CATL

Business

CATL (宁德时代新能源科技股份有限公司, Contemporary Amperex Technology) makes power batteries for vehicles and battery systems for energy storage, and also battery materials, recycling and mineral resources. Its battery chemistries include lithium iron phosphate, medium- and high-nickel ternary, sodium-ion and what it calls condensed-state batteries (2026 interim report, p. 11).

Results

In the first half of 2026 revenue rose 54.8% to ¥276.9bn and net profit attributable to shareholders rose 42.0% to ¥43.28bn (p. 7). By business (p. 16):

• Power battery systems: ¥192.1bn, up 46.0%, at a 20.63% gross margin.
• Energy storage battery systems: ¥53.3bn, up 87.5%, at a 23.96% gross margin.
• Battery materials and recycling, mineral resources: ¥18.8bn, up 67.2%, at a 27.04% gross margin.

Overseas revenue was ¥87.1bn, 31.46% of the total, at a 29.97% gross margin, against 21.16% in China (p. 16).

Position

Citing SNE Research, CATL says its share of global power battery usage was 40.2% in January to May 2026, up 2.2 points, and that its storage battery shipments have ranked first in the world for five years (pp. 10, 12, 13). Those are the company's reports of third-party rankings and its own claim.

Capacity and expansion

Battery system capacity was 525 GWh with a further 764 GWh under construction, utilisation was 94.86%, and production in the half was 498 GWh (p. 17). It names new bases at Jining, Zhongzhou, Liyang and Yibin, and plants in Indonesia, Hungary and a joint venture in Spain (pp. 13, 15). It set up a Times Resources group to run its lithium, nickel and phosphorus mining interests (p. 15), and signed a three-year, 60 GWh sodium-ion storage cooperation agreement with HyperStrong (p. 14).

Where it stands

CATL reports the highest margins of the cell makers covered here (see battery cells), and its storage business is growing faster than its vehicle business.