CALB breaks ground on $1.7bn battery plant in China

CALB (China Aviation Lithium Battery) announced on March 25 the commencement of construction for the second phase of its Chengdu production base, with a total investment of CNY 12 billion ($1.67 billion).

The expansion will include manufacturing lines, structural component warehouses, and finished product storage facilities, with production expected to begin in Q2 2026. Once completed, the new phase will add 30 GWh of annual production capacity for EV batteries and energy storage systems.

A CALB spokesperson told ESS News that the Chengdu base is a modern industrial hub integrating EV and energy storage battery production, with a planned total capacity of 50 GWh across two phases. The first phase, with a 20GWh capacity, was completed in September 2022. The second phase will be developed as a green, digitalized, and modernized benchmark facility, significantly expanding CALB’s production scale and competitiveness in the new energy sector.

As one of the world’s leading lithium-ion battery manufacturers, CALB operates two core businesses: EV batteries and energy storage systems. However, its 2024 financial results, released on March 27, reveal a stark contrast in performance between the two segments.

While EV battery installations grew 16.6% year-on-year to 39.4GWh, declining battery prices led to a 12.1% drop in sales revenue to CNY 19.55 billion ($2.7 billion). According to SNE Research, CALB’s global market share slipped 0.4 percentage points to 4.4%, ranking fourth globally, making it the only Chinese company in the top 10 to lose market share.

In contrast, CALB’s energy storage business saw exceptional growth in 2024. Revenue surged 72.4% to CNY 8.2 billion ($1.14 billion), increasing its share of total sales from 17.6% to 29.6%. According to InfoLink, CALB ranked fifth worldwide in energy storage cell shipments.

The company has also secured major contracts to further drive its energy storage expansion. Through a strategic partnership with Sungrow, CALB will be the exclusive cell supplier for Sungrow’s 7.8 GWh energy storage project with Saudi Arabia’s Algihaz and a 4.4 GWh project in Europe, totaling 12.2 GWh in orders.

Beyond Chengdu, CALB is also expanding its production footprint. In February 2024, CALB broke ground on a high-performance lithium battery plant in Xiamen, also designed for 30 GWh of capacity. To date, CALB operates nine manufacturing bases, including seven in China—Chengdu, Wuhan, Changzhou, Jiangmen, Xiamen, Hefei, and Meishan—as well as facilities in Thailand and Portugal.