With the CE Marking issued by EU and an agreement of investment and cooperation reached with HELLA, Chuhang Technology will improve their competitive advantages in Chinese and international markets.
Chuhang Technology (Chinese: 楚航科技), which focuses on the development and production of 77 GHz to 79 GHz millimeter-wave (MMW) radar sensors for the Advanced Driving Assistance Systems (ADAS) and Automated Driving (AD) applications, has achieved European Union’s CE Marking.
Receiving a CE Marking means Chuhang Technology’ products and services have been assessed by TUV Rheinland, a company qualified to issue EU’s CE certifications, and deemed to meet EU requirements on radio frequency, electromagnetic compatibility, radio frequency exposure and electrical safety.
“CE Marking is a necessary for us to sell products in Europe Union. We are entering the overseas market, so it is important for us that our 77GHz Front Radar and 60 GHz Vital Sign Detection Radar are endorsed under EU standards,” Dr. Wogong Zhang, the co-founder and CTO of Chuhang Technology, told EqualOcean in an interview.
Moreover, the Vice President of TUV Rheinland Greater China Jay Yang said to EqualOcean that he is optimistic about Chuhang Technology’s prospect of entering the international market and meeting success along the way.
“It is a company with an excellent business plan and strong foundation of R&D, a trait that many German companies regard as very important,” said Yang.
He also pointed out that if Chinese companies want to compete globally with European and American peers in high-tech industries, they must provide better products, services, and technology support than European and American companies to earn international market share, partly due to the negative “country of origin” stereotypes often associated with the “Made in China” image.
Public information shows that Chuhang Technology, founded in 2017 in Stuttgart, recently raised over CNY 100 million in a Series B funding round. HELLA, a German automotive parts supplier, together with several other undisclosed companies, were the co-investors of Chuang Technology in this round.
According to a company statement, the fund raised from this round will be used to develop products, hire more talent, and establish a smart factory producing MMW radar sensors in Shanghai.
The company would add 8 to 12 production lines in Shanghai, with an annual output of 5 million units of ADAS when they become operational in 2023. Meanwhile, another high-quality and IATF16949-certified manufacturing base with annual production capacity of 1,800,000 radars in Anqing, Anhui, PR. China just finished the SOP ramp-up phase successfully.
“With the spread of the coronavirus pandemic in Shanghai, the company was affected to a smaller extent than we expected. In 2022, Chuhang Technology received three projects including one state-level project,” Dr. Zhang told EqualOcean. “Anqing is the main production base, and our R&D team will be located in Nanjing, Jiangsu.”
The entrepreneur also shared his thoughts about LiDAR, MMW radar and cameras, currently the three most-used devices that undergird ADAS applications. He believes that the three products have their own pros and cons, but all are irreplaceable.
He cited an example of a car that broke down on a highway shrouded by thick fog. Due to impaired visibility, cars coming from behind will have difficulty detecting the obstacle.
In this scenario, LiDARs and cameras can hardly help the car navigate in the fog, because the laser beams sent from a LiDAR cannot penetrate the thick fog and cameras mostly will also fail to recognize the car in front.
By contrast, the wavelength of a MMW radar is one micrometer in normal conditions and will expand to 10-15 micrometers in foggy weather.
This means that in the broken-down car scenario, MMW radars such as those from Chuhang Technology can give the motorist seven to nine seconds to respond before a car going at 100 kph is about to smash into an obstacle 100 meters away.
"This often is a life-or-death situation," said Dr. Zhang, CTO of Chuhang.
Today, the market for ADAS is relatively competitive. As a new entrant, Chuhang Technology believes that its 4D radars will outperform high-tech gear from its competitors and there is still a lot of room to explore in the international and domestic markets.
Asked whether the soaring raw material prices and chip shortage have translated into higher sales pressure on autopilot companies like Chuhang, which supply auto makers, Dr. Zhang was more upbeat.
He admitted that the industry is facing a chronic shortage of batteries and chips, but the market itself will adapt to this "new normal" and even at a faster rate thanks to policy support such as tax break and incentives for resumption of production that was halted by the raging pandemic.
"On the whole, we need to remain positive in the long run," Dr. Zhang noted.