The global leader in power batteries is now aiming to transform into a foundational infrastructure provider for a new energy-powered society.
As the world's top power battery manufacturer, Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Ltd. (CATL) earned the moniker "Battery King" as early as 2021. By 2025, its share of the global power battery market had risen to 39.2%. In the same year, the combined global market share of over a dozen major Chinese automakers was less than 30%, leading to a significant profitability gap. CATL's 2025 net profit of 72.2 billion yuan surpassed the combined profits of the top ten Chinese automakers by market capitalization.
However, what has drawn the most attention in recent years is not the company's continued dominance in batteries, but its rapid expansion into new business areas.
In transportation, CATL's batteries have expanded from passenger vehicles to commercial vehicles like electric heavy-duty trucks, as well as electric ships and aircraft, and into the energy replenishment network via battery swap stations.
In the power sector, CATL's energy storage batteries hold over 30% of the global market share, and its energy storage system integration business grew 160% in 2025, becoming a powerful second growth engine.
In grid technology, the company is an industry leader in building distributed microgrids and exploring grid-forming energy storage stations, while actively developing technologies for flexible grids and virtual power plants.
For industry, CATL provides green energy and zero-carbon operation solutions to a growing number of mines, steel mills, cement plants, chemical plants, and industrial parks.
In critical minerals, the company has invested heavily to establish a resource group to secure its supply chain while accelerating its battery recycling and resource circulation initiatives.
In AI, CATL has invested over 10 billion yuan to become the largest shareholder in the established data center operator Century Internet Data Center and the leading power supplier for intelligent computing centers, Zhongheng Electric, securing its place in the era of integrated computing and power.
CATL has also signed zero-carbon city strategic cooperation agreements with multiple Chinese cities including Xiamen, Lanzhou, Yancheng, Changzhou, Wuhu, Jiaxing, Dongying, and Yibin.
Its global expansion is accelerating, with investments in manufacturing plants in Germany, Hungary, Spain, and Indonesia, and energy storage projects underway in Australia, the UAE, and Brazil. Its listing in Hong Kong in May 2025 provided more flexible capital for overseas market development.
Chairman Robin Zeng stated that CATL is committed to becoming "a zero-carbon technology company that makes outstanding contributions to humanity's new energy cause."
Has CATL's expansion become disordered? What is the underlying logic of its grand vision? Does the company have the capabilities to support it? The following is a summary of a dialogue with Mr. Zeng, who is also one of three Chinese representatives on the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC).
Defining the Scope of Business
The discussion began with the topic of CATL's expanding business boundaries, which now span from passenger to commercial vehicles, electric ships and aviation, power grids and energy storage operations, and even extend into AI and robotics. The question was whether this expansion was a top-down design or a bottom-up response to market forces.
Mr. Zeng explained that their vision is to make outstanding contributions to the new energy cause, aiming to be a world-class innovative technology company. This combination naturally leads to broad applications. Batteries for passenger and commercial vehicles represent the replacement of fossil fuels with new energy in transportation. Currently, the focus in transportation and power is the "industrialization of new energy"—creating new energy products. The next phase is the "new-energy-ization of industry."
He emphasized that no expansion falls outside this vision. The critical factor is the company's capability at any given point. Expanding without the necessary capability would be counterproductive. The goal is to enter new areas with a unique or superior offering, not to engage in price wars. Expansion is pursued only after developing core competencies.
The company constantly evaluates the foundational pillars of the global new energy transition, identifying key points where it can achieve what others cannot, or do better than others.
Current Performance and Strategic Limits
When asked if CATL has achieved this in its current ventures, Mr. Zeng expressed a high personal expectation: aiming for 80% of its offerings to be unique and 20% to be superior. He acknowledged the current reality might be closer to the inverse.
Regarding strategic red lines, he stated there are many areas CATL will not touch, such as life sciences, where it lacks capability. All expansion revolves around core competencies. On robotics, he noted that energy efficiency and density are crucial, as current robots cannot even run a full marathon. In AI, the company does not aim to compete directly with AI firms but recognizes that AI fundamentally consumes energy. Therefore, CATL seeks to contribute to energy solutions for AI-driven data centers.
The Foundational Logic for Expansion
The underlying logic connecting all these expansions is threefold. First, any move must fit within the company's vision. Second, CATL must be able to make a distinguished contribution. Mr. Zeng outlined three specific conditions for entering a new field: the market must be large enough to justify the effort; there must be high barriers to entry to prevent overcrowding; and the new technology must be adjacent to CATL's existing technological base. Venturing into completely unfamiliar technology without prior accumulation carries a low probability of success. Adhering to these three rules, he concluded, allows for confident expansion into any suitable area.