According to incomplete statistics from the Gaogong Industry Institute (GGII), China's lithium battery industry chain witnessed over 282 publicly announced investment projects across all segments in 2025, encompassing lithium batteries and key materials, solid-state batteries, and sodium-ion batteries. The total investment value exceeded 820 billion yuan, representing a year-on-year increase of more than 74%. Lithium batteries and their key materials remained the primary drivers of investment, accounting for over 80% of the total.
Lithium batteries saw approximately 64 new planned projects in China during 2025, with a combined planned capacity exceeding 1,100 GWh, a surge of 105% year-on-year. In terms of investment value, the total planned investment for the year reached 348.5 billion yuan, up 92% compared to the previous year. Throughout 2025, major battery manufacturers including CATL, EVE Energy, CALB, Envision AESC, and Chuneng New Energy successively announced new capacity construction plans, signaling a strong wave of industry expansion.
Investment in lithium battery materials, including cathode materials, anode materials, electrolytes, separators, and copper foil, totaled 308.5 billion yuan in China for 2025, a substantial increase of 127% year-on-year. Cathode materials and electrolytes experienced the most pronounced growth. The cathode materials sector was driven by surging market demand for products with high compaction density and long cycle life, prompting accelerated capacity expansion. The rapid growth in the electrolyte sector was fueled by supply-demand realignment and strong end-market demand, compounded by a doubling of upstream raw material prices which raised production costs. This, coupled with a supply shortage, compelled companies to hasten their production expansion plans to secure market supply.
China's solid-state battery sector recorded about 60 new planned projects in 2025, with a planned capacity of 189 GWh and a total planned investment of approximately 67.7 billion yuan, marking a 9% decrease year-on-year. Notably, while investment declined, the planned capacity achieved a 23% increase. This divergence is primarily attributed to continuous breakthroughs in key processes, such as the maturation of dry electrode and stacking technologies, which have effectively reduced equipment investment costs for enterprises. Furthermore, some companies achieved flexible "liquid + solid-state" production by retrofitting traditional lithium battery production lines for compatibility, also contributing to the overall decrease in project investment.
The sodium-ion battery sector in China saw 42 new planned projects in 2025, with a planned capacity exceeding 290 GWh and total planned investment surpassing 100 billion yuan. All three metrics showed significant year-on-year growth. The rapid development of the sodium battery industry is driven by three core factors: continuous technological breakthroughs, with CATL having increased the energy density of mass-produced sodium batteries to 175 Wh/kg, comparable to lithium iron phosphate batteries; accelerating market penetration in applications such as start-stop systems, energy storage, and two-wheeled electric vehicles; and increasingly prominent cost advantages, as prices for lithium salts and lithium battery materials continue to rise. Leveraging material characteristics that avoid lithium and copper, combined with the abundance of sodium resources, sodium batteries are expected to achieve greater cost competitiveness compared to lithium batteries in the future.
From a regional perspective for lithium batteries, domestic investment and capacity expansion projects in 2025 were primarily concentrated in East and Central China. East China, with core areas like Fujian, Shandong, and Jiangsu, leveraged advantages including abundant chemical resources, strategic layouts by leading enterprises, and a well-developed industrial chain to focus on developing lithium battery and material manufacturing, already forming a substantial industrial scale. Central China established Hubei as a core growth pole, focusing on building integrated "resource + manufacturing" industrial bases. For instance, Yichang in Hubei, capitalizing on its world-class phosphorus chemical recycling industrial cluster, attracted leading enterprises from across the lithium battery chain, including CATL, Envision AESC, Tinci Materials, and Chuneng New Energy.
Regarding overseas markets, the layout of Chinese lithium battery enterprises in 2025 was most concentrated in Thailand, Spain, and Portugal. Thailand attracted several leading battery companies, including CATL, EVE Energy, and Gotion High-tech, due to its core advantages of low geopolitical risk, foreign-friendly policies, status as a Southeast Asian transportation hub, and a developed automotive industry. The European market, driven by substantial electrification demand, stable political environments, and localization policies, became a key overseas destination for domestic companies. In 2025, projects such as CALB's zero-carbon AI gigafactory in Portugal and the joint venture factory of CATL and Stellantis Group in Spain commenced construction, accelerating the localization of production capacity in Europe.
For lithium battery materials, investment and expansion in cathode material projects in 2025 were highly concentrated in Southwest China, accounting for 59% of the total, with Sichuan being the core area for deployment. Sichuan's advantages include policy support as a national strategic rear area, abundant green electricity resources, and low electricity costs, making it a hub for industrial agglomeration. The lithium battery industry in Sichuan has developed rapidly in recent years; Yibin, as a key production base for CATL, has driven the province's operational lithium battery capacity to over 350 GWh, creating a strong industrial magnet that has attracted numerous material suppliers.
The regional distribution of anode material project investment and expansion was relatively balanced. Graphitization, the most cost-intensive step in anode production, is significantly influenced by electricity prices. North and Northwest China, with their low electricity costs and abundant raw materials, became preferred locations for projects. East and Central China, benefiting from the cluster effect of lithium battery projects, were also key areas for anode material project concentration.
Electrolyte investment and expansion projects in 2025 were mainly concentrated in East China. This region is not only a core hub for China's power and energy storage battery production but also hosts the highest number of chemical industrial parks in the country. The dual advantages of a complete industrial chain and proximity to downstream markets made it the preferred choice for electrolyte companies.
For other materials, separator projects were primarily located in Southwest China. A representative project is the first phase of Jiangsu Ushine's Chongqing base, with an annual production capacity of 1.2 billion square meters of lithium battery separators. Copper foil projects were relatively fewer, with investment and expansion in 2025 mainly concentrated in areas like Jiangxi within East China.
Overseas, as Chinese lithium battery companies like CATL, CALB, and REPT BATTERO established a presence abroad in 2025, supporting material suppliers also actively responded to the "going global" trend. This included cathode material companies such as Hunan Yuneng, Lopal Tech, Beijing Easpring, and GEM; anode material companies like Shangtai Technology and Zhongke Electric; electrolyte companies including Tinci Materials and Kunlun New Material; and separator companies such as Senior Technology Material and Zhongcai Lithium Membrane, all of which followed to establish overseas operations.
For solid-state batteries, investment and expansion projects in 2025 were primarily concentrated in East China, with approximately 30 new planned projects, a planned capacity of 74 GWh, and a total investment of 28 billion yuan. Anhui and Zhejiang were the main project locations, with planned capacities of 27 GWh and 22 GWh and corresponding investments of 10 billion yuan and 11.3 billion yuan, respectively. Together, these two provinces accounted for nearly 80% of the capacity and investment in East China. Southwest China was the second-largest concentration area, with 9 new planned projects, a planned capacity of 56 GWh, and a total investment of 18.4 billion yuan. Sichuan, leveraging its industrial layout advantages, accounted for 70% of the projects in the Southwest region.
For sodium-ion batteries, Southwest China emerged as the primary region for investment and expansion in 2025, with 9 new planned projects, a planned capacity of 81 GWh, and a total investment of 32.2 billion yuan, accounting for nearly one-third of the total. Sichuan made a particularly strong contribution, representing over 85% of the new planned capacity in the Southwest, initially forming a cluster-based industrial development pattern centered on Zigong and Bazhong, with coordinated development in Yibin, Dazhou, and Deyang. East China, with its developed battery industry, leveraged mature lithium battery supply chains and strong capital advantages to attract 78 GWh of capacity and 15.9 billion yuan in investment.
Overall, after enduring a challenging two-year period from 2023 to 2024 characterized by supply-demand imbalance, falling prices, intense competition, slowing growth, and declining performance, China's lithium battery new energy industry began showing signs of recovery in 2025. This turnaround is supported by the sustained high growth of the energy storage market, price rebounds for core materials like lithium salts, copper foil, and electrolytes, high capacity utilization rates among leading companies, and continued capacity expansion by industry leaders both domestically and internationally. The industry is gradually emerging from its difficult phase.
Looking ahead to 2026, GGII anticipates that the year could mark the beginning of a new cycle of healthy and orderly development for China's lithium battery new energy industry. Specifically, the supply-demand dynamics in the lithium battery and core materials sectors are expected to continue improving. High-quality capacity may face supply shortages in 2026, and coupled with sustained high capacity utilization and strong market demand expectations, this could prompt more companies to pursue investment and expansion. The application of solid-state batteries is expected to accelerate, driven by small-batch trials in vehicles and new incremental demand from emerging fields like humanoid robots and the low-altitude economy, further boosting technological iteration and industrial development. The sodium-ion battery industry is poised for rapid growth, with shipments potentially doubling in 2026 and reaching the scale of hundreds of GWh by 2030, driving 30 to 50-fold growth in the upstream and downstream materials sectors.