From Investing.com: 2024-11-13 02:41:37

CATL’s billionaire founder, Robin Zeng, plans to revolutionize the battery industry by shifting focus towards green energy and slashing development costs for electric vehicles. The company aims to expand into building independent energy systems capable of powering large complexes or cities, potentially growing revenue tenfold.

CATL is set to introduce an off-the-shelf electric car platform featuring a long-range battery integrated into the chassis, allowing customers to customize their own EVs. This move aims to reduce EV development costs from billions to just millions, opening up the market to new competitors and economies without established automakers.

CATL is eyeing overseas expansion with plans to build a battery factory in Spain with Stellantis, in addition to existing plants in Germany and Hungary. The company aims to make batteries in Europe for automakers like BMW and Volkswagen. Zeng criticizes the EU for imposing tariffs on Chinese EV imports, suggesting partnerships between European and Chinese automakers for cost-effective EV production.

CATL halted lithium production at a Jiangxi plant to drive down prices and reduce costs. Zeng dismisses solid-state batteries as the next big technology, favoring sodium-ion batteries due to their potential to replace a significant portion of the market. The company expects to roll out the new technology by 2027, with China investing over $830 million in research for solid-state batteries.



Read more at Investing.com: Exclusive-Chinese giant CATL pushes beyond batteries into power grids, EV platforms By Reuters