Guoen Group (002768) announced on the evening of October 14th that recently, the company and its subsidiaries Guoen Group (Hong Kong) Limited, Hong Kong Petrochemical Co., Ltd., and City University of Hong Kong (Lv Jian Innovation Team) jointly signed an agreement on the photovoltaic production increase and seawater resource extraction integration project. Based on the project foundation that has completed preliminary laboratory verification and entered the pilot stage, the three parties will jointly develop the photovoltaic production increase and seawater resource extraction integration project in accordance with the principles of resource sharing, mutual benefit, and common development.

The project funding will be jointly applied by both parties to the Hong Kong SAR government for "RAISE+" matching funds at a ratio of 1:1. The first phase is expected to apply for matching funds of HKD 26.7 million, and both parties will self fund HKD 26.7 million. The use and management of funds shall be paid and used in accordance with the agreement between both parties. In the future, entering the industrialization stage, both parties plan to jointly establish a start-up company.

It is reported that this cooperation agreement aims to promote the development of photovoltaic cooling systems, innovative composite materials, and photothermal driven lithium extraction technologies through practical environmental testing and performance evaluation of photovoltaic cooling systems, design of composite adsorption materials with efficient photothermal conversion and ion selective recognition functions, and construction of a photothermal driven cyclic lithium extraction system.

Guoen Corporation stated that the core projects of this cooperation focus on two potential directions: "photovoltaic cooling efficiency enhancement" and "seawater low consumption lithium extraction", with significant commercial value in the future. In terms of photovoltaic cooling and efficiency enhancement technology, this technology is committed to solving the cooling problem of photovoltaic panels in outdoor environments, highly adapting to the needs of photovoltaic power stations in coastal and arid areas, achieving synergistic benefits of "power generation+fresh water", and accelerating the large-scale application and transformation of technology industry through material batch synthesis and stability research.

In the field of solar thermal driven seawater lithium extraction, based on the design of a new composite adsorption material that combines efficient solar thermal conversion and ion selective recognition functions, relying on system integration and process optimization, through material structure innovation, thermodynamic regulation, and molecular interface engineering, a solar thermal driven "adsorption solar thermal regeneration" cycle process is constructed, and a low-energy consumption "solar thermal driven cycle lithium extraction system" that can operate continuously and stably is innovatively developed. This effectively solves the core technical bottleneck of weak lithium ion selectivity of existing solar thermal materials and provides a green solution for the supply of key scarce resources for the global development of new energy industries.

This signing marks the substantial implementation stage of the company's industry university research collaboration in the field of green energy and new materials, which will help promote the research and industrialization process in the field of new energy and new materials. This cooperation will rely on the construction of the company's Hong Kong R&D center project, further strengthen core technological barriers, accelerate the full chain layout of "technology research and development - pilot testing - industrialization promotion", continuously expand the high-value industry track, and consolidate the foundation of green development technology.

Guoen Corporation stated that the project will extend the company's industrial chain layout in the field of green energy materials, strengthen its industrial position in the context of the "dual carbon" strategy, inject sustained momentum into the company's medium - and long-term technological leadership and product innovation, and contribute Chinese technology and solutions with international influence to the global energy transformation.

Guoen Shares also reminds of the risks. The signing of this agreement is expected to have no significant impact on the company's annual operating performance, and the impact on the company's future annual operating performance will depend on the progress of the project. The company will actively monitor the progress of the project and fulfill its information disclosure obligations in a timely manner.