A real-world dreamer_Interview with Yu-Sheng Wang, CEO of new energy business of Taiwan INNOS and Eastward Materials

Dedicating to making every imagination into reality. I would describe myself this way, sometimes as a sensitive lunatic, sometimes as a strict conservative. The supervisor who came out of my first job said that I would never be able to start a business in my life, and now I have done it and done a good job.

Yu-Sheng Wang, CEO of new energy business of Taiwan INNOS and Eastward Materials

By Xin-En Wu

　　"I've always been committed to constructing fantasies in my mind and realizing them in the real world. For example, when I was in high school, and my classmate listened to Jacky Cheung, I listened to foreign rock music. Then, I saw the performance of Luna Sea and Guns N' Roses on the stage, and I thought how wonderful it would be if I could stand on the stage too and perform their songs and even have their guitars one day. So when I finally had the ability, I set up an exhibition room for guitars in my house, which is not so much for people to live in, but it can be considered the first step to realizing my dreams," Yu-Sheng Wang (Charlie Wang), the current CEO of new energy business at Taiwan's INNOS and Eastward Materials, said so.

　　In the end, Wang did not choose to become an artist or join the band but decided to start his own business. "Playing guitar is my hobby, but it's a little bit difficult making a career out of it. My personality is a bit out of the pattern, and I'm not following my interest going the path of the rock 'n' roll world. However, I study as much as I could ," Wang himself has two master's degrees, one is a master of science and engineering from National Taiwan University(NTU), and the other is a master of Institute of Technology and Innovative Management of National Chengchi University(NCCU). "I would say I'm very romantic, but at the same time, I'm quite determined," said Wang.

　　Wang, who focused on the photovoltaic industry very early, explained three main periods of the prosperity of the photovoltaic industry in history. The first period was from 1955 to 1972, when the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union was also a booming time for space science and technology, and the power source of satellites during that period mainly came from the solar cells of the III-V compounds multi-junction (reference 1), which also led to the rise of the photovoltaic industry. But at that moment, the market momentum was not enough to support the drive to mature, so after the Cold War ended, the solar energy companies that were set up earlier gradually disappeared. The second time the industry rose during the oil crisis outbreak, respectively, in 1980 and 1990. The energy market will connect with the oil industry because oil is expensive, so the renewable energy industry rose. After the crisis, the photovoltaic sector disappeared again in the torrent of history. The third rise was around 2000 and has continued to develop ever since.

　　"There are several reasons for the rise of the third wave of the solar energy industry. First, the Kyoto Protocol in 1997 made the world aware of the seriousness of the greenhouse effect, people started to pay attention to energy conservation and carbon reduction, and there was no hot "topic" in the market at that time, which allowed solar energy industry to rise. In 2000, Taiwan's first solar factory was Maodi, and then in 2003, Yitong rose and even became the stock picker. When I entered the Research Institute of NTU in 2007, many semiconductor industries and panel manufacturers stepped into the photovoltaic market. The moment when 5G, AI, and blockchain were not very popular in Taiwan, it was the time when the solar industry was booming," Wang recalled that anyone who has money could import a set of turnkey equipment from abroad to set up a production line of solar cells. " The photoelectric conversion efficiency is about 13%~14% if it's been produced. I was studying in the NTU Photonics and Optoelectronic Group then, and I saw that the development of renewable energy has become a trend and decided to do research related to solar energy," said Wang.

Reference：
1. III-V compound refers to the IIA group elements such as boron, aluminum, gallium, indium, thallium, and VA group elements such as nitrogen, phosphorus, arsenic, antimony, and bismuth in the periodic table of chemical elements.

"Yu-Sheng Wang" clause: an achievement should have been established for a long time but did not exist in the system

　　After graduating from the NTU , Wang immediately joined NAN YA Printed Circuit Board Corp. "I was entering NAN YA because of the National Defense Research and Development Substitute Services. No one has left the company during the service period for more than a decade before me. As soon as I entered, I knew that the environment was not what I wanted. I stayed for about eight months, and the General Management Office even created a 'Wang Yu-Sheng Clause' so that the follow-up employee who had the same circumstances would have the guideline to follow." Wang remembered that a company supervisor had said something that impressed him so far. "He said, 'You can never start a business in your life.' I took what he said in mind, and since then, I have told myself that if one day I have the opportunity to say it out loud to the world, I will say: I did it! Not only did I start a business, but I did a pretty good job."

　　Wang, who has a science and engineering background, immediately entered Mosel Vitelic Inc. after leaving NAN YA. " I was the so-called R&D engineer. Stay twenty-four 7 in the lab besides the chemistry tanks and read research papers, responsible for the input, including double printing, PERC (Passivated Emitter and Rear Cell), MWT (Metal Wrap Through), and then execute it on the production line. That time just happened to be a solar energy exhibition in Taiwan World Trade Center, I went to visit a few times, and I always had the feeling that the efficiency of my research is at least 16%~17%, more efficient than products on the market with the rate of 13%~14%, but after reporting to the chairman every quarter, I don't understand why these products developed by the team have not been mass-produced." Wang recalled the situation at that time.

　　He began to realize the gap between the R&D side and the market side. "It's not right to be in the lab all day. I think it's better to look from the market when it comes to developing the product." After Wang came up with this idea, he immediately applied for the Science and Technology Management Institute of NCCU. "I took the exam at that time and went into study smoothly. That environment was my turning point. It was no longer like being studying science and engineering, which you study for passing the exams or writing difficult programs. Business schools have much teamwork to carry out, and there are many people with different backgrounds, including science and engineering, finance, biotechnology, and even artistic backgrounds. When people were discussing, the ideas intertwined with each other inspired me even more," Said Wang.

From Engineer to Business Development Challenges of zero-base

　　Wang had different ideas about his career after studying at the NCCU. " I knew that I wanted to do a different job, and I wanted to know more about the market. There were two applications in front of me, one was DuPont, and the other was Samsung. The key material upstream of the solar cell is silver paste. DuPont's silver paste is recognized as the best globally, and I successfully got the offer. At the same time, Samsung approaches me as well, and they want to find a market representative in Taiwan. But during that time, Samsung must develop from zero bases," Wang indicated.

　　The competition for the position was quite fierce, with only one vacancy, including many professionals and even Ph.D. competing for the job, and Wang was eventually selected.

　　"I am very grateful to one person who was the general manager of Samsung's headquarters in Taiwan at that time, and it was he who chose me. I could've gone to DuPont instead, which was very stable, and the name of DuPont was also very famous in Taiwan, but I took the offer of Samsung." Wang recalled that he had just taken over the business, but he was very frustrated. Wang: "Taiwan's hatred of South Korea was severe. Large consortiums dominated South Korea, and the top ten consortiums in South Korea may account for 70% to 80% of South Korea's GDP. Small and medium-sized enterprises dominated Taiwan, but the photovoltaic industries and products of the two countries were similar, including panels, semiconductors, and DRAM. I remember very clearly that when I approached certain companies, I held out my hand, and when they saw that my business card had 'Samsung' on it, they slapped my hand off in front of my face, which was very embarrassing. So, I encountered much frustration then."

　　The working environment at Samsung has allowed him to experience many different situations that he hasn't been experienced in the past. "I think my spontaneous response is quick. For example, the corporate director of Samsung was in charge of Greater China, and he was the boss of my boss. He is a very traditional Korean. So before the plane arrives, we have to go to the airport early to carry the suitcase for him, arrange meetings for him and lead him to visit the CEO, and then we have to greed him at the door one step earlier when the meeting was over, and when he gets in the car, we run to the car, because we have to arrive at the next destination earlier than him, and then stand at the door to meet him," Wang said.

　　"I was very impressed once when the corporate director came to Taiwan. That day we have a social event with our agent, which lasts very long till midnight. Meanwhile, The corporate director quarreled with the chairman of the agent, and we had to calm both sides, so we drank with them till 2 ~ 3 am. We took the earliest high-speed rail to Tainan to visit customers the next day in the morning. They took a business class, and we sat in standard class. My boss suddenly called me over and told me that the director wanted to eat instant noodles during that time. I asked the lady responsible for selling the food from the cart and realized that it's forbidden to use hot water on the train. If I go directly and tell the director, 'I'm sorry they didn't sell instant noodles,' first, my boss will be humiliated; Second, I would be scolded miserably. So I come up with a plan then, "Wang said.

　　Wang told the lady that the person sitting in business class now was the corporate director of his company. He wanted to eat instant noodles, but Wang knew that the high-speed rail could not use hot water. Wang is willing to buy all the food on the cart but asks the lady to do him a favor and push the cart to the director and tell him that the hot water could not be used. Because he is the VIP of the highspeed rail company, he can take every meal on the cart for free. "Why am I doing this? First, I am the subordinate to the director, and I will be scolded. But the high-speed rail lady is not his employee, and she is a girl. I intuitively feel that men will be gentlemanly. Second, I am in a hurry, and I want to solve the problem smoothly. Third, I am very nervous because it is out of intuitive judgment. I had drank a lot of wine the previous day, and my head was painful. I began to feel that my spontaneous response was quickly activated in Samsung. The experiences I had were completely different from those staying in the laboratory. I came here and learned the experience of dealing with problems, and even failed, the outcome is rewarded. They still don't know that I bought all the meal of the cart," said Wang.

Sensibility and rationality interwind

Create its own empire

　　Wang described himself as a sensitive lunatic and a strict conservative. "Sensitive lunatics mean that when I want to do something, I tend to take all the possibilities into account, and my head is filled with countless thoughts and romantic fantasies. But once I find the opportunity, I will become very strict and conservative, thinking about the situation and every possibility after each step to achieve the set goals," said Wang.

　　Wang had an important benefactor then, the Vice President of R&D at the Samsung SDI (Samsung Material Energy Co., Ltd) headquarters, a Japanese, Okamoto Kuninori. "Mr. Okamoto is the godfather of the silver paste industry. He created three' top ones.' First, Mr. Okamoto turned DuPont's silver paste into the top one when staying at DuPont. Then, he left DuPont and joined Samsung, and he turned Samsung's silver paste into the top one in the world then. Finally, after leaving Samsung, he started his own business, making the local silver paste into the top one globally, surpassing Samsung and DuPont. He used to guide me a lot and encouraged me to start my own business."

　　In 2017, Wang decided to start his own business, and when he left Samsung, he won the best prize for his performance is, the highest of all Samsung departments. "I'm glad that I made an achievement, but I know it's time to go. Samsung's products have been made from zero to 25% of the market share, with a scale of nearly NT$1 billion when I'm in charge. So I can not only do the 'business development' well, but I can also achieve more and comprehensively."

　　Wang had a plan at the time, and he observed that many materials for energy industries would be imported from China in the future. The China government has the so-called 135 plan, and in the 13th 5th year, China will put clean energy into key development industries because of severe air pollution. "Almost every province is active to subsidize manufacturers. It means that manufacturers in each province build factories will enjoy tax reductions and equipment subsidies so that the cost of equipment for building factories is relatively lower. At that time, I had long felt that the mainstream market would soon change from Europe and the United States to China," Wang said.

　　Energy is not a luxury product like watches or guitars. "The guitar made by a master has a different value than an ordinary person with a fan's perspective. There is a good chance that someone will be willing to pay five or even ten times more. Watch, or mobile phone is the same thinking behind. Dismantling an iPhone is likely to cost only a few dollars, but consumers are willing to spend tens of thousands of dollars to buy the iPhone," said Wang. Energy is not an ordinary product, and it always has to come back to LCOE (Levelized Cost of Electricity). Whether the energy source comes from wind power, ocean energy, or thermal power, even if the policy encourages the industry to develop, we still must return to the cost of 1 kWh. Manufacturers need to maintain a certain product quality under the premise of lower cost, lower equipment prices, and cheaper materials, Wang saw the mainstream market shift, and then he imported the materiel from China and South Korea to Taiwan. "Taiwan was at a relatively awkward point in time. Many people in the industry knew that the quality of Taiwan's solar energy industry and battery modules in the early days was far better than that of China. However, China companies recruited most talents from Taiwan in the past, and now the development of energy materials in China has been very vigorous. Now, almost all materials and equipment in Taiwan are imported from China."

Internal and external drive make net zero and sustainability an attitude to life from the heart

　　Wang invested in the solar and renewable energy market in the early stage and believes that it is the right way to embrace the idea of a net-zero and sustainable environment. "It should be seen from two driving forces. First is the external drive, such as the incentive of policy or the bank to provide better interest rates for companies reducing carbon. Another external drive comes from customers' needs. For example, when communicating with my customers, the most basic content of the two sides is the amount of project installation and what is RoR (Rate of return)? Then the two parties will immediately discuss how much carbon dioxide can be subtracted per year relative to thermal coal-fired power generation once the owner has built a solar power site. Concepts like the amount of carbon dioxide absorbed by how many trees are slowly accepted by customers. They will ask us to provide them a total solution that includes coaching them on the carbon footprint, carbon disclosure, and how to achieve net-zero carbon emissions in the future," Wang said.

　　The internal driving force can be estimated from the industry perspective or simplified to the individual level. That is, a person does it with enthusiasm and purpose. Wang said: "For example, I like rock and roll so I will learn and play those songs. The fact that achieving net-zero carbon emission drives my inner sense of achievement of connecting the resources around me. We are about to cooperate with Linker Networks, a well-known AI company, to introduce artificial intelligence image recognition, plus the cross-domain combination of other technologies, applying them to the industry and contributing to society. I know very well that this is the only way. I know many industries, and I'm gradually connecting their needs and resources."

　　Wang takes the company's products as an example. There are mainly semiconductor materials and energy materials. First, the company will sell the materials to manufacturers, and then the manufacturer will produce a solar cell module and sell bake to the company to form a solar power generation system. "A silicon crystal module can be used for more than 30 years, which means that relatively few solar sites built 30 years ago need to be replaced. But slowly, in 2030, there will be a lot of solar modules of early installations facing the replacement and recycling." Wang indicated.

Wang believes that what he wants to do now matches his internal drives: to combine the new technology he knows around him and use it in the industry he can make delicate. "For example, to build up a solar module recycling plant, combined with the new artificial intelligence technologies, reduces waste and recycles materials more precisely," he said.

　　Wang is doing things that he likes, and it helps the environment he is living at the same time. "When more and more voices want to understand netzero carbon emissions, it is more than just a slogan but turned into practice. Relying on the efforts of everyone to connect resources to change, it will become a belief and attitude of life over time," Only when it becomes an attitude to life can it sustain." Wang continues to construct beautiful imaginations in his mind and practice them in reality, just like his lifestyle.