“Humanity is about to run out of oil, which will be a major challenge. Electric vehicles will be the best solution to address this energy crisis. As long as we can master the manufacturing of electric vehicle batteries and with low-cost production conditions and management, the future will be optimistic and promising”. These words were said by my father, Mr. Yung-Ching Wang, the founder of Formosa Plastics Group, in 1998. They inspired me to establish “Formosa Smart Energy”. I am continuing the legacy of his spirit to try to create a better life for people and society.

Formosa Plastics Group has been investing in battery companies in the United States since 1996, and has brought back relevant technologies to Taiwan. We even established “Formosa Automobile Sales Corp.” to research and develop electric vehicles as a significant forward-looking move. The nickel-metal hydride batteries introduced initially were not suitable for automotive battery purposes, but Formosa Plastics Group never gave up on researching and developing batteries. We established Formosa Lithium Iron Oxide Corp in 2008 to further research and develop lithium iron batteries and anode materials, thereby laying a good and solid foundation.

In 2010, I established the battery project team at Formosa Biomedical Technology Corp. to expand the Formosa Plastics Group’s presence in the battery industry. Lead-acid batteries were still the mainstream at the time, but they had high power consumption and short lifespans, and caused damage to the environment. Consequently, it was necessary to find alternative solutions as soon as possible. After careful evaluation, we have chosen “safety, environmental friendliness, and sustainability” as our three main pillars, and have established the direction for developing lithium iron batteries. Today, after all these years, the lithium iron battery has become a central focus in the global market, proving that we are on the right path.

The fruitful results we have received from the lithium iron batteries motivate us to keep moving forward. In recent years, due to the impact of global warming, the world has experienced extreme phenomena such as raging heatwaves, widespread forest fires, heavy rain, and droughts, often occurring one after another. In order to mitigate climate impacts and maintain a balance between the environment and economic development, carbon reduction has become the global consensus. New energy is a critically important element to achieving carbon reduction. Therefore, I resolutely decided to establish Formosa Smart Energy in 2022, with lithium iron batteries serving as the foundation to fully promote new energy development.

Moreover, Formosa Smart Energy has established four ambitious development directions, namely “energy conservation, energy storage, new energy, and recycling”. We have our expanded energy storage sites in various locations and built the largest lithium iron phosphate battery cell factory in Taiwan, and we are aiming to establish smart energy households through household energy storage solutions. We have also built battery recycling systems and deepened our research into microalgae carbon capture technology. Furthermore, we are continuously dedicated to researching and developing emerging energy and green technologies such as solid-state batteries and electric vehicle applications.

In response to our key responsibilities toward carbon reduction, every day, Formosa Smart Energy is constantly endeavoring to achieve our goals as we hold ourselves to the highest standards. Additionally, we uphold the Formosa spirit of “diligence, perseverance, frugality and trustworthiness; strive for excellence; sustainable operation; and positive contribution to society”. Every step is taken steadily and with care, and we selflessly dedicate ourselves to a purer global environment and to provide a more sustainable life for humanity.