Meijin Energy Management "Refresh": What Is the Outlook for Hydrogen Energy Transition?

Sicheng News reporter Li Zhe, Beijing reports

Recently, Yume Energy (000723.SZ) released an announcement disclosing that the company’s Deputy General Manager, Yao Peng, submitted a written resignation letter for personal reasons. After leaving, he will no longer hold any position in the company or its controlling subsidiaries. And in October 2025, Yao Jingjiang—who had previously served as the general manager of Yume Energy’s coal business segment—also stepped down from his position as a director of the company for personal reasons.

A reporter from the “China Business Journal” noted that both Yao Peng and Yao Jingjiang had long served as executives at Yume Energy, with their work histories mainly covering the coal and coal chemical business. Meanwhile, Zhao Jia, who took over Yao Jingjiang as a member of Yume Energy’s Sustainable Development Committee, has a career background that is more closely associated with the hydrogen energy business.

As the management team undergoes a “blood replacement,” Yume Energy’s performance is under pressure. In 2025, the company expects net profit losses of RMB 850 million to RMB 1.25 billion, marking the second consecutive year since 2024 that it has recorded net profit losses.

Executive Resignations

According to the appointment information previously disclosed by Yume Energy, Yao Peng’s original term was from August 28, 2023 to August 27, 2026. Yume Energy stated that Yao Peng’s resignation will not have an adverse impact on the company’s business operations and development.

Public records show that Yao Peng was born in September 1989, holds a junior college degree. He previously served as general manager of Jinhuitong Microfinance Co., Ltd., legal representative of Shanxi Yumei Coal Gasification Co., Ltd., head of freight transportation in the company’s Supply Department, minister of the Supply Department, and others. In 2023, he became Deputy General Manager of Yume Energy.

In fact, Yao Peng first entered Yume Energy’s senior management in July 2020. Shortly thereafter, his spouse, Han Linan, bought and sold Yume Energy shares through his personal securities account, drawing regulatory attention.

According to the decision issued by the Shanxi Regulatory Bureau of the China Securities Regulatory Commission, “Decision on Taking Measures to Issue a Warning Letter to Yao Peng” (No. [2021] 2), during the period from September 8, 2020 to February 19, 2021, Han Linan bought and sold Yume Energy shares through his personal securities account, constituting short-swing trading. Specifically, on September 8, 2020, Han Linan purchased 293,800 shares of Yume Energy in two transactions; on February 19, 2021, he sold them and gained RMB 333,500 in profit.

For this, Yume Energy had said that Yao Peng was not aware of his spouse’s stock trading-related circumstances and did not disclose any company operating information to him. Because Han Linan did not familiarize himself with relevant regulatory restrictions and did not ask Yao Peng’s opinion regarding the stock transaction, it led to the occurrence of short-swing trading. The transaction was Han Linan’s individual, independent investment behavior made based on judgments from the secondary market, and does no involve the use of inside information. Yao Peng also apologized to investors for this and committed to standardize his own and his immediate relatives’ stock trading behavior.

Before Yao Peng left the company, in October 2025, Yume Energy already had one director resign. At that time, Yume Energy disclosed that Yao Jingjiang resigned from his director position for personal reasons and, after stepping down, would not hold any other positions within the company.

Yao Jingjiang was born in November 1992. He graduated from University College London in 2017 with a master’s degree. His work history includes consulting analyst at Shanghai Jinqiu Information Technology Co., Ltd.; chairman of Jinyuan Coal Mine in Linyi County; and later, at Yume Energy, he served as director, deputy general manager, and general manager of the coal business segment.

Worth noting is that after Yao Jingjiang left, Zhao Jia took over as a member of Yume Energy’s Sustainable Development Committee. Zhao Jia was born in December 1982. He previously served as general manager of Meijin Financial Leasing Co., Ltd.; general manager of Meijin (Beijing) Hydrogen Energy Technology Co., Ltd. and Beijing Meijin Jachuang Private Fund Management Co., Ltd.; deputy minister and minister of the company’s capital operations department. He is currently a director and secretary of the board of Yume Energy. His background clearly leans more toward hydrogen energy and capital operations.

Both Yao Peng and Yao Jingjiang entered Yume Energy’s executive ranks in 2020, and their work experience has long focused on the coal and coal chemical business segment.

Now, both have resigned one after another, while the successors have relevant work experience in the hydrogen energy business. This personnel change is viewed by the outside world as a signal of changes in Yume Energy’s business strategy and layout. The reporter contacted Yume Energy for an interview regarding this matter, but as of the time of this release, no response had been received.

Losses for Multiple Years

According to Yume Energy’s disclosure, it expects a net profit loss of RMB 850 million to RMB 1.25 billion in 2025, and a loss in non-recurring profit (loss) of RMB 885 million to RMB 1.285 billion. This is the company’s second consecutive year of net profit losses following 2024.

Regarding the reasons for the losses, Yume Energy explained that in 2025, affected by the market environment, coal and coke prices overall remained on a downward trend throughout the year, leading to continuous pressure on the company’s gross profit margins of its main products. Yume Energy stated that it will closely monitor the trend of the macroeconomy and the dynamics of industry markets, conduct production and operations in a steady and prudent manner, while continuing to deepen refined management to improve operating efficiency and risk-resilience.

Previously, at the 2024 performance briefing, Yume Energy analyzed the reasons for that year’s losses, saying they mainly stemmed from a structural imbalance between the prices and costs of two core products—coal and coke. The declines in the selling prices of both were greater than the declines in同期（corresponding period） selling costs, causing product gross profit margins to narrow significantly. Among them, the coke business was the main source of operating losses.

The price trend of coking coal also reflects the industry pressure faced by Yume Energy. In 2021, the futures price of coking coal once reached a historical high of RMB 3,878 per ton. After that, due to factors such as market supply-demand relationships and the substitution of clean energy, prices fluctuated and trended downward. From December 2023 to June 2025, the price of the main coking coal contract stayed in a declining channel for a long period. In May 2025, it fell to a period low of RMB 726 per ton. On March 18, 2026, the main coking coal contract closed at RMB 1,156.5 per ton.

In a recent report released by Moody’s, “China Coal Industry: Coal Remains a Key Part of Energy Structure in China’s Decarbonization Process” (hereinafter referred to as the “Report”), it指出 that China is the world’s largest coal producer and consumer, accounting for more than half of global coal production and consumption. Ongoing decarbonization measures suppress growth in coal demand. However, for reasons of energy security, China still maintains a relatively high level of domestic production. While domestic production basically meets consumption demand, China still mainly imports coal from Indonesia, Australia, Russia, and Mongolia to respond to demand fluctuations.

The “Report” also mentions that coal mining is facing increasingly stringent environmental reviews, and among the top ten coal producers, many are transitioning from traditional mining to areas such as coal chemical industry.

Yume Energy’s main businesses cover coal, coking, natural gas, and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles. According to the company’s mid-year report for 2025, it has coking capacity of 10.95 million tons per year, and operating capacity of 8.95 million tons per year.

While the coal business faces pressure, hydrogen energy is viewed by Yume Energy as a transformation direction. In July 2024, Yume Energy published a post on its official website stating that since it launched its hydrogen energy industry layout in 2017, for the past eight years, the company has always actively played the role of a chain hub enterprise in each region, and has earnestly fulfilled its responsibility to promote industrial development. Looking ahead, the company will continue to maintain strategic determination without wavering, solidify the foundation for hydrogen energy development; adhere to investment in innovation without wavering, leading the industry’s steady growth; and adhere to its green founding intentions without wavering, serving the country’s overall transformation agenda.

The reporter learned that Yume Energy relies on coke oven gas generated in the coal chemical industry as a basis to advance its hydrogen energy business layout. Yume Energy said that its by-product coke oven gas contains about 55% hydrogen, which is one of the important pathways to produce large-scale hydrogen at low cost. At the same time, Yume Energy also develops hydrogen fuel cell vehicle business through its subsidiary Feichi Technology.

However, in the short term, the hydrogen energy business still cannot provide strong support for Yume Energy’s performance. According to Yume Energy’s 2024 annual report, revenue from its coal business accounts for as much as 94.68% of total revenue, while the hydrogen energy business accounts for only 5.32%.

Industry analysts believe that the core breakthrough for hydrogen energy development lies in green hydrogen. Only by producing green hydrogen through green electricity—so as to gain pricing advantages—can the industry truly open up space for growth.

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