Chapter 682 - 488: 15 Million kWh Production Capacity, 13 Billion US Dollar Orders, Entrenched Market Position

A moment later, the Red Flag sedan came to a smooth stop. A middle-aged man in a sharp suit got out first, walked around to the back, and opened the left rear door.

CLICK!

A shiny leather shoe touched the ground first, followed by the cuff of a pair of black trousers.

Finally, a middle-aged man who looked to be in his early fifties stepped out. He wore a light gray jacket, its zipper hanging open at his chest, revealing a crisp white shirt underneath.

He wore a pair of glasses on the bridge of his nose, and his brow carried the calm composure of someone long accustomed to a position of power. His gaze was deep and sharp, as if it held the power to see right through a person.

There were faint traces of white at his temples, almost unnoticeable if not for Chen Yansen’s superhuman eyesight.

Yuan Ruli, the head of the Shencheng Central Control Department, jogged forward and fell into step just half a pace behind the middle-aged man, accompanying him as they walked on.

Li Qingsong!

A faint smile touched Chen Yansen’s lips as he strode forward to greet him. "Mr. Li," he said politely, "welcome to Deep Blue Technology. We’re honored by your visit."

He was observing Li Qingsong.

And Li Qingsong was sizing up the young man before him.

In three years, he had raked in a hundred billion US dollars.

While the internet world had never been short on miracles, Chen Yansen’s performance was simply too dazzling.

Take Zuckerberg from the Lighthouse Country next door. He was a genius, right?

By age 28, he had amassed a massive fortune of over twenty billion US dollars and was already hailed as a world-renowned business prodigy.

But compared to Chen Yansen, he instantly seemed to pale in significance.

Chen Yansen’s success was, without a doubt, proving to the world that Hua Country’s path of economic development was a triumph. Otherwise, how could it have nurtured a business empire valued at over one hundred billion US dollars?

He was Hua Country’s most brilliant entrepreneurial calling card!

While the e-commerce, food delivery, Group Buy, courier, ride-hailing, and mobile phone businesses under Senlian Capital were certainly important, they couldn’t compare to the weight carried by the Celestial Craft A100 Chip and the Deep Blue Battery.

Of these two technologies, the former had solidified the foundation of the nation’s domestic chip technology, while the latter had reshaped the global lithium-ion battery industry, giving Hua Country the solid confidence it needed to overtake its competitors.

More importantly, Chen Yansen and Senlian Capital had developed entirely on their own strength, with virtually no external technical support.

This point was particularly astonishing.

Li Qingsong smiled faintly, his eyes filled with nothing but admiration as he looked at Chen Yansen.

"You’ve done very well," Li Qingsong said.

"It’s all thanks to Shencheng City for providing Deep Blue Technology with a favorable R&D environment and an ample talent pool," Chen Yansen replied humbly.

"I’m not just talking about the Deep Blue Battery, but also the Celestial Craft A100. Huawei and the Huake Science Association spent over a decade without making any breakthroughs in high-end chip design. I never imagined you would crack this tough nut in just a few short years.

"This isn’t just a technological leap; it’s a shot in the arm for the entire industry. People used to say we could never get around the patent barriers of others in core technologies. Now, you’ve proven with tangible results that this is a path we can walk, and we can walk it more steadily and more quickly."

Li Qingsong was very affable, and his words were full of praise for Chen Yansen.

"Chip design is just the beginning. The harder parts are the technical aspects of chip manufacturing, such as the equipment, packaging, and chemical reagents," Chen Yansen said unhurriedly, his brow furrowing slightly.

"You plan to get into the chip manufacturing industry as well?" Li Qingsong asked, looking up with a clear flash of surprise in his eyes.

"I’ve thought about it, but we lack the equipment and technology," Chen Yansen shrugged.

From silicon wafer manufacturing to sputtering targets, CMP materials, photoresists, and photomasks, there are hundreds of patented technologies involved.

Even if you’re willing to pay to procure them, you’d have to coordinate with dozens of suppliers.

And that’s not even mentioning lithography machines!

Due to restrictions from the Lighthouse Country, ASML simply won’t sell their most advanced EUV lithography machines.

What can be bought domestically are mostly low- to mid-range devices for mature process chip manufacturing, like the NXT 1950i immersion lithography machine.

That’s already a five-year-old model. Compared to the equipment currently used by Intel, Mountain Star, and TSMC, it’s a good two to three generations behind technologically. There are huge gaps in core metrics like the light source, resolution, numerical aperture, and platform technology alone.

"Take it slow. There’s no rush," Li Qingsong said with a reassuring smile.

He positioned Tiangong Technology as a major chip designer, not a chip manufacturer.

The tasks of chip manufacturing and equipment production would be handled by Huaxin International and Huawei Company.

He paused, then asked, "President Chen, do you know why the higher-ups place so much importance on Deep Blue Technology?"

"Little Days are working on solid-state batteries, and the Lighthouse Country is betting on lithium-metal anode technology. Ultimately, everyone is looking for a more sustainable energy source. Hua Country’s technological foundation in fuel-based vehicles is a bit weak, but electric power is a different story," Chen Yansen answered with perfect clarity.

He had personally witnessed the explosive growth of new energy vehicles.

By 2026, the number of new energy vehicles on the road had exceeded 50 million, accounting for 13.8% of all vehicles, with pure electric vehicles making up a staggering 73.1% of that.

"You certainly see things clearly. No wonder you’ve focused your energy on developing lithium-sulfur batteries."

As he spoke, Li Qingsong extended his right hand.

Seeing this, Chen Yansen finally shook his hand, formally completing their greeting.

"This way, Mr. Li, please!"

With a smile, Chen Yansen led Li Qingsong, Yuan Ruli, and the others toward the production facility.

The large group entered Deep Blue Technology’s Factory Number Two.

Reporters from CCTV and the *National Daily* followed closely, tasked with filming and documenting the entire visit.

Around Li Qingsong, a dozen grim-faced security personnel were stationed.

Zeng Jiweng walked to Chen Yansen’s right, explaining the factory’s layout and functional areas to the group.

The first stop was Deep Blue Technology’s Class 100,000 cleanroom. Through tempered glass, they could see the fully automated production line assembling battery cells.

Robotic arms precisely gripped the sulfur-carbon composite cathode material, performing the stacking process in a protective argon atmosphere.

Li Qingsong occasionally paused, leaning in to observe the operational details of the equipment. Chen Yansen provided a quiet explanation by his side, while Zeng Jiweng chimed in at appropriate moments to add technical details about the Deep Blue Battery.

The reporters following behind captured these scenes clearly with their cameras, intending to use the footage for tonight’s news broadcast.

In just four short months, the Deep Blue Battery had accumulated 13 billion US dollars in orders globally, plus three Nobel Prize in Chemistry medals, and had exerted a terrifying influence over the new energy vehicle, consumer electronics, and energy storage industries.

Even the highest level of media coverage would be completely justified.

To put it bluntly, Li Qingsong’s personal attendance at the production launch ceremony was a show of support for Deep Blue Technology.

Chen Yansen pointed to a display screen and said, "This is Deep Blue Technology’s proprietary porous sulfur carrier technology. It uses a nanoscale carbon skeleton to fix the active sulfur, keeping the volume expansion rate under 2%, which ensures the battery’s cycling stability, capacity retention, and service life."

"What are these black particles?" Li Qingsong asked, turning to the side and tapping the screen with his finger.

"It’s a graphene oxide coating. It suppresses the polysulfide shuttle effect and enhances the electrode’s conductivity," Chen Yansen answered without a moment’s hesitation.

’Of course!’

’I provided 99% of the technical plans for this thing.’

’Zeng Jiweng just took my technical documents and reproduced the lab data under normal temperature conditions.’

"If I recall correctly, you majored in journalism, didn’t you?" Li Qingsong was taken aback and asked subconsciously.

"When it’s your own product, you naturally have to know it inside and out," Chen Yansen replied, completely unfazed, his expression one of ’it goes without saying’.

"I heard that Deep Blue Technology has signed supply contracts with BAIC, SAIC, Great Wall, and Jianghuai. With the production capacity of Factories One and Two, how long will it take to fulfill those orders?" Li Qingsong continued to ask.

"The total annual capacity of these two production facilities is 15 GWh, which is 15 million kWh. Fulfilling the orders sequentially, we estimate it will take until 2015 to complete them all.

"However, I’ve also signed contract manufacturing agreements with Ningde Era and BYD. Once they deliver their energy storage orders for the Middle East, they will begin producing the power batteries needed for automobiles," Chen Yansen explained slowly.

"You gave the first shipment to Tesla?" Li Qingsong asked.

"Musk signed a 1.5 billion US dollar order," Chen Yansen replied bluntly.

The implication was clear: Tesla was paying too much to refuse.

Besides, the procurement volume for power batteries is large, and after operating in the North American Region for many years, Tesla has cultivated a huge crop of leeks to harvest.

Even though Musk priced the Model S LR at 159,000 US dollars, he still sold 14,000 of them.

Back home, given the capabilities of domestic automobile factories in 2013, who would dare guarantee they could sell 10,000 pure electric cars priced at 159,000 US dollars each?

Not even Wang Chuanfu had that kind of confidence.

The reasons were simple: the supply chain was limited, and infrastructure like charging stations was almost non-existent, with only 14,000 in the entire country.

There was a lack of synergy in the industry chain. Battery factories, car companies, and charging operators all fought their own battles, failing to form a closed-loop ecosystem of "battery → charging → vehicle."

Li Qingsong smiled and didn’t press the matter further.

The single fact that Chen Yansen had licensed the lithium-sulfur battery patents to military research institutes in various major regions was enough that he couldn’t find any fault with the man.

At the end of the day, Deep Blue Technology was a private enterprise. Although it had a certain percentage of state-owned shares, the company ultimately had to turn a profit to pay its employees’ salaries and continue investing in R&D.

Afterward, the group walked through a clean corridor and entered the core laboratory.

A silver-gray battery cell lay quietly on a test bench, its electrode material giving off a cool, metallic sheen.

"This is our second-generation lithium-sulfur battery sample. Its measured energy density is 620 Wh/kg. Compared to the first generation, it doesn’t look much different, but its energy utilization rate and cycle life have both increased by more than 15%," Chen Yansen said with a light smile.

"Your technology is iterating this quickly?" Li Qingsong asked, amazed.

"Only by staying one step ahead do we earn the right to set the industry’s rules," Chen Yansen replied.

Li Qingsong thought for a moment and nodded in approval.

Next, Chen Yansen led Li Qingsong and the others on a tour of the electrolyte mixing room, the aging test area, and other functional labs.

It wasn’t until noon that Li Qingsong left a document behind and departed from Deep Blue Technology’s Factory Number Two by car.

After Li Qingsong left, Cao Dahua sidled up with a grin and asked, "Boss, I saw the CCTV reporters. Don’t tell me we’re going to be on the 7 p.m. news tonight?"

"Not necessarily," Chen Yansen shook his head.

Hearing this, the expression on Cao Dahua’s face froze. ’Well, tomorrow’s noon news would be fine too,’ he thought.

Chen Yansen glanced at him and teased with a smile, "Or maybe tomorrow night’s 7 p.m. news."

However, he was wrong this time.

With Li Qingsong personally making an appearance and a dozen reporters from CCTV and the *National Daily* in tow, how could the report possibly be delayed until tomorrow or the day after?

That evening at 7 p.m., not long after the news broadcast began, the scene cut to the Deep Blue Technology factory.

It was Chen Yansen’s second time appearing on the 7 p.m. news!

Cao Dahua, standing behind him, got a full three seconds of screen time.

Old Cao was ecstatic. He immediately sent the video clip he’d recorded from his phone to his family, and then to Tang Qingshan.

Returning home without showing off your success is like wearing a silk robe in the dead of night.

And Old Cao’s personality was such that if you had something to flaunt, you flaunted it!

Far away in Chunshen, Chen Guobin was watching the news the next day when he found out that Chen Yansen had been on the 7 p.m. news again.

The occasion was even grander this time; even Li Qingsong had paid a visit.

Instantly, the reputation of the Deep Blue Battery soared to new heights, both at home and abroad.