CATL, the little-known Chinese battery maker that has the US worried
CATL, the little-known Chinese battery maker that has the US worried
It is the world’s biggest battery maker, it powers electric vehicles for Tesla, Volkswagen and BMW, and its EV technology is miles ahead of US offerings, say experts
Little known?
That's ridiculous. They pretty much control the LFP market.
In the first half of the year, BYD commanded a leading 43.7% share among vehicles running on LFP batteries, according to data from the China Automotive Battery Industry Innovation Alliance. In the months between January and November, BYD held a 41.1% market share, besting CATL's 33.9% share
That's still far from little known. If we're going by public perception, nobody knows wtf BYD is either. If we're going by industry knowledge, both are 300 lb gorillas. And I'm suspecting something wrong with that number, because CATL was the undisputed big boy in vehicle batteries a couple years ago.
The US is a control freak
This is the best summary I could come up with:
A Chinese company that most people have never heard of is at the heart of the global race to store the clean energy needed to power the green transition in the US and the rest of the world.
But despite the fact that the company controls nearly two-fifths of the world’s EV battery market – and has powered cars made by brands including Tesla, Volkswagen and BMW – it has long flown under the radar of US politics.
A deal between the two companies to build a factory in Michigan to produce low-cost lithium iron phosphate batteries for EVs using CATL technology has repeatedly been questioned by US lawmakers.
Last week, energy secretary Jennifer Granholm told a discussion panel: “We are very concerned about China bigfooting our industry in the United States even as we’re building up now this incredible backbone of manufacturing.”
But Granholm also acknowledged that “we need to understand that it is important for people to buy electric vehicles in an affordable fashion,” something that experts say is impossible in the current market without Chinese batteries.
Research recently published by Rhodium Group concluded that “Chinese EV and battery companies are increasingly stuck between a rock and a hard place” as they try to navigate their rising unpopularity in the US while Beijing pushes them to internationalise.
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