How CATL Became the Biggest EV Battery Producer in the World

Most people have never heard of one of the most important clean energy companies: CATL.

Located in a small Chinese city, Ningde, the company’s headquarters are 90 minutes away from the nearest major airport. For a short period in the 1980s, when Ningde was still a small fishing village, China’s current president Xi Jinping worked there as a Communist Party chief. It was a punishment, a relegation after his father refused to support a crackdown against a liberal reformer. Before CATL, Ningde was best known for its tea plantations and carp farms.

Today, Ningde is home to a company poised to play a central role in the energy transition. In the first half of 2023, CATL made 37% of all EV batteries globally. According to most forecasts, this number will only grow between now and 2030.