COMPANY PROFILE / NEXT-GEN ENERGY STORAGE
CATL
A cell maker that sold 661 GWh of lithium-ion batteries (LFP and ternary) in 2025 and is now moving sodium-ion "Naxtra" toward mass production
CATL (Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited) makes traction batteries for passenger and commercial vehicles and batteries for energy storage. Its 2025 battery sales were 661 GWh (+39.16% year on year) and revenue was RMB 423.7 billion, of which traction battery systems were 74.70% and energy storage battery systems 14.74%. Its main chemistries are LFP (lithium iron phosphate) and ternary (NCM); in April 2025 it launched the sodium-ion battery "Naxtra", and the company plans to enter full-scale mass production by the end of 2026. This article is limited to CATL's lithium-ion (LFP and ternary) and sodium-ion businesses, and sets out what it makes, where it invests, who it works with, and which parts are results and which are plans, using its Shenzhen and Hong Kong filings, its official releases and government documents. Solid-state batteries are covered in a separate field of this series and are not discussed here. It is not investment advice.
- CATL in 30 seconds, and where it stands in next-generation energy storage
- The logo and how the name is written
- Where the company sits in the field
- Scale (centered on storage-related business)
- Resources committed to next-generation energy storage
- What it has done so far
- What comes next
- What the company is aiming for in next-generation energy storage
- Map of partnerships in next-generation energy storage
- Technologies, products and services
- The risks this company carries
- Glossary, references and claim-to-source audit
1. CATL in 30 seconds, and where it stands in next-generation energy storage
Hong Kong 03750Listed in Hong Kong on 20 May 2025 (annual report)
Storage systems (secondary)Chemistries: LFP, ternary (NCM) and sodium-ion. It also owns a recycling business (Brunp)
CATL does not settle on a single battery chemistry. It lines up LFP, ternary, sodium-ion and a mixed LFP-ternary "Super Hybrid" and matches them to uses and price points Sourced. It has also announced a design that puts more than one chemistry (for example LFP and sodium-ion) in one battery pack (Freevoy). In other words, CATL's strength is holding several chemistries at production scale rather than betting on one, so in next-generation energy storage it has to be read on both its established chemistries at scale (LFP and ternary) and sodium-ion, which it is only now scaling up. Rankings and market shares quoted in the company's documents come from research firms (SNE Research and others); this article does not use them.
2. The logo and how the name is written
A note on names: the formal name is Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited, abbreviated CATL. Brunp is a subsidiary in recycling and materials and a separate legal entity. Naxtra, Shenxing, Qilin, Freevoy and TENER are product and brand names. The logo was taken from the company's official website.
Official site: https://www.catl.com/en/3. Where the company sits in the field
The primary type is cell and materials maker. The table sorts the company's chemistries from its own material Sourced.
| Chemistry | Main uses | What the company's material says (manufacturer's stated values) | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| LFP (lithium iron phosphate) | Passenger and commercial vehicles, storage, ships, e-bikes and more | Technical indicators by product in the annual report: prismatic and cylindrical cells at 180-200 Wh/kg gravimetric energy density, 0.25C-5C rate, 4,000-15,000 cycles (a range across the product line; test conditions not given). The second-generation Shenxing is described as "LFP with 800 km range and 12C peak charging" (April 2025) | Sourced (company statement) |
| Ternary (NCM) | Passenger and commercial vehicles, power tools | Annual report: prismatic cells at 220-310 Wh/kg, 1C-5C, 2,000-6,000 cycles (a range across the product line). The third-generation Qilin is described as "280 Wh/kg at cell level, 1,000 km range, 10C charging" (April 2026) | Sourced (company statement) |
| LFP-ternary mix (Super Hybrid) | Range-extended and plug-in hybrids | Second-generation Freevoy Super Hybrid: NCM mixed uniformly at powder-particle level into an LFP backbone; 230 Wh/kg and 10C charging (April 2026, company statement) | Sourced (company statement) |
| Sodium-ion (Naxtra) | Passenger cars, truck start-stop batteries, storage | Passenger-car version: 175 Wh/kg, 90% usable power retained at -40 °C, over 10,000 cycles (April 2025). Whether this is cell or pack level, and the cycling conditions, are not stated | Sourced (company statement) |
Sources: Reference 1 https://disc.static.szse.cn/download/disc/disk03/finalpage/2026-03-10/f019f96b-b960-410b-b88f-08838a36d81b.PDF Reference 4 https://www.catl.com/en/news/6401.html Reference 6 https://www.catl.com/en/news/6811.html
In April 2026 the company described the role of each chemistry: LFP is nearing its theoretical energy-density limit and suits a roadmap centered on extreme fast charging; ternary keeps the lead on energy density; and sodium-ion has broad potential for extreme temperatures and energy storage Sourced. This is the company's own view. The company also announced a "condensed battery" line; because this article could not confirm its electrolyte type from primary sources, it is not placed in the chemistry classification or comparisons.
4. Scale (centered on storage-related business)
CATL is a battery maker, so most company-wide figures are battery figures. The company as a whole is shown briefly, with the focus on segment (traction, storage, materials) figures Sourced. Amounts are kept in renminbi and not converted.
| Indicator (RMB thousand) | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | 400,917,045 | 362,012,554 | 423,701,834 |
| Net profit attributable to shareholders | 44,121,248 | 50,744,682 | 72,201,282 |
| R&D expenses | 18,356,108 | 18,606,756 | 22,146,581 |
| R&D as a share of revenue | 4.58% | 5.14% | 5.23% |
| Segment (2025) | Revenue (RMB thousand) | Share of revenue | Gross margin |
|---|---|---|---|
| Traction battery systems | 316,506,369 | 74.70% | 23.84% |
| Storage battery systems | 62,439,820 | 14.74% | 26.71% |
| Battery materials and recycling | 21,860,936 | 5.16% | 27.27% |
| Battery mineral resources | 5,978,096 | 1.41% | 11.25% |
| Other | 16,916,612 | 3.99% | not given |
| Segment (first half of 2026) | Revenue (RMB thousand) | Change vs. first half of 2025 | Gross margin |
|---|---|---|---|
| Traction battery systems | 192,124,890 | +46.02% | 20.63% |
| Storage battery systems | 53,260,967 | +87.54% | 23.96% |
| Battery materials, recycling and minerals | 18,811,078 | +67.23% | 27.04% |
| Total revenue | 276,916,580 | +54.80% | 23.93% |
| Scale (end of 2025) | Value | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Employees | 185,839 | Parent 16,233 and main subsidiaries 169,606; production 145,568 and technical 22,901 |
| Battery sales / production | 661GWh / 748GWh | Inventory 186 GWh (106 GWh a year earlier). Sales +39.16%, production +44.96% |
| Capacity / capacity under construction | 772GWh / 321GWh | Utilization 96.9%. Figures cover lithium-ion battery systems as a whole; no breakdown by chemistry is given |
| Overseas revenue | 129,641,258 thousand | 30.60% of revenue (31.46% in the first half of 2026) |
| Largest customers | 38.96% | Top five combined; the largest is 13.73% (name withheld under a confidentiality agreement) |
| First-half 2026 capacity row | 525GWh / 764GWh | Capacity / under construction. Production 498 GWh, utilization 94.86%. Whether these are annual or half-year figures is not defined in the material reviewed |
Sources: Reference 1 https://disc.static.szse.cn/download/disc/disk03/finalpage/2026-03-10/f019f96b-b960-410b-b88f-08838a36d81b.PDF Reference 2 https://disc.static.szse.cn/disc/disk03/finalpage/2026-07-25/8e6750da-b178-4be9-a74a-4b1d8fc42c58.PDF
The annual and interim reports quote global share (for example 39.2% of traction-battery installations in 2025) from the research firm SNE Research. Because these are research-firm estimates, this article does not use them. Sales volume, revenue and capacity are the company's own disclosures. Also, sales of storage cells alone, or of LFP, ternary and sodium-ion separately, are not broken out in the disclosures this article reviewed Not yet confirmed.
5. Resources committed to next-generation energy storage
Besides company-wide disclosures, the official news releases give separate spending and staffing figures for sodium-ion. Staff and R&D for the storage business alone are not disclosed.
| Resource | What primary sources confirm | Type |
|---|---|---|
| People | R&D staff 22,901 at end-2025 (12.32% of employees): 745 doctorates, 5,242 master's and 9,418 bachelor's degrees; six R&D centers (company statement). For sodium-ion, research began in 2016 and the company cites more than 300 R&D staff, 20 of them PhDs (February 2026). Staff for the storage business alone are not disclosed | Sourced / partly undisclosed |
| Money (R&D) | R&D expenses RMB 22,146,581 thousand (2025, 5.23% of revenue); RMB 11,376,545 thousand in the first half of 2026. The company says cumulative R&D over ten years exceeds RMB 90 billion. For sodium-ion it gives two statements in different currencies: "nearly RMB 10 billion invested and nearly 300,000 test cells built" (February 2026) and "nearly €1.2 billion over the past decade" (June 2026); the scope of each figure is not defined | Sourced |
| Money (capital investment) | Investment in 2025 was RMB 49,031,517 thousand (RMB 34,726,381 thousand a year earlier, +41.19%). The five largest non-equity projects absorbed RMB 23,551,653 thousand in 2025 (table below). For sodium-ion the company says it invested RMB 5 billion to expand lines at its Fuding base, adding 40 GWh of annual capacity (June 2026) | Sourced |
| Stakes, joint ventures and other businesses | A 50:50 joint venture with Stellantis in Spain (LFP; agreed December 2024). Other equity investments held at fair value at end-2025 include Chery Automobile (Hong Kong), Hunan Yuneng (LFP cathode material), Merdeka Copper Gold (Indonesia) and Geely Automobile. In the first half of 2026 it set up a mineral-resources investment and operating company (Times Resources Group), and announced it would form a joint venture with Octopus Energy of the U.K. for a heavy-truck battery-swap network in Europe (company statement). Acquisitions or divestments were not found in the material reviewed | Sourced / not found |
| Universities, institutes and public funds | The annual report describes R&D only as "mainly in-house, supplemented by outside cooperation"; no named university or institute collaboration was found. Government grants appear in the financial statements, but no amount tied to the storage business was found in the material reviewed | Not found |
Sources: Reference 1 https://disc.static.szse.cn/download/disc/disk03/finalpage/2026-03-10/f019f96b-b960-410b-b88f-08838a36d81b.PDF Reference 2 https://disc.static.szse.cn/disc/disk03/finalpage/2026-07-25/8e6750da-b178-4be9-a74a-4b1d8fc42c58.PDF Reference 5 https://www.catl.com/en/news/6720.html Reference 7 https://www.catl.com/en/news/6861.html Reference 8 https://www.catl.com/en/news/6773.html
Main products and facilities
| Product / facility | Location and content | Scale | Stage | Date | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Battery plants (overall) | The annual report cites 24 battery plants (end-2025) and the prospectus 13 major bases (end-2024). Domestic: Ningde, Xining, Liyang, Yibin, Zhaoqing, Shanghai, Xiamen, Yichun, Guiyang, Jining and Luoyang; overseas: Thuringia in Germany and Debrecen in Hungary | Capacity 772 GWh; 321 GWh under construction | Operating / under construction | End of 2025 | 1, 3 |
| Hungary (Debrecen) | In 2022 the company approved building 100 GWh a year in three phases (total investment no more than €7.3 billion). Phase I is 34 GWh and Phase II 38 GWh (72 GWh in total); planned investment is €2.7 billion for Phase I and €2.1 billion for Phase II | Design capacity: Phase I 34 GWh / Phase II 38 GWh | Under construction (project tables in the annual and interim reports). The prospectus planned Phase I production to start "in 2025"; the start of volume production could not be confirmed from filings | 2025-2026 | 1, 2, 3 |
| Spain (Zaragoza) | 50:50 joint venture with Stellantis; LFP; investment of up to €4.1 billion | Up to 50 GWh (stated to depend on the market and authorities' support) | Under construction (2026 interim report). Production was "targeted by end of 2026" (December 2024 plan) | Dec 2024 - Jul 2026 | 2, 9 |
| Indonesia | Battery supply-chain project | RMB 1,483,482 thousand in 2025 / RMB 5,369,789 thousand cumulative | Under construction | End of 2025 | 1 |
| New domestic bases | Shandong (Jining): RMB 6,801,291 thousand in 2025, 8,799,218 thousand cumulative. Zhongzhou (Luoyang): 7,804,396 / 9,767,971 thousand. Yichang Brunp battery-materials park: 2,262,305 / 16,528,380 thousand | GWh not given by project | Under construction | End of 2025 | 1 |
| Sodium-ion (production) | Fuding base: RMB 5 billion to add 40 GWh a year. Jining base: 160 GWh a year planned | 40 GWh (added) / 160 GWh (planned) | Fuding: "mass-production lines fully commissioned and operational" (company statement). Jining: planned Not yet confirmed | June 2026 | 7 |
The list of manufacturing bases in the annual report, the interim report and the prospectus reviewed here includes no U.S. plant Sourced. The prospectus names own construction, joint ventures, technology licensing and LRS (license, royalty, service) as ways to expand overseas, but the individual U.S. arrangements, names and volumes cannot be read from these documents Not yet confirmed.
6. What it has done so far
| When | What happened | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| 16 December 2011 | Registered in Ningde, Fujian | A company about fifteen years old |
| 2016 | Began sodium-ion research (company statement, 2026) | The company says it took about ten years to reach volume |
| 2022 | Board and shareholders approved a 100 GWh-a-year plant (three phases) in Debrecen, Hungary | Local production in Europe began to be built |
| 10 December 2024 | Agreed a 50:50 joint venture with Stellantis for an LFP plant in Spain (up to €4.1 billion) | A plan to make LFP in Europe through a joint venture |
| 7 January 2025 | The U.S. Department of Defense listed CATL as a "Chinese military company" under Section 1260H; the company the same day called it a mistake | Uncertainty for its U.S. business (chapter 11) |
| 21 April 2025 | At its first Super Tech Day, launched Naxtra (sodium-ion), the second-generation Shenxing and Freevoy | Presented a "mass-producible" sodium-ion battery |
| 20 May 2025 | Listed in Hong Kong, raising HK$41.0 billion in total, to be used for the Hungary project and working capital | Funding for overseas investment |
| 9 October and 7 November 2025 | China's Ministry of Commerce and Customs issued Announcement No. 58 on export controls for lithium-ion batteries of 300 Wh/kg and above (to take effect 8 November). Announcement No. 70 of 7 November suspended it until 10 November 2026 | Stage of the export control (chapter 11) |
| 5 February 2026 | Announced the Changan partnership: Naxtra to be supplied across Changan's brands; the sodium-ion passenger car to reach the market by mid-2026 (plan) | First planned production-vehicle use |
| April 2026 | Unveiled third-generation Shenxing and Qilin, Super Hybrid and the Naxtra mass-production plan (21 April). Signed a three-year, 60 GWh sodium-ion storage cooperation with HyperStrong (described as a "contract" and a "strategic cooperation agreement") | A storage deal with a visible GWh volume |
| 22 June 2026 | Launched TENER Sodium, a sodium-ion storage system, in Munich | Sodium moves into storage systems |
| 25 July 2026 | Filed the 2026 interim report: first-half revenue RMB 276.9 billion and net profit RMB 43.3 billion | Latest disclosure |
Sources: Reference 1 https://disc.static.szse.cn/download/disc/disk03/finalpage/2026-03-10/f019f96b-b960-410b-b88f-08838a36d81b.PDF Reference 2 https://disc.static.szse.cn/disc/disk03/finalpage/2026-07-25/8e6750da-b178-4be9-a74a-4b1d8fc42c58.PDF Reference 3 https://www.catl.com/en/uploads/1/file/public/202505/20250512071033_9of2dqw816.pdf Reference 4 https://www.catl.com/en/news/6401.html Reference 5 https://www.catl.com/en/news/6720.html Reference 6 https://www.catl.com/en/news/6811.html Reference 7 https://www.catl.com/en/news/6861.html Reference 9 https://www.stellantis.com/en/news/press-releases/2024/december/stellantis-and-calt-to-invest-up-to-4-1-billion-in-joint-venture-for-large-scale-lfp-battery-plant-in-spain Reference 10 https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/01/07/2025-00070/notice-of-availability-of-designation-of-chinese-military-companies Reference 13 https://www.mofcom.gov.cn/zwgk/zcfb/art/2025/art_b1ec77dd3f0d4762952904df7cdaadec.html
7. What comes next
1 GWh cumulative by end-2026Overseas deliveries from June 2027 (company plan)
Jining 160 GWh (planned)Fuding described as operating; Jining is planned (June 2026)
Everything above is a company plan, target or schedule Not yet confirmed. What can be confirmed as results are the disclosed financial figures, such as 661 GWh of sales in 2025 and first-half 2026 revenue.
None of the following appears in the official material this article reviewed Not yet confirmed.
Naxtra selling price, units shipped or GWh shipped (apart from the plan of 1 GWh cumulative storage shipments by end-2026); the share of company revenue from sodium-ion; the start date of volume production and yields at Hungary Phase I; sales and revenue split by LFP, ternary and sodium-ion; the amount of impact of export controls and tariffs on revenue; and any U.S. manufacturing base of CATL.
8. What the company is aiming for in next-generation energy storage
This chapter separates what the company says directly from what we infer. Inference marks our reading of the primary sources.
| What can be read | Primary-source basis | Type |
|---|---|---|
| A strategy of holding several chemistries and matching them to uses | At the April 2026 Super Tech Day the company set out the strengths and limits of each chemistry and said coordinated development of several chemistries is needed. Freevoy puts several chemistries in one pack | Sourced |
| Sodium-ion also serves as a hedge against lithium price swings | The company says TENER Sodium shares the LFP system's enclosure and footprint so either chemistry can be fitted, as a practical way to manage lithium price volatility. The interim report cites a clear rise in battery-grade lithium carbonate prices | Sourced / Inference |
| For sodium-ion, volumes are visible first in storage | GWh figures are given for storage (HyperStrong 60 GWh, 1 GWh cumulative by end-2026, Fuding 40 GWh). For vehicles the company gives only a mid-2026 launch and the customer, with no units or GWh | Inference |
| Overseas expansion uses own plants, joint ventures and technology licensing together | The prospectus and annual report cite own construction, joint ventures, technology licensing and LRS. In Europe it has its own plant in Hungary and a joint venture in Spain; no U.S. plant is listed | Sourced / Inference |
| It secures materials and resources in-house and through stakes | Brunp and the Yichang materials park for cathode material, equity stakes (Hunan Yuneng, Merdeka), the new Times Resources Group in the first half of 2026, and 210,000 tonnes recycled in 2025 | Sourced / Inference |
The inference that sodium-ion volumes will show up first in storage rests on how volumes are stated. For storage, April 2026 brought a three-year, 60 GWh cooperation with HyperStrong, and June 2026 brought a plan for 1 GWh cumulative shipments by end-2026 and 40 GWh of added capacity at Fuding Sourced. For vehicles, the company states only the supply to Changan and a mid-2026 launch, with no units or GWh. It also says storage can switch between chemistries because the enclosure is shared with LFP. We therefore read storage as the place where volume appears first, but since the company gives no vehicle volumes, this is an inference about the outlook Inference Not yet confirmed.
9. Map of partnerships in next-generation energy storage
10. Technologies, products and services
CATL's products span cells, packs, storage systems and materials Sourced. The performance values below are manufacturer's stated values; their test conditions are not detailed in the releases, so values of different products are not compared with each other.
| Product | What the material says (manufacturer's stated values) | Ref. |
|---|---|---|
| Shenxing (LFP, fast charging) | Second generation: LFP, 800 km range, 12C peak, 1.3 MW peak charging power, 5 to 80% in 15 minutes at -10 °C (April 2025). Third generation: 15C peak, 10 to 80% in 3 min 44 s, above 90% capacity retention after 1,000 cycles, about 9 minutes for 20 to 98% at -30 °C (April 2026). Test conditions and cells are as given in each release | 4, 6 |
| Qilin (ternary) | Third generation: 280 Wh/kg cell, 1,000 km range, 10C charging, 3 MW peak power, 625 kg pack (April 2026). A design with a separate exhaust path per cell to stop propagation is described | 6 |
| Freevoy (multi-chemistry, Super Hybrid) | Freevoy dual-power: two energy zones in one pack, combining sodium and LFP, LFP and LFP, or NCM and LFP (April 2025). Second-generation Super Hybrid: LFP and NCM mixed at powder level, 230 Wh/kg, 10C, up to 600 km pure-electric range (April 2026) | 4, 6 |
| Naxtra | Passenger-car version: 175 Wh/kg, 90% usable power at -40 °C, over 10,000 cycles, operates from -40 to +70 °C; a 24 V heavy-truck start-stop version also exists (April 2025). February 2026: about three times the discharge power of equivalent LFP at -30 °C and over 90% capacity retention at -40 °C | 4, 5 |
| Storage systems (TENER, Tianheng) | Tianheng: a 6.25 MWh containerized liquid-cooled storage system with a 587 Ah storage-specific cell. TENER Stack: a roughly 9 MWh system (the annual report says "9 MWh", the interim report "nearly 9 MWh"). TENER Sodium: modules rated above 30 MWh, 34 units for a 1 GWh site, durations of 1, 2, 4, 6 and 8 hours, 65 dB noise, auxiliary power reduced from 2% to 1% (company statements) | 1, 2, 7 |
| Materials and recycling (Brunp) | In 2025 it recycled 210,000 tonnes of spent batteries and materials (+63.2%) and regenerated 24,000 tonnes of lithium salts; it makes cathode material, precursors and lithium salts | 1 |
Sources: Reference 1 https://disc.static.szse.cn/download/disc/disk03/finalpage/2026-03-10/f019f96b-b960-410b-b88f-08838a36d81b.PDF Reference 2 https://disc.static.szse.cn/disc/disk03/finalpage/2026-07-25/8e6750da-b178-4be9-a74a-4b1d8fc42c58.PDF Reference 4 https://www.catl.com/en/news/6401.html Reference 5 https://www.catl.com/en/news/6720.html Reference 6 https://www.catl.com/en/news/6811.html Reference 7 https://www.catl.com/en/news/6861.html
The company's material shows where materials matter for each chemistry. (1) LFP: the olivine structure of the cathode is the backbone, and the Super Hybrid mixes NCM into LFP at powder level, according to the company Sourced. How evenly the particles mix probably affects capacity and life, but no yield figure appears in the official material Inference. (2) Ternary: an official release describes the Qilin condensed line as pairing a high-nickel cathode with a silicon-carbon anode, so handling the anode's volume change is key, but the material gives no detail Inference. (3) Sodium-ion: the company says it solved four mass-production bottlenecks in 2026, namely moisture control, gas generation in hard carbon, aluminum-foil adhesion and the self-forming anode Sourced. Our reading is that powder hygroscopicity and the anode-material-to-foil interface bear directly on production yield Inference. For the basics, see our explainers on cathode materials, sodium-ion batteries and hard-carbon anodes.
11. The risks this company carries
| Risk | Details | Type |
|---|---|---|
| China's export control | Announcement No. 58 of 2025 of the Ministry of Commerce and Customs (issued 9 October 2025) made lithium-ion batteries of 300 Wh/kg and above (cells and packs) and manufacturing equipment subject to export licensing, effective 8 November 2025. Announcement No. 70 (7 November 2025) then suspended implementation until 10 November 2026. What happens after the suspension is not stated in the material reviewed, and no company mention of Nos. 58 or 70 or of any financial impact was found | Sourced (stages: issued, then due to take effect, then suspended) |
| How it would apply | The company's stated 350 Wh/kg cell for the Qilin condensed battery exceeds the 300 Wh/kg threshold on the numbers alone. Whether the rule would apply is for the authorities to decide, and this article does not assert it | Inference Not yet confirmed |
| U.S. tariffs | The U.S. Trade Representative gave notice (Federal Register, 18 September 2024) that the Section 301 additional tariff on lithium-ion batteries would rise to 25% from 1 January 2026 for non-EV batteries and from 27 September 2024 for EV batteries. Other tariffs introduced later (such as those from 2025) may add to it, and the current combined rate was not verified for this article. The prospectus says revenue from direct exports from China to the U.S. was "relatively limited" (as of May 2025) | Sourced (stage: published, with effective dates) |
| U.S. Department of Defense listing | In its 7 January 2025 Federal Register notice, the Department of Defense listed CATL among "Chinese military companies" under Section 1260H. The company says it has no military business, that the listing is a mistake, and that it does not restrict dealings with entities other than a small number of U.S. government bodies, and that it is engaging with the Department (May 2025 prospectus). The outcome since then was not found | Sourced |
| Raw-material prices | Main inputs follow lithium, nickel and cobalt prices. The company records a clear rise in battery-grade lithium carbonate prices in the first half of 2026 | Sourced |
| Inventory and customer concentration | Inventory at end-2025 was 186 GWh (106 GWh a year earlier, +75.47%). The top five customers account for 38.96% of revenue and the largest 13.73% | Sourced |
| Overseas plant ramp-up | The prospectus says overseas capacity is "relatively small and still in ramp-up" (May 2025). Hungary and Spain are under construction, and the start of volume production cannot be confirmed from filings | Sourced / Not yet confirmed |
| Mass production of new technology | Full-scale sodium-ion mass production by end-2026 is a company plan, and yields, costs and volumes after production starts are not given. The company itself lists new-technology development as a risk | Not yet confirmed |
| Competition | The company lists the risk that fast-growing battery capacity at home and abroad will intensify competition | Sourced |
Sources: Reference 1 https://disc.static.szse.cn/download/disc/disk03/finalpage/2026-03-10/f019f96b-b960-410b-b88f-08838a36d81b.PDF Reference 2 https://disc.static.szse.cn/disc/disk03/finalpage/2026-07-25/8e6750da-b178-4be9-a74a-4b1d8fc42c58.PDF Reference 3 https://www.catl.com/en/uploads/1/file/public/202505/20250512071033_9of2dqw816.pdf Reference 10 https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/01/07/2025-00070/notice-of-availability-of-designation-of-chinese-military-companies Reference 11 https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2024/09/18/2024-21217/notice-of-modification-chinas-acts-policies-and-practices-related-to-technology-transfer Reference 12 https://www.mofcom.gov.cn/zwgk/zcfb/art/2025/art_79646f0161564975a938fe00fee158d5.html Reference 13 https://www.mofcom.gov.cn/zwgk/zcfb/art/2025/art_b1ec77dd3f0d4762952904df7cdaadec.html
12. Glossary
- LFP
- Lithium iron phosphate; a cathode material without nickel or cobalt.
- Ternary (NCM)
- Batteries whose cathode uses a nickel-cobalt-manganese oxide.
- Sodium-ion battery
- A battery in which sodium ions, not lithium ions, move between the electrodes.
- Hard carbon
- A carbon material used as the anode of sodium-ion batteries.
- NFPP
- An abbreviation the company's news release uses for a sodium-ion storage material; the full name is not given in the release.
- C-rate
- Charge or discharge rate; 1C fills a cell in one hour and 12C corresponds to about five minutes.
- GWh
- A unit of energy; 1 GWh is one billion Wh.
- BESS
- Battery energy storage system.
- Section 1260H list
- The list in which the U.S. Department of Defense names "Chinese military companies".
- Section 301
- A framework under U.S. trade law for imposing additional tariffs on Chinese goods.
- LRS
- The "license, royalty, service" model named in the prospectus.
13. References
- CATL 2025 Annual Report (filed with the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, March 2026; in Chinese). Revenue, segment revenue, sales volume, capacity and capacity under construction, major R&D projects, headcount, investment projects, business and products, risk factors, listing information. https://disc.static.szse.cn/download/disc/disk03/finalpage/2026-03-10/f019f96b-b960-410b-b88f-08838a36d81b.PDF
- CATL 2026 Interim Report (filed with the Shenzhen Stock Exchange on 25 July 2026; in Chinese). First-half 2026 revenue, segment revenue, capacity, investment projects, sodium-ion and storage developments, risk factors. https://disc.static.szse.cn/disc/disk03/finalpage/2026-07-25/8e6750da-b178-4be9-a74a-4b1d8fc42c58.PDF
- CATL Hong Kong listing prospectus, GLOBAL OFFERING (12 May 2025; in English). Manufacturing bases, capacity trend, the Hungary project plan and investment, and the company's statements on U.S. tariffs and the Department of Defense listing. https://www.catl.com/en/uploads/1/file/public/202505/20250512071033_9of2dqw816.pdf
- CATL Official news release, "Naxtra Battery Breakthrough & Dual-Power Architecture" (21 April 2025). Stated values for Naxtra (sodium-ion), the second-generation Shenxing and Freevoy. https://www.catl.com/en/news/6401.html
- CATL Official news release, "CATL and CHANGAN Launch World's First Mass-Production Sodium-Ion Passenger Vehicle" (5 February 2026). The Changan partnership, stated Naxtra values, sodium-ion R&D spending and staffing. https://www.catl.com/en/news/6720.html
- CATL Official news release, "CATL Unveils Six Major Innovations" (Super Tech Day, 21 April 2026). Third-generation Shenxing and Qilin, the condensed battery, the Super Hybrid battery, and the Naxtra mass-production plan. https://www.catl.com/en/news/6811.html
- CATL Official news release, "CATL Debuts World's First Field-Validated Sodium-Ion BESS" (22 June 2026, Munich). TENER Sodium specifications, shipment plan, Fuding and Jining capacity, and the HyperStrong contract. https://www.catl.com/en/news/6861.html
- CATL Official news release, "Zero-Carbon Technology Powers All-Domain Growth: CATL Releases 2025 Annual Report" (10 March 2026). Summary of the annual report and cumulative R&D spending. https://www.catl.com/en/news/6773.html
- Stellantis Press release, "Stellantis and CATL to Invest Up to €4.1 Billion in Joint Venture for Large-Scale LFP Battery Plant in Spain" (10 December 2024). Investment, capacity and start-up target of the Spanish joint venture. https://www.stellantis.com/en/news/press-releases/2024/december/stellantis-and-calt-to-invest-up-to-4-1-billion-in-joint-venture-for-large-scale-lfp-battery-plant-in-spain
- U.S. Department of Defense (Federal Register) Notice of Availability of Designation of Chinese Military Companies (7 January 2025, document number 2025-00070). The list of designated entities under Section 1260H. https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/01/07/2025-00070/notice-of-availability-of-designation-of-chinese-military-companies
- Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (Federal Register) Notice of Modification: China's Acts, Policies and Practices Related to Technology Transfer, Intellectual Property and Innovation (18 September 2024, document number 2024-21217). Increase of the additional tariff on lithium-ion batteries. https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2024/09/18/2024-21217/notice-of-modification-chinas-acts-policies-and-practices-related-to-technology-transfer
- China Ministry of Commerce and General Administration of Customs Announcement No. 58 of 2025, decision to impose export controls on items related to lithium batteries and artificial graphite anode materials (issued 9 October 2025, stated to take effect on 8 November 2025; in Chinese). https://www.mofcom.gov.cn/zwgk/zcfb/art/2025/art_79646f0161564975a938fe00fee158d5.html
- China Ministry of Commerce and General Administration of Customs Announcement No. 70 of 2025, decision to suspend the implementation of Announcements No. 55, 56, 57 and 58 and others (7 November 2025; suspended until 10 November 2026; in Chinese). https://www.mofcom.gov.cn/zwgk/zcfb/art/2025/art_b1ec77dd3f0d4762952904df7cdaadec.html
- CATL Official website (source of the logo; used to confirm the company profile). https://www.catl.com/en/
14. Claim-to-source audit
| Claim in the text | Type | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Legal name, headquarters, listing venues, registration date | Sourced | Reference 1 https://disc.static.szse.cn/download/disc/disk03/finalpage/2026-03-10/f019f96b-b960-410b-b88f-08838a36d81b.PDF |
| Revenue, net profit and R&D for 2025 and the three-year trend | Sourced | Reference 1 https://disc.static.szse.cn/download/disc/disk03/finalpage/2026-03-10/f019f96b-b960-410b-b88f-08838a36d81b.PDF |
| Segment revenue and gross margin (2025 and first half of 2026) | Sourced | References 1, 2 https://disc.static.szse.cn/download/disc/disk03/finalpage/2026-03-10/f019f96b-b960-410b-b88f-08838a36d81b.PDF https://disc.static.szse.cn/disc/disk03/finalpage/2026-07-25/8e6750da-b178-4be9-a74a-4b1d8fc42c58.PDF |
| Battery sales of 661 GWh; production, capacity, capacity under construction and inventory | Sourced | Reference 1 https://disc.static.szse.cn/download/disc/disk03/finalpage/2026-03-10/f019f96b-b960-410b-b88f-08838a36d81b.PDF |
| Employees, R&D staff, education mix and share of top customers | Sourced | Reference 1 https://disc.static.szse.cn/download/disc/disk03/finalpage/2026-03-10/f019f96b-b960-410b-b88f-08838a36d81b.PDF |
| Technical indicators of the LFP and ternary product lines (manufacturer's stated values) | Sourced | Reference 1 https://disc.static.szse.cn/download/disc/disk03/finalpage/2026-03-10/f019f96b-b960-410b-b88f-08838a36d81b.PDF |
| Investment and stage (under construction) of the five major projects | Sourced | References 1, 2 https://disc.static.szse.cn/download/disc/disk03/finalpage/2026-03-10/f019f96b-b960-410b-b88f-08838a36d81b.PDF https://disc.static.szse.cn/disc/disk03/finalpage/2026-07-25/8e6750da-b178-4be9-a74a-4b1d8fc42c58.PDF |
| The Hungary plan (100 GWh, three phases, up to €7.3 billion; Phase I 34 GWh, Phase II 38 GWh) | Sourced | Reference 3 https://www.catl.com/en/uploads/1/file/public/202505/20250512071033_9of2dqw816.pdf |
| Phase I production start planned for 2025 (prospectus) | Not yet confirmed | Reference 3 Company plan. https://www.catl.com/en/uploads/1/file/public/202505/20250512071033_9of2dqw816.pdf |
| Start of volume production at the Hungary plant | Not yet confirmed | Not confirmable from filings within the scope of this article. |
| The Spanish joint venture with Stellantis (up to €4.1 billion, up to 50 GWh, production targeted by end-2026) | Not yet confirmed | Reference 9 Company target. https://www.stellantis.com/en/news/press-releases/2024/december/stellantis-and-calt-to-invest-up-to-4-1-billion-in-joint-venture-for-large-scale-lfp-battery-plant-in-spain |
| That the Spanish joint-venture plant is under construction | Sourced | Reference 2 https://disc.static.szse.cn/disc/disk03/finalpage/2026-07-25/8e6750da-b178-4be9-a74a-4b1d8fc42c58.PDF |
| Naxtra stated values (175 Wh/kg, 90% at -40 °C, over 10,000 cycles and others) | Sourced | References 4, 5 Manufacturer's stated values. https://www.catl.com/en/news/6401.html https://www.catl.com/en/news/6720.html |
| The Changan partnership and the mid-2026 market launch of the sodium-ion passenger car | Not yet confirmed | Reference 5 Company plan. https://www.catl.com/en/news/6720.html |
| Full-scale Naxtra production by end-2026 | Not yet confirmed | Reference 6 Company plan. https://www.catl.com/en/news/6811.html |
| TENER Sodium specifications and shipment plan (China from September 2026, 1 GWh cumulative by year-end, overseas from June 2027) | Not yet confirmed | Reference 7 Company plan and stated values. https://www.catl.com/en/news/6861.html |
| The 40 GWh sodium-ion addition at Fuding (RMB 5 billion) and the Jining plan for 160 GWh | Sourced | Reference 7 Fuding per the company; Jining is a plan. https://www.catl.com/en/news/6861.html |
| The three-year, 60 GWh cooperation with HyperStrong (including the difference in wording) | Sourced | References 2, 7 https://disc.static.szse.cn/disc/disk03/finalpage/2026-07-25/8e6750da-b178-4be9-a74a-4b1d8fc42c58.PDF https://www.catl.com/en/news/6861.html |
| Sodium-ion R&D spending and staff (about RMB 10 billion / about €1.2 billion; over 300 people) | Sourced | References 5, 7 https://www.catl.com/en/news/6720.html https://www.catl.com/en/news/6861.html |
| Stated values of the second- and third-generation Shenxing, third-generation Qilin, Super Hybrid and Freevoy | Sourced | References 4, 6 Manufacturer's stated values. https://www.catl.com/en/news/6401.html https://www.catl.com/en/news/6811.html |
| Cumulative R&D spending (over RMB 90 billion) | Sourced | Reference 8 https://www.catl.com/en/news/6773.html |
| The Section 1260H listing on 7 January 2025 and the company's rebuttal | Sourced | References 3, 10 https://www.catl.com/en/uploads/1/file/public/202505/20250512071033_9of2dqw816.pdf https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/01/07/2025-00070/notice-of-availability-of-designation-of-chinese-military-companies |
| The increase in the Section 301 tariff (25% on non-EV lithium-ion batteries from 1 January 2026) | Sourced | Reference 11 https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2024/09/18/2024-21217/notice-of-modification-chinas-acts-policies-and-practices-related-to-technology-transfer |
| The current combined U.S. tariff rate | Not yet confirmed | Not verified for this article. |
| China's export control (Announcements No. 58 and 70; suspended until 10 November 2026) | Sourced | References 12, 13 https://www.mofcom.gov.cn/zwgk/zcfb/art/2025/art_79646f0161564975a938fe00fee158d5.html https://www.mofcom.gov.cn/zwgk/zcfb/art/2025/art_b1ec77dd3f0d4762952904df7cdaadec.html |
| The reading that the Qilin condensed battery exceeds the 300 Wh/kg threshold | Inference | This article's comparison of a stated value with the announcement's threshold; application is for the authorities. |
| The reading that sodium-ion volumes will appear first in storage | Inference | This article's interpretation of differences in how volumes are stated. |
| The reading that sodium-ion also hedges lithium price swings | Inference | This article's interpretation from the shared-enclosure description and the raw-material price remark. |
| The readings on combined overseas routes and on in-house and equity-based materials security | Inference | This article's interpretation of statements in the filings. |
| The materials readings (particle mixing in Super Hybrid; how the sodium-ion bottlenecks bear on yield) | Inference | This article's commentary. |
| Sales by LFP, ternary and sodium-ion; sodium-ion price, shipments and revenue share; sales of storage cells alone | Not yet confirmed | None appears in the material reviewed, and this article does not estimate them. |
| Global share and rankings | Not yet confirmed | Research-firm estimates; this article does not use them (our policy). |
Last updated: 10 October 2026 / Troy Technical
The figures in this article are based on CATL's statutory filings in Shenzhen and Hong Kong, its official news releases, U.S. Federal Register notices and announcements of China's Ministry of Commerce. Research-firm estimates and press-only figures are not used. Passages marked "Inference" are our reading of primary sources, not statements by the company. Performance values are manufacturer's stated values, and values measured under different conditions are not compared.