CATL is leveraging its dominance in electric vehicle batteries to enter the fast-growing AI infrastructure market, developing advanced energy storage systems designed to power next-generation data centers.
AI data centers become CATL’s next strategic market
China’s CATL, already the world’s largest manufacturer of lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles, is setting its sights on one of the fastest-growing industries in the global economy, artificial intelligence. The company is developing a new generation of CATL batteries for AI data centers, expanding well beyond its traditional automotive business.
CATL batteries expand into AI infrastructure
The Chinese battery maker currently controls about 40% of the global battery market for battery electric vehicles (BEVs), a business that generated roughly three-quarters of its $61.4 billion in revenue in 2025.
According to the Financial Times, CATL has launched a series of high-energy transient overvoltage tests at its research facility in Xiamen, southeastern China. Using impulse generators, engineers expose battery architectures to extremely high-voltage electrical surges to evaluate dielectric strength, the ability of insulating materials to withstand intense electric fields without breaking down.
These tests are considerably more demanding than those required for automotive batteries. Unlike EV applications, energy storage systems supporting AI data centers must operate continuously, 24 hours a day, under highly demanding operating conditions while delivering exceptional reliability.
Robin Zeng’s vision reaches far beyond electric vehicles
CATL’s technological expansion is backed by an aggressive investment strategy.
According to data from the Chinese corporate database Tianyancha, the company has made direct investments in 152 businesses, while its subsidiaries and investment funds have indirect stakes in more than 9,900 companies. That investment footprint significantly exceeds rival BYD, which holds 109 direct investments and approximately 2,856 indirect investments.
For founder Robin Zeng, the chemist who began his career producing batteries for Nokia and Motorola’s first mobile phones, the Xiamen facility represents a broader ambition: moving from low-voltage distributed storage toward high-voltage, grid-scale energy storage systems.
His investment strategy reflects CATL’s effort to capitalize on several long-term global trends simultaneously, including the rapid expansion of AI, industrial decarbonization and the large-scale electrification of transportation and maritime industries.
From AI data centers to ships and aircraft
CATL’s ambitions extend well beyond electric grids and AI servers.
The company is developing large-format battery systems capable of powering buildings, ports, mines and industrial facilities, while also investing in smaller battery technologies for aircraft and drones.
Its batteries have already been deployed on nearly 1,000 vessels, primarily smaller boats operating along China’s rivers, ports and coastal waterways.
To support broader electrification, CATL has also pledged to invest billions of dollars in extensive battery-swapping networks for passenger vehicles, commercial trucks and ships.
While individual battery cells and packs have reached a high level of maturity, integrating those components into massive systems such as shipping containers, electric aircraft or large marine vessels introduces significantly greater engineering complexity and reliability challenges.
Geopolitical tensions remain a major risk
CATL’s strategic importance has also placed the company at the center of growing geopolitical competition between Washington and Beijing.
The U.S. Department of Defense has added CATL to a list of companies it alleges have ties to the Chinese military, an accusation the company has repeatedly denied.
Meanwhile, Chinese authorities remain concerned about the potential transfer of advanced battery intellectual property overseas, a factor that could complicate CATL’s international expansion.
Despite those headwinds, long-term market prospects remain exceptionally strong. Following continued volatility across global energy markets, analysts at Bernstein forecast worldwide battery demand to increase from 1.8 TWh last year to 5.7 TWh by 2030, eventually reaching 16.6 TWh by 2050. That would represent a 9% compound annual growth rate over the next 25 years.
