'Battery No.1' Chinese CATL Accelerates Land, Sea, and Air Strategy... Expanding Electric Ship Business

Planned Joint Venture with France's 3rd Largest Shipping Company
Expanding Aggressively into Aviation and Shipbuilding Following Automotive Sector

World's No.1 battery company Ningde Shidai (寧德時代·CATL) is joining hands with French shipping company CMA CGM to expand its electric ship business. CATL Chairman Zheng Yuqun, who has been actively expanding overseas markets recently, accompanied Chinese President Xi Jinping on his European tour, seeking business opportunities across the 'land (automobiles) · sea (ships) · air (aircraft)' sectors.

On the 9th, Chinese economic media Caixin reported that CATL is planning to establish a joint venture with CMA CGM. The day before, both parties signed a cooperation agreement related to electric ships, commercial vehicles, warehouses, and logistics, announcing this plan. CMA CGM is the world's third-largest company with 400 offices in 160 countries, operating 620 vessels and 257 shipping routes. It provides services to 420 out of 521 commercial ports worldwide.

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

Although the two sides did not disclose specific cooperation details, this collaboration is regarded as part of CATL's expansion into the electric ship business. In November 2022, CATL established a wholly-owned subsidiary, CATL Electric Ship Technology.

CATL is also focusing on the electric aircraft business. In July last year, the company established a joint venture with China Commercial Aircraft Corporation with a 47% stake. Prior to this, it launched an ultra-high energy density battery with a single-cell energy density of up to 500Wh/kg and announced plans to equip it on manned aircraft.

It is also notable that CATL is concentrating on overseas markets, especially Europe. CATL is building a battery factory in Germany and has invested 7.34 billion euros (approximately 10.812 trillion KRW) to construct a mega manufacturing facility in Hungary.

In the automobile market, CATL is further solidifying its position. According to data recently released by China's SNE Research, CATL's power battery installation volume in the first quarter recorded a market share of 37.9%, ranking first worldwide. The second and third places were BYD and South Korea's LG Energy Solution, with market shares of 14.3% and 13.6%, respectively. CATL supplies batteries to Tesla, Li Auto, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen, and others.