Yanhe Tech recently announced the completion of its Series A2 funding round, raising several hundred million yuan, with NIO Capital co-leading the investment—marking its formal expansion into third-generation photovoltaic technology. Proceeds from the round will primarily fund core technology iteration, capacity expansion, space solar production line construction, and industrial ecosystem collaboration, accelerating the commercialization of its technical achievements. Notably, this marks the company’s third funding round in six months. Since October 2025, the two-year-old startup has closed three consecutive rounds, with two additional rounds already in their final stages and set to be announced shortly. Yanhe Tech This is not NIO’s first foray into the solar sector. In February 2026, NIO and LONGi completed an integrated solar-storage-charging-swapping project in Jiaxing, Zhejiang, combining photovoltaic generation, energy storage, charging infrastructure, and smart energy management to create three-dimensional solar coverage across rooftops and building facades. The simultaneous presence of Shunwei Capital (backed by Lei Jun) and NIO Capital on Yanhe Tech’s investor roster signals a broader shift by vehicle manufacturing ecosystem players toward upstream energy technologies. Viewed across the broader industry, this trend becomes even more pronounced. SolarCity solar panels Tesla entered the solar market as early as 2016 with its $2.6 billion acquisition of SolarCity. On February 4 this year, Jiemian News reported that Elon Musk’s team conducted due diligence on Chinese solar firms including TCL Zhonghuan, JinkoSolar, and Jingsheng Mechanical & Electrical. Meanwhile, Geely launched its Gucheng polysilicon project in May 2022. In November 2023, BYD disclosed it had actively moved to develop perovskite cell technology and established a dedicated solar R&D team. Early 2025, Great Wall Motor-backed UtmoLight brought the world’s first gigawatt-scale perovskite module production line online. Among newer EV players, Li Auto has established 15 solar-related affiliates, with a 100-megawatt distributed solar project at its Changzhou base already grid-connected, generating over 100 million kilowatt-hours of green electricity annually. Perovskite module production line From an energy ecosystem perspective, automakers’ solar investments aim to build a closed loop of “new energy vehicles, energy storage, and green power.” As Great Wall Motor Chairman Wei Jianjun noted, the new energy ecosystem is incomplete without green electricity. As the global auto industry navigates the deeper waters of electrification, solar power has become a critical piece of automakers’ green energy ecosystem strategy.
+65 others
