Years of Research in Nickel-zinc Technology for Safer and Greener Power Solutions
The explosive growth of electronic products globally, including smartphones, tablets, wearable electronics, as well as the promising prospects of IoT devices in smart homes and electronic medical/healthcare sectors, has garnered significant interests.
Michael Lam, Executive Director and Managing Director of Gold Peak Technology Group, the largest primary battery manufacturer in Asia, highlights that the use of batteries, from everyday items like doorbells and remote controls to critical infrastructures such as data center backup power, has been expanding. In response to the increasing demand, the Group continues to innovate on its existing three major battery product categories. Apart from continuously enhancing the energy performance of single-use batteries, it is also actively promoting green rechargeable batteries that can be recharged up to few hundred times, and with 90% of the materials being recyclable. Furthermore, the Group is developing Nickel-zinc batteries that are longer-lasting, safer, and more environmentally friendly.
IoT Devices Driving Growth
Citing market estimates that over 75 billion IoT devices will be in use globally by 2025, Michael sees huge business opportunities for the Group as it now achieves an annual output at around 6.5 billion pieces of batteries. “From consumer electronic devices like hearing aids for the elderly and Bluetooth trackers, to commercial products such as electronic price tags for retailers and alarm systems for hotel operators, we play a part in essentially every market segment.”
“With a history of 60 years, ‘GP’ is a popular consumer battery brand in major markets like Hong Kong and Southeast Asia. While in the commercial and industrial segments, we have an extensive coverage across sectors including hotels, schools, property management, logistics, agriculture, government smart cities, and utilities such as water and electricity.”
“Looking ahead, we see great potential in data centers, energy storage systems, and other industrial applications. To meet the needs, we expect to showcase our newly developed Nickel-zinc battery next year, which will be characterised by higher power density, greater stability, longer lifespan and being non-flammable and safe. Nickel and zinc are recyclable metals making them eco-friendly too.” The largest factory of GP Batteries in Asia is located in Ningbo, China, spanning approximately 132,000 sqm. It was recently transformed into a "lights-out factory," featuring fully automated smart battery production lines, with an annual output of 4 billion Alkaline batteries, rendering the Group the third-largest battery producer in the world with other factories in the region combined.
Green Practices in Battery Production
“Alkaline batteries currently account for around 60% of the Group’s total production volume, while Carbon-zinc, Lithium batteries, Nickel-zinc and other button cell batteries make up about 40%. Rechargeable batteries are rather common in the European and American markets, where the culture of sustainable development and waste reduction are more prevalent. Whereas in Asia, the idea has just turned mainstream. Even though rechargeable batteries were introduced more than 10 years ago, they have not been widely adopted. We are now actively promoting the use of rechargeable batteries through education and awareness campaigns to tap in the trend.”
GP has introduced a variety of rechargeable batteries, with the most powerful battery type being capable of recharging up to a few hundred times, and one of the chargers can even fully charge up four batteries in just 10 minutes. By providing greater convenience to consumers, we hope to encourage them to change their habits.“After years of R&D, our rechargeable batteries are now ready to use when first unboxed, feature minimal leakage, and offer extended standby times - qualities so dependable that they have made many new customers the “rechargeable fans”.
“In a partnership with CLP, we have launched a campaign to provide discounts on batteries and chargers to households that have made the switch to electronic billing over traditional paper bills.”
Michael admits that the battery production industry is sensitive to environmental issues, which is why the Group pays extra attention to ensure the business is managed with sustainability at the core. For instance, 6 GP factories have achieved the "Zero Waste to Landfill" platinum or gold validations, certifying that the factories have diverted waste through non-landfill methods such as waste-to-energy, recycling and composting. The factories are also equipped with thermal energy recovery and reuse device, wastewater filtration system, solar panels, LED lighting and zoned air conditioning for energy efficiency. Apart from environmental protection, GP Batteries is also recongized by international rating organisations like EcoVadis and Amfori for its effort in fulfilling corporate social responsibilities in areas such as labor rights, ethical business practices and sustainable procurement.
Passion and Dedication
Michael states that the Group will focus on its battery business to capture opportunities arising from IoT devices and data center backup power, while actively developing the audio tech business.
Under its umbrella, Gold Peak owns the high-end Hi-Fi audio system brand KEF and the professional speaker driver brand Celestion. These two audio brands collectively contributed about a quarter of the group's revenue in 2023/24, amounting to HKD1.58 billion.
Michael expects that the development of active and passive speakers driven by design, innovation and technology, along with consumer demand for high-fidelity audio, will lead to a promising future for the sound technology industry. Additionally, professional speakers will benefit from the resurgence of large-scale public events, such as major concerts, which will boost demand.
Having been a member of GS1 HK for 35 years and joining the “ezTRADE” B2B e-commerce community in 2001, Gold Peak consistently strives to lead the market by adopting the latest technologies. Upon knowing GS1 HK’s “1QR”, Michael showed great interest in the solution offered, aiming to provide customers with all the necessary product information of the Group’s products like environmental certifications, promotions, authenticity verification etc., simply with a mobile phone scan by customers.
“Michael shared an interesting habit because of his work: whenever he checks into a hotel room, he will examine whether GP batteries are used to power the alarm system or the electric curtains, as a way to spot market gaps and trends. Outside of work, he indulges his love for music by regularly jamming with friends. Perhaps it is this deep passion and dedication in the fields that has helped Michael maintains the Group’s leading positions in the markets.”
