On the afternoon of the 17th, at CATL's production base in Ningde, Fujian province, China. As we entered the gate of the plant that produces battery cells for electric vehicles, a gray corridor stretched straight for more than 300 meters.
Beyond the corridor wall, a production line of the same length unfolded. Massive robotic arms and collaborative robots, with a clatter, were tirelessly carrying out processes from mixing materials and supplies to electrode coating, cell assembly, electrolyte injection, and quality inspection.
This plant operates a total of six 300-meter production lines, and across the entire base there are five factories in about 550,000 square meters: two cell production plants, two battery pack plants, and one insulation coating plant. That is equivalent to 77 soccer fields. An on-site official said, "In new plants, the total length of a single production line sometimes reaches 1 kilometer."
This is CATL's main production base, the "Z base." Activated in 2020, the base produces more than 30 GWh of EV batteries annually. The World Economic Forum (WEF) recognized its high levels of automation and digitization and manufacturing efficiency and selected it as a global "lighthouse factory." A lighthouse factory refers to a plant that boosts productivity and efficiency with advanced technology. CATL said it has achieved automation and efficiency across the production process by using technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), big data, and digital twins.
◇ All production plants achieve carbon neutrality… first in the industry
But the biggest feature of this giant battery plant is neither automation nor digitization. It is that it is the battery industry's first "carbon-neutral plant." According to the company, in 2022 the Yibin plant in Sichuan province obtained international certification and was recognized as the first carbon-neutral battery plant, and the Ningde Z base received the same certification in March last year. CATL said that all 20 of its production facilities worldwide have now received international carbon-neutral certification.
Behind CATL's push to decarbonize its production plants is a rapidly expanding business scale. According to the company, from 2022 to 2025, global usage of power batteries increased by about 1.3 times, and shipments of energy storage system (ESS) batteries increased by about four times. CATL's battery sales volume also grew more than 2.3 times, ranking No. 1 in global market share. As industry demands for carbon neutrality steadily grow, CATL—whose battery output has surged—faced the tough challenge of simultaneously expanding production and cutting carbon.
In response, CATL first installed distributed solar panels on a large scale at its production bases. According to the company, solar power generated in-house at the Ningde base alone reaches 25 million kWh a year. It also purchased renewable power from outside to make up for demand that cannot be met by self-generation. In fact, around the Ningde base and headquarters, solar panels could be easily seen not only on factory roofs but also over parking lots and on vacant land.
CATL did not stop at switching its power source to renewables; it also worked in parallel to cut the energy unnecessarily used in manufacturing itself. It improved the energy efficiency of equipment and managed energy consumption in real time with AI and digital technology. It automatically collected operating data by equipment and applied optimization algorithms to eliminate wasteful energy use. Even employees' work habits were targeted for energy saving.
◇ Cumulative cuts of 10 million tons… "Comparable to a country's annual emissions"
As a result, CATL achieved carbon neutrality at its production plants in 2025. The company completed related certification work early this year, and all battery production plants obtained ISO 14068-1, the international standard for carbon neutrality. CATL's cumulative carbon reductions achieved from 2023 to 2025 exceeded 10 million tCO₂e. The company said this is "comparable to Brunei's total national carbon emissions in 2025."
Specifically, last year the electricity CATL used for core operations was converted 100% to carbon-neutral power. Since 2023, its use of renewable electricity has exceeded 18 billion kWh. In terms of energy efficiency, compared with 2022, the energy consumed per unit of output at battery production bases was reduced by 28%. This means it not only "used 100% renewable energy," but also reduced the energy required to make a single battery.
However, the company said, "Achieving a carbon-neutral plant is only the beginning." CATL's real goal is to achieve carbon neutrality across the entire battery supply chain by 2035. It plans to reduce carbon emissions across the whole process, from production of materials and supplies to suppliers, CATL's production plants, and final products. According to CATL, supply chain emissions are more than nine times the emissions from CATL's core operations.
Zeng Yuqun, CATL chief executive officer (CEO), said at a carbon-neutral strategy briefing held at CATL headquarters on the 17th, "As the world steps up efforts toward carbon neutrality, carbon-neutral batteries will become a necessity, not a choice," adding, "We are ready to share technology and experience with industry partners to build global carbon standards together and advance carbon neutrality across the industry."