I talked with the head of the investment department of a century-old energy giant: I'm not investing; I'm co-founding a business with them.

Written by Jonas

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Due to work reasons, I have interviewed many investors. They are an extremely intelligent group of people and also extremely sensitive to opportunities and human nature. A good investor is much like an encyclopedia in a certain field.

According to this metaphor, Alan Chen Yinglong should be placed on the bookshelf belonging to "New Energy".

Alan is the Chief Investment Officer of Hong Kong and China Gas and the Managing Partner of Fusheng Capital. Hong Kong and China Gas is the oldest public utility institution in Hong Kong, and the investment business that Alan is responsible for is an important part of Hong Kong and China Gas' exploration of new energy frontier technologies. Whether it is hydrogen energy, energy storage, or photovoltaic, Alan can talk about it at length.

As an investor, Alan has a very strong connection with his invested enterprises. During the conversation, he will involuntarily refer to the products/businesses of the invested enterprises as "our" products.

This is related to the industrial characteristics of the new energy. Different from the Internet industry, most energy companies require infrastructure, need to build factories and invest in equipment. The process is more difficult, and it is more necessary for investment institutions and invested enterprises to be closely bound together to overcome difficulties.

Alan shared with me a somewhat contradictory mentality: He said that looking back on the past ten years, every day has been very difficult, but if you look at these ten years as a whole, you will feel very happy.

Alan Chen Yinglong

In December when I chatted with Alan, he was extremely busy. The TERA-Award Smart Energy Innovation Contest, Asia's largest green incubator that he is primarily responsible for, has begun preparations for the fourth event and project recruitment.

TERA-Award has incubated many well-known unicorns in the industry. At present, the total valuation of its incubated enterprises has reached 6 billion US dollars, including EcoCeres, a biomass refining company that produces sustainable aviation fuel, and EnerVenue, a new nickel-hydrogen battery startup, etc.

At the end of 2024, I also chatted with Alan about what kind of investment institution Fusheng Capital, a subsidiary of Hong Kong and China Gas, is and how they accompany entrepreneurs to grow? Is there still a so-called trend in new energy entrepreneurship in 2025? How will the vigorous development of AI bring innovative changes to the energy industry?

The following are the core discussion points of the conversation, and you are also welcome to discuss with us in the comments:

04:07 There are many excess parts in the energy industry that are not suitable to become trends.

07:42 Uncertainty is different from risk.

10:34 For scientist entrepreneurs, beware of Tunnel Vision.

12:24 We will not be so gentle with the invested projects, but execute like an army.

15:06 Entrepreneurship is like being in a hail of bullets, and it shoulders the responsibility of dozens of families.

17:33 The corporate cultures of the more than ten incubated enterprises are different.

20:50 The invested enterprises do not regard us as investors, but as joint entrepreneurs.

22:37 Chairman Li Ka Kit's philosophy: Doing well by doing good.

28:14 Ten years of entrepreneurship: Every day is very difficult, but as a whole, it is very happy.

29:20 Various government-guided funds around the world.

31:40 People are not willing to regard the energy industry as an industry because the PE is too low.

35:17 In such an ancient industry as energy, AI can play a significant role.

39:09 Passive ESG is not a good ESG.

Noun explanations to facilitate your understanding of the conversation content:

Tera-award: An innovation contest initiated by the Hong Kong and China Gas Group, focusing globally on the "Zero Carbon Technology" field. It aims to collect innovative products, technologies, and solutions in the smart energy field from global energy innovation teams. The total prize money for this contest is up to 1.15 million US dollars, and the online registration channel is fully open from now until April 9, 2025. (https://www.tera-award.com.cn, https://www.tera-award.life)

Li Ka Kit: Chairman of Hong Kong and China Gas and Towngas Smart Energy, and the eldest son of Mr. Lee Shau Kee, the founder of Henderson Land Development.

Fusheng Capital: It is a family office founded by Dr. Li Ka Kit in 2014, dedicated to investing in smart energy solutions and innovative environmental protection technologies. The company adheres to the philosophy of doing WELL by doing GOOD. Its investment portfolio covers many industry pioneers and innovative enterprises, including unicorn enterprises nurtured from scratch.

UKIB: UK Infrastructure Bank

Asian Development Bank: ADB

GBE: Great British Energy: Funded, operated, and managed by the British government. The new company will receive a £8.3 billion (approximately 78.3 billion RMB) injection within the new parliamentary session, mainly investing in capital-intensive clean energy projects.

IRA: Inflation Reduction Act. The act includes an investment of approximately $430 billion in the next ten years in areas such as climate and clean energy, as well as healthcare.

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