Recently, the global leader of EV battery, Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Limited (CATL) made an announcement that its controlling shareholder Ningbo Ruiting Co., Ltd. will donate 2 million shares of CATL, worth nearly 1.4 billion yuan in current market value, to Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU) Education Development Foundation. The actual controller of Ningbo Ruiting Co., Ltd. is Zeng Yuqun, honorary dean of Global Institute of Future Technology (GIFT) and chairman of CATL.
According to the 2021 Chinese University Alumni Association Social Donation Ranking released by a third-party organization, this amount sets a record for the third largest donation received by any Chinese university so far, and is also by far the largest amount in the country that an undergraduate alumnus donates to his alma mater.
Zeng Yuqun appointed honorary dean at the inauguration ceremony of SJTU’ss Institute of Future Technology
CATL’s history with SJTU dates far back, with its chairman Zeng Yuqun being a 1985 alumnus of SJTU majoring in marine engineering. In 2020, CATL signed a contract with SJTU to build a joint research center for clean energy technology. In April this year, Zeng Yuqun was appointed as a school board member of SJTU and offered donation to establish the Zeng Yuqun Education Foundation, and in August, SJTU’s Institute of Future Technology was established with Zeng Yuqun as the honorary dean.
At the inauguration ceremony of GIFT held on August 19, Zeng said that CALT will further strengthen its partnership with SJTU and build another Future Energy Research Institute adjacent to GIFT.
CATL is known to have signed strategic cooperation framework with Shanghai Municipal People's Government, and a four-party agreement has been concluded among Shanghai Municipal Commission of Economy and Informatization, Shanghai Minhang District People's Government, Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited, and SJTU, of which plans have been laid out for building SJTU’s GIFT and the CATL Future Energy Research Institute in Minhang, hoping to jointly create a global future energy innovation center.
