Good news for the battery industry again! According to Securities Times, on March 25th, Zeng Yuqun, Chairman of CATL (300750. SZ), stated in an interview that CATL is collaborating with Tesla to develop batteries with faster charging speeds, and stated that CATL is providing equipment to Tesla's factory in Nevada, USA.
On the same day, Zhiji Automobile also announced that the upcoming Zhiji L6 will be the first in the industry to be equipped with the first mass-produced "ultra fast charging solid-state battery", leading new energy vehicles into the "solid-state battery era".
Under the boost of two pieces of news, the power battery related sector boiled on March 26th. As of the close of the day, Penghui Energy (300438. SZ) rose by more than 10%, while stocks such as Dangsheng Technology (300073. SZ), Enjie Shares (002812. SZ), and Tianci Materials (002709. SZ) rose. Among them, Ningde Times, as a leading enterprise in the sector, closed with a stock price increase of 3.79%, reporting 191.8 yuan per share, and a total market value of 843.7 billion yuan.
It is worth noting that in addition to cooperating with Tesla, Zeng Yuqun also stated that CATL will actively carry out open innovation that combines introversion and extroversion. For example, CATL and American customers adopt the LRS model, which includes licensing, authorization, and service, to help OEMs and even battery manufacturers quickly build battery factories.
In fact, in recent years, CATL has continued to promote globalization layout.
In the investor relations activity table recently disclosed by CATL, CATL also stated on the issue of going abroad: "Not only car companies, but also some European battery factories that have a long production capacity construction time also hope to cooperate with us. Currently, the company's Hungarian factory is expected to achieve supply by 2026 and is progressing as planned."
It is reported that as of the end of 2023, CATL has cooperated with overseas car companies such as BMW, Daimler, and Volkswagen in the field of power batteries. In its 2023 annual report, CATL also stated that it will continue to promote the construction of a global system, including overseas production capacity construction and operation, overseas supply chain layout, overseas resources and recycling layout, etc.
According to SNE Research statistics, the usage of power batteries in Ningde Times reached 259.7 GWh in 2023, an increase of 40.8% compared to 2022, with a market share of 36.8%, ranking first globally for seven consecutive years; The global market share of energy storage battery shipments has reached 40%, ranking first in the world for three consecutive years.
Moreover, in recent years, CATL has continuously increased its research and development investment in the battery field, with a total R&D investment of 18.4 billion yuan in 2023. Previously, a reporter from the Daily Economic News learned from CATL that in terms of power batteries, CATL has released ultra fast charging Shenxing batteries in recent years, breaking through the boundaries of the chemical performance of lithium iron phosphate; The peak 5C fast charging Kirin battery has achieved mass production through cooperation with Ideal Automobile, while the M3P battery has achieved mass production on Chery Huawei cooperation models; The first generation sodium ion battery has achieved research and development achievements in mass production through cooperation with Chery.
Recently, when asked at an investor relations event, Zeng Yuqun also stated, "Whether it's plug-in or range extender, the current trend is mainly towards high battery power, because high battery power can provide more pure electric range, but range extender and plug-in have high requirements for batteries and cannot be done casually. In the long run, pure electric will be the final solution, because pure electric can only meet the corresponding range requirements in autonomous driving scenarios."
From the perspective of the battery sector, according to GGII's forecast, the overall shipment volume of lithium batteries in China will exceed 1100GWh in 2024, a year-on-year increase of 27%, officially entering the TWh era. Among them, the shipment volume of power batteries will exceed 820GWh, a year-on-year increase of 20%; The shipment volume of energy storage batteries will exceed 200GWh, a year-on-year increase of 25%.
From the perspective of the capital market, Ping An Securities research report indicates that it continues to have a positive outlook on Ningde Times, Yiwei Lithium Energy, Betray, Rongbai Technology, and others who are deeply involved in the fast charging battery industry chain and the large cylindrical battery industry chain.