China Holds the Commanding Heights in Advanced Batteries
Step aside, Tesla and QuantumScape
For a good part of last year, lithium-ion batteries attracted perhaps more fanatical attention than at any time since their invention four decades ago. From Wall Street to Omaha, people parsed the latest battery advances by Tesla, a Silicon Valley startup called QuantumScape, and legacy players like GM. Some of the hottest IPOs were startup electric vehicle companies, which sold billions of dollars in equity.
Widely overlooked, though, is that these companies — while first-rate competitors in the high-stakes electrification race — are not in fact the cutting edge in commercial advanced batteries. For two years or so, mostly under the radar, Chinese companies have stolen the West’s thunder when it comes to the super-battery. If you are looking for the first mover or the latest twist in chemistry, don’t think Tesla or QuantumScape, but CATL, based in China.
China’s capture of the lead in battery technology is a crucial feat. EVs and batteries are among the most important aspects of a tension-filled, U.S.–China contest for supremacy in the technologies of the future, which also include artificial intelligence, robotics, quantum computing, and biotechnology. By the end of the decade, it is estimated that a third or more of all new vehicles sold…
