China’s Lithium Battery Industry: From a Tiny Pond to a Vast Ocean

Back in 2009, China’s lithium battery industry was a modest presence with a production volume of less than 2GWh. Fifteen years later, that figure has skyrocketed, surpassing 2000GWh—an increase of more than a thousandfold.

According to data from the China Industrial Association of Power Sources, the country’s total lithium battery output reached 1096.8GWh in 2024, a year-on-year increase of 41%.

In just the first four months of 2025, lithium battery output in China exceeded 473GWh, surging by 68% compared to the same period last year. This solidifies China’s position as the world’s largest producer, accounting for over 70% of global production.

01. Industrial Scale: From Insignificance to Global Dominance

After 15 years of dedicated effort, China’s lithium battery industry has achieved a historic leap.

Behind the rapid industrial expansion is the explosive growth of the new energy vehicle sector. Data from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology shows that from January to April 2025, the installation volume of power lithium batteries reached 184GWh, a year-on-year increase of over 70%.

China’s new energy vehicle production and sales have ranked first in the world for nine consecutive years. In 2024, it continued to lead the global market, accounting for more than 70% of the global new energy passenger vehicle market by the end of 2024.

Export data similarly confirms the global competitiveness of Chinese lithium batteries. From January to April 2025, lithium battery export value reached 155.4 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 25%.

A report by the European Federation for Transport and Environment (T&E) indicates that Chinese-made lithium batteries now hold a 62% share in the European electric vehicle market.

02. Application Fields: Dual Drivers and Emerging Markets

Power batteries and energy storage batteries constitute the two main markets for lithium battery applications. In 2024, sales of power batteries in China were 791.3GWh, a year-on-year increase of 28.4%, accounting for 76.1% of total sales.

During the same period, sales of other batteries (primarily energy storage batteries) reached 248.2GWh, a surge of 118.8% year-on-year, a growth rate far exceeding that of power batteries.

The energy storage market is becoming a significant force driving lithium battery demand. From January to September 2025, the energy storage installation growth rate remained at 81%.

Chinese energy storage companies are witnessing a surge in orders; from January to September 2025, Chinese companies signed 308 overseas energy storage orders, with the total scale of new overseas orders reaching 214.7GWh, a year-on-year increase of 131.75%.

Professor Sun Jinhua, Academician of the European Academy of Sciences and Chair Professor at the University of Science and Technology of China, revealed at the 2025 New Energy Battery Industry Development Conference that China’s proportion of electrochemical energy storage increased from 9.2% in 2020 to 55.02% by the end of 2024.

Emerging application areas continue to appear. Dubbed a potentially trillion-yuan market, “low-altitude economy” has become a key element in local government work reports across China this year, opening new commercial prospects for the battery industry.

03. Technology Evolution: From Follower to Leader

The technological progress of China’s lithium battery industry is equally remarkable. From early-stage technology followers to now achieving technological leadership in multiple fields, Chinese battery companies have demonstrated astonishing innovation speed.

Energy density is a key indicator of battery technology. Data from 2025 shows that the energy density of soft-pack battery cells developed by a Chinese research team has broken the 600Wh/kg barrier, with module energy density reaching 480Wh/kg.

This value is 2-3 times higher than that of current commercial lithium batteries, marking a new stage in the field of high-energy storage for lithium batteries.

Significant progress has also been made in solid-state battery technology. Sunwoda Power Tech Co., Ltd. launched its new polymer solid-state battery product—"Xin · Bixiao"—at the 2025 New Energy Battery Industry Development Conference. This product achieves an energy density of 400Wh per kilogram and has passed stringent safety tests, including a 200-degree Celsius hot box test.

The “Blue Book on the Development of China’s Solid-State Lithium Battery Industry Chain in 2025” released by GGII predicts that the period from 2027 (or 2028) to 2030 will be an important phase for the large-scale construction of GWh-level production capacity in the all-solid-state lithium battery industry.

Similarly, notable advancements have been made in fast-charging technology. Several leading companies are deploying ultra-fast-charging technology above 5C. BYD has introduced megawatt-level fast-charging technology with a maximum charging rate of 10C.

04. Industry Chain and Safety: Improving Systems and Addressing Challenges

As the industry scale expands, safety issues have become increasingly prominent. Analysis from the China Center for Information Industry Development shows that production and manufacturing are the high-incidence links for lithium battery accidents, accounting for nearly one-third.

At the 2025 New Energy Battery Industry Development Conference, Professor Sun Jinhua emphasized the need to “hold the safety bottom line to ensure the high-quality development of the new energy industry related to lithium batteries”. He analyzed the mechanism of thermal runaway in lithium batteries, pointing out that electrolyte is the most important safety factor, and proposed a “three-line defense” strategy.

Regarding battery recycling, a key part of the industry chain, the sector is building a comprehensive recycling system. Companies like Sunwoda are actively deploying a three-dimensional strategy integrating “technology + network + ecology” to build a global recycling network.

05. Future Prospects: Sustained Growth and Value Creation

Looking ahead, China’s lithium battery industry still has enormous room for growth. Zhang Xiaofei, Chairman of Gaogong Lithium Battery, predicted at the 2025 15th Gaogong Lithium Battery Annual Conference that China’s lithium battery shipments “will still see more than triple growth from 2025 to 2035”.

Zhang further explained that China’s power lithium battery shipments are expected to exceed 1.05TWh in 2025, with nearly triple growth in the next 10 years; China’s energy storage lithium battery shipments are expected to reach 600GWh in 2025, doubling in the next 5 years and nearly tripling in 10 years.

Academician Chen Qingquan, of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and founder of the World Electric Vehicle Association, emphasized the importance of artificial intelligence empowering the energy revolution at the 2025 New Energy Battery Industry Development Conference.

He introduced the practice of using AI to cultivate “machine scientists” to accelerate battery material research: “It takes AI at most 5 seconds to read an article, while it takes me at least two hours to read one. Similarly, AI can do 100 experiments per hour, while humans can only do 5 experiments per day… This new paradigm for scientific research will greatly accelerate the development of new materials.”

As EU Academy of Sciences Academician Sun Jinhua remarked, “Although lithium batteries were not invented by Chinese scientists, through the joint efforts and collaboration of government, enterprises, universities, and research institutions, China has achieved a ‘corner overtaking’.”

From a niche industry supporting consumer electronics to a strategic emerging industry driving the global energy transition, the magnificent transformation of China’s lithium battery industry over the past 15 years not only witnesses the rise of Chinese manufacturing but also becomes a crucial driving force for the global green economic transition.

Back in 2009, China’s lithium battery industry was a modest presence with a production volume of less than 2GWh. Fifteen years later, that figure has skyrocketed, surpassing 2000GWh—an increase of more than a thousandfold.

According to data from the China Industrial Association of Power Sources, the country’s total lithium battery output reached 1096.8GWh in 2024, a year-on-year increase of 41%.

In just the first four months of 2025, lithium battery output in China exceeded 473GWh, surging by 68% compared to the same period last year. This solidifies China’s position as the world’s largest producer, accounting for over 70% of global production.

01. Industrial Scale: From Insignificance to Global Dominance

After 15 years of dedicated effort, China’s lithium battery industry has achieved a historic leap.

Behind the rapid industrial expansion is the explosive growth of the new energy vehicle sector. Data from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology shows that from January to April 2025, the installation volume of power lithium batteries reached 184GWh, a year-on-year increase of over 70%.

China’s new energy vehicle production and sales have ranked first in the world for nine consecutive years. In 2024, it continued to lead the global market, accounting for more than 70% of the global new energy passenger vehicle market by the end of 2024.

Export data similarly confirms the global competitiveness of Chinese lithium batteries. From January to April 2025, lithium battery export value reached 155.4 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 25%.

A report by the European Federation for Transport and Environment (T&E) indicates that Chinese-made lithium batteries now hold a 62% share in the European electric vehicle market.

02. Application Fields: Dual Drivers and Emerging Markets

Power batteries and energy storage batteries constitute the two main markets for lithium battery applications. In 2024, sales of power batteries in China were 791.3GWh, a year-on-year increase of 28.4%, accounting for 76.1% of total sales.

During the same period, sales of other batteries (primarily energy storage batteries) reached 248.2GWh, a surge of 118.8% year-on-year, a growth rate far exceeding that of power batteries.

The energy storage market is becoming a significant force driving lithium battery demand. From January to September 2025, the energy storage installation growth rate remained at 81%.

Chinese energy storage companies are witnessing a surge in orders; from January to September 2025, Chinese companies signed 308 overseas energy storage orders, with the total scale of new overseas orders reaching 214.7GWh, a year-on-year increase of 131.75%.

Professor Sun Jinhua, Academician of the European Academy of Sciences and Chair Professor at the University of Science and Technology of China, revealed at the 2025 New Energy Battery Industry Development Conference that China’s proportion of electrochemical energy storage increased from 9.2% in 2020 to 55.02% by the end of 2024.

Emerging application areas continue to appear. Dubbed a potentially trillion-yuan market, “low-altitude economy” has become a key element in local government work reports across China this year, opening new commercial prospects for the battery industry.

03. Technology Evolution: From Follower to Leader

The technological progress of China’s lithium battery industry is equally remarkable. From early-stage technology followers to now achieving technological leadership in multiple fields, Chinese battery companies have demonstrated astonishing innovation speed.

Energy density is a key indicator of battery technology. Data from 2025 shows that the energy density of soft-pack battery cells developed by a Chinese research team has broken the 600Wh/kg barrier, with module energy density reaching 480Wh/kg.

This value is 2-3 times higher than that of current commercial lithium batteries, marking a new stage in the field of high-energy storage for lithium batteries.

Significant progress has also been made in solid-state battery technology. Sunwoda Power Tech Co., Ltd. launched its new polymer solid-state battery product—"Xin · Bixiao"—at the 2025 New Energy Battery Industry Development Conference. This product achieves an energy density of 400Wh per kilogram and has passed stringent safety tests, including a 200-degree Celsius hot box test.

The “Blue Book on the Development of China’s Solid-State Lithium Battery Industry Chain in 2025” released by GGII predicts that the period from 2027 (or 2028) to 2030 will be an important phase for the large-scale construction of GWh-level production capacity in the all-solid-state lithium battery industry.

Similarly, notable advancements have been made in fast-charging technology. Several leading companies are deploying ultra-fast-charging technology above 5C. BYD has introduced megawatt-level fast-charging technology with a maximum charging rate of 10C.

04. Industry Chain and Safety: Improving Systems and Addressing Challenges

As the industry scale expands, safety issues have become increasingly prominent. Analysis from the China Center for Information Industry Development shows that production and manufacturing are the high-incidence links for lithium battery accidents, accounting for nearly one-third.

At the 2025 New Energy Battery Industry Development Conference, Professor Sun Jinhua emphasized the need to “hold the safety bottom line to ensure the high-quality development of the new energy industry related to lithium batteries”. He analyzed the mechanism of thermal runaway in lithium batteries, pointing out that electrolyte is the most important safety factor, and proposed a “three-line defense” strategy.

Regarding battery recycling, a key part of the industry chain, the sector is building a comprehensive recycling system. Companies like Sunwoda are actively deploying a three-dimensional strategy integrating “technology + network + ecology” to build a global recycling network.

05. Future Prospects: Sustained Growth and Value Creation

Looking ahead, China’s lithium battery industry still has enormous room for growth. Zhang Xiaofei, Chairman of Gaogong Lithium Battery, predicted at the 2025 15th Gaogong Lithium Battery Annual Conference that China’s lithium battery shipments “will still see more than triple growth from 2025 to 2035”.

Zhang further explained that China’s power lithium battery shipments are expected to exceed 1.05TWh in 2025, with nearly triple growth in the next 10 years; China’s energy storage lithium battery shipments are expected to reach 600GWh in 2025, doubling in the next 5 years and nearly tripling in 10 years.

Academician Chen Qingquan, of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and founder of the World Electric Vehicle Association, emphasized the importance of artificial intelligence empowering the energy revolution at the 2025 New Energy Battery Industry Development Conference.

He introduced the practice of using AI to cultivate “machine scientists” to accelerate battery material research: “It takes AI at most 5 seconds to read an article, while it takes me at least two hours to read one. Similarly, AI can do 100 experiments per hour, while humans can only do 5 experiments per day… This new paradigm for scientific research will greatly accelerate the development of new materials.”

As EU Academy of Sciences Academician Sun Jinhua remarked, “Although lithium batteries were not invented by Chinese scientists, through the joint efforts and collaboration of government, enterprises, universities, and research institutions, China has achieved a ‘corner overtaking’.”

From a niche industry supporting consumer electronics to a strategic emerging industry driving the global energy transition, the magnificent transformation of China’s lithium battery industry over the past 15 years not only witnesses the rise of Chinese manufacturing but also becomes a crucial driving force for the global green economic transition.

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