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Chinese battery giant CATL spreads investments in search of new growth drivers
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Themis QiPublished: 10:00am, 28 Aug 2026From data centres to hydropower stations, Chinese battery giant Contemporary Amperex Technology Limited (CATL) is placing investment bets on prospective growth engines following the electric vehicle (EVs) boom, according to analysts.
Since June last year, at least seven CATL-led equity deals involving a total of over 17 billion yuan (US$2.5 billion) have been announced in non-battery industries. The sectors involved span humanoid robots, state-owned hydropower stations, artificial intelligence data centres (AIDCs) and large-language-model developer DeepSeek.
The equity investments by Fujian-based CATL seemed primarily strategic, similar to its earlier playbook of forming joint ventures with carmakers and investing in EV start-ups, said Yang Jing, director of Asia-Pacific corporate ratings at Fitch Ratings.
“As the incumbent leader, sustaining market share and margins requires identifying new high-growth frontiers early and capturing first-mover advantages,” she said. “AIDC’s high-growth, high-barrier characteristics position it as a potential ‘third growth curve’ alongside EVs and energy storage systems.”
Yang said CATL’s investments related to AIDCs could help cement its dominance in the post-EV era if AIDC-related energy storage demand scaled up as projected.
CATL is the world’s largest producer of lithium-ion batteries for EVs and energy storage systems. But it is facing weakening demand for electric cars in China – the world’s largest automotive market – and intensifying competition with mainland rivals for energy storage orders in overseas markets.
In May, Nasdaq-listed VNET Group, a Chinese third-party provider of neutral AIDCs, said two CATL-affiliates would acquire up to 38.1 per cent of its shares for US$942 million, becoming its largest shareholder. This month, Shenzhen-listed Hangzhou Zhonhen Electric, which supplies power supply systems for AIDCs and vehicle charging, that it planned to sell a 49 per cent stake in the business to CATL for 4.09 billion yuan.
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