Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Limited

Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Limited, abbreviated as CATL, is a Chinese battery manufacturer and technology company founded in 2011 that specializes in the manufacturing of lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles and energy storage systems, as well as battery management systems (BMS). With a market share of 32.6% in 2021, CATL is the biggest lithium-ion battery manufacturer for EVs in the world, producing 96.7 GWh of the global 296.8 GWh, up 167.5% from the prior year. It grew even further in 2022, increasing its market share to 37%. The company plans to have a manufacturing capacity of more than 500 GWh by 2025 and more than 800 GWh by 2030. The company is headquartered in the city of Ningde in China’s Fujian province. CATL has established thirteen battery manufacturing bases worldwide, namely in Ningde; Liyang, Jiangsu Province; Xining, Qinghai Province; Yibin, Sichuan Province; Zhaoqing, Guangdong Province; Lingang Special Area of China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone, Shanghai; Xiamen, Fujian Province; Yichun, Jiangxi Province; Guiyang, Guizhou Province; Jining, Shandong Province; Luoyang, Henan Province; Erfurt, Germany and Debrecen, Hungary. Of the thirteen facilities, Ningde plant and Yibin plant were recognized by the World Economic Forum as Lighthouse factories, sites that show leadership in the adoption and integration of the cutting-edge technologies. They are the only two Lighthouse factories in the battery industry globally. The Yibin plant was also certified as the world’s first zero-carbon battery plant. History CATL was founded in Ningde, which is reflected in its Chinese name ('Ningde era'). The company started as a spin-off of Amperex Technology Limited (ATL), a previous business founded by Robin Zeng in 1999. ATL initially manufactured lithium-polymer batteries based on licensed technology, but later developed more reliable battery designs themselves. In 2005 ATL was acquired by Japan's TDK company, but Zeng continued as a manager for ATL. In 2012, Zeng and vice-chairman Huang Shilin spun-off the EV battery operations of ATL into the new company CATL. Until 2015, former parent TDK held a 15% stake in CATL. Zeng has applied management styles of TDK and Huawei to his company.