[Reporter’s Notebook] "I Will Go My Own Way": CATL’s Confidence as It Visits the Home of K-Batteries

"LFP (Lithium Iron Phosphate) batteries have already surpassed the usage of ternary NCM (Nickel Cobalt Manganese) batteries and will continue to dominate in the future."

Ni Zheng, Head of Overseas Operations at CATL, China's largest battery company, visited Korea, the homeland of NCM batteries, and declared that the future of batteries lies not with NCM but with LFP. On the 13th, at the '6th Next Generation Battery Seminar (NGBS 2023)' held at the Korea Science and Technology Center in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, he firmly stated, "So far, no defects or accidents related to LFP have ever been found or reported." He also said, "We will produce LFP batteries that deliver NCM-level performance." Korean companies dominate the global market with NCM batteries, which are expensive but highly efficient. On the other hand, LFP batteries have lower performance but are cheaper. The two products are competing in the secondary battery market.

When Ni Zheng took the stage to present, the previously quiet atmosphere in the venue noticeably heated up. As he flipped through large PowerPoint (PPT) slides, the sound of phones capturing the presentation materials was continuous from the audience. Employees from the three major domestic battery companies and related industries listened intently. After the presentation, questions poured in from stakeholders, including Samsung SDI employees.

Regarding CATL's vision, Ni Zheng emphasized that "chemical innovation is essential" to achieve price competitiveness for electric vehicles, adding, "CATL's strategy is to avoid using rare metals." Rare metals are difficult to obtain and expensive. By making this statement in the heart of the competition, he essentially declared that CATL's technology is superior and that they will continue on their chosen path.

CATL has been mass-producing LFP batteries for over 10 years. Despite the U.S. exerting full efforts to counter China, North American electric vehicle companies such as Tesla and Ford, as well as European automakers like Mercedes-Benz and BMW, are choosing LFP batteries. While CATL has been mass-producing LFP batteries for over a decade, domestic companies have insisted on NCM batteries.

Last year, the global battery market share of the three domestic companies was 23.7%, while China's top company CATL held 39.1%. Korean companies have recently expressed intentions to produce LFP batteries. They must not cling to NCM but strive for the best results in the LFP market. If necessary, they should learn from Chinese companies. It is arrogant to think that China is a country following us.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.