5 Most Advanced Countries in Battery Technology

3. China

Average no. of patents filed between 2017-2019: 29958

Chinese companies increased their battery production from 10% of the world’s total to 50% by the year 2019. Currently, Chinese companies are responsible for 56% of the EV battery market, followed by Korean and Japanese companies. Four of the ten largest battery manufacturers are headquartered in China. China is also dominating other parts of the battery supply chain, including refining and mining of battery materials like lithium and graphite. A few of the Chinese battery companies include CATL, BYD, CALB, Guoxuan, Sunwoda, and SVOLT.

According to the Center for Strategic and International Studies, the Chinese government has invested a hefty USD 100 billion in the “new energy” car sector over the last ten years (including electric and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles). Part of what is fueling the need for EV adoption is China’s pledges to reach peak emissions by 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2060. The use of energy storage technology is also a crucial component to the achievement of China’s renewable energy targets.

From 2021 to 2022, CATL, a leading battery supplier, expanded its market share from 32% to 34%. This company is responsible for one-third of the world’s EV batteries. CATL provides lithium-ion batteries to Peugeot, Honda, Toyota, Volvo, Tesla, Hyundai, BMW, Toyota and Volkswagen. Module to Bracket (MTB) is a new battery technology introduced by CATL for heavy-duty electric trucks. This technology integrates the battery module directly into the vehicle chassis. According to the company, this battery will be able to lower the weight of the truck by 10% and enable a 40% increase in battery system utilization.  

In 2022, BYD doubled its market share from last year and became the second biggest battery supplier with a market share of 12%. The market share of CALB is 4%. Guoxuan has a market share of 3%. Sunwoda has a market share of 2%. SVOLT has a market share of 1% as of 2022. 

The growth of Chinese companies was driven by the demand for batteries from different car manufacturing companies. Europe, the US, Korea and other giant manufacturers of cars aim to reduce fossil fuel consumption and carbon emissions significantly by 2030. Consequently, the production of lithium has increased by more than 3500% relative to 2020 production.