&D, and the use of renewable electricity.
Copper foil is a key current collector material for the anode in lithium-ion batteries used in both EV and energy storage applications. CATL said the agreements move the copper foil industry from conventional buyer-supplier procurement toward a model based on joint development and governance.
Last month, CATL announced plans to invest RMB 4.1 billion in Zhonhen Technology Investment for a 49% stake (see China Solar PV News Snippets).
PV diamond wire manufacturer Metron has commissioned a new tungsten core wire facility in Shanxi, China, adding 6 million km/month of capacity with a total investment of RMB 230 million. Tungsten core wire is the key substrate for producing tungsten-core diamond wire. The plant increases Metron’s designed tungsten core wire capacity from 1 million km/month to 7 million km/month, equivalent to approximately 84 million km annually.
Metron reported H1 2026 revenue of RMB 1.162 billion, up 15.31% year-on-year, while net profit attributable to shareholders rose 265.67% to RMB 310 million. Net profit excluding non-recurring items increased 363.59% to RMB 275 million. Diamond wire revenue fell 14.36% to RMB 731 million, while revenue from waste tungsten recycling surged 161.92% to RMB 348 million. The company said continued waste tungsten generation from diamond wire use supports its recycling business, whose growth drove the year-on-year increase in net profit.
Inverter and energy storage product manufacturer Ginlong Technologies (Solis) reported H1 2026 revenue of RMB 3.882 billion, up 2.32% YoY, while net profit attributable to shareholders fell 29.74% to RMB 423 million. Net profit excluding non-recurring items declined 24.90% to RMB 412 million. The company had previously forecast its net profit excluding non-recurring items for H1 2026 to decline 16.73%-25.84% (see China Solar PV News Snippets).
Solis attributed the decline mainly to higher foreign-exchange losses, share-based compensation expenses, and a YoY decline in generation hours in its renewable power generation and residential PV system businesses. The company said growth in energy storage inverters and high-power grid-connected inverters partly offset these pressures.
Energy storage inverter revenue more than doubled to RMB 1.64 billion, up 106.70%, accounting for 42.24% of total revenue. Grid-connected inverter revenue fell 41.99% to RMB 1.056 billion, while energy storage system (ESS) revenue surged 3,025.90% to RMB 160 million.
PV encapsulation film manufacturer HIUV New Material reported H1 2026 revenue of RMB 611 million, down 3.51% YoY. Net loss attributable to shareholders narrowed to RMB 47.56 million from RMB 133.16 million a year earlier, while net loss excluding non-recurring items narrowed to RMB 57.06 million from RMB 134.88 million.
The company attributed the improvement mainly to a higher gross margin in its PV encapsulation film business and lower financial expenses. The segment recorded a gross margin of 6.26%, up roughly 9 percentage points YoY, indicating a partial recovery in profitability.
PV encapsulation film revenue rose approximately 1.7% to RMB 559 million, accounting for about 96% of main business revenue, while shipments increased 4.42% to 119 million m². Management expects shipments to increase further in the second half of the year.
Beyond PV, HIUV is developing non-PV new material businesses, including automotive switchable films. The company said its PDCLC switchable film is now being supplied in volume and has secured nominations for 5 new vehicle programs in 2026.
