The global lithium battery industry looks to China: production accounts for 75% of the total, and 6 of the top 10 companies are in China

On April 17, TrendForce released a report stating that in 2023, global lithium battery shipments will exceed 1 terawatt hour (TWh, 1TWh=1000GWh) for the first time, and the market size will increase more than 10 times compared with 2015. Electric vehicle battery shipments account for more than 70% of ordinary battery shipments.

Electric vehicle battery shipments account for more than 70% of ordinary battery shipments

As the electric vehicle and energy storage markets continue to grow, demand for lithium batteries will further expand, and global lithium battery shipments are expected to exceed 3,200 GWh by 2027.

Although lithium batteries were first commercialized in Japan in the 1990s and have long been dominated by Japanese and Korean manufacturers, my country has surpassed the two countries in more than 20 years of development. Currently, more than 75% of the world's lithium batteries are produced in China, marking China's first place in lithium battery manufacturing.

More than 75% of the world's lithium batteries are produced in China

Similarly, in the field of electric vehicle batteries, which has the largest demand in the lithium battery market, six of the world's top ten manufacturers are from China, including CATL, BYD, Sinovation, Guoxuan High-tech, EVE Energy and Xinwoda. It is expected that the market share of these companies will increase, while the market share of Japanese and Korean companies will decrease year by year.

Panasonic’s share of the electric vehicle battery market, for example, has fallen to about 6%, while South Korean manufacturers’ combined market share is about 23%.

Solid-state batteries

However, the automotive battery industry is currently turning to all-solid-state batteries (ASSB), and the position of traditional liquid batteries is increasingly challenged. Currently, the world is promoting the commercialization of solid-state batteries, and important progress has been made, and it is expected to achieve mass production within 3-5 years.

The agency estimates that 2028 will be the turning point for large-scale production of ASSB.