The world’s biggest EV battery maker says all 20 plants are carbon neutral
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- CATL announced all 20 of its operating battery plants achieved carbon neutrality under ISO 14068-1, meeting the core-operations target it set for 2025 and turning next to a 2035 value-chain decarbonization goal.
- CATL held a 39.2% share of the global EV battery market in 2025 — nearly 4 in 10 batteries worldwide — ranking first for the ninth consecutive year, according to SNE Research data cited by the company.
- CATL's plants ran on 100% zero-carbon electricity in 2025, consuming more than 18 billion kWh since 2023, with emissions per unit of production down roughly 77% versus 2022 and an estimated 10 million metric tons of CO2 equivalent avoided between 2023 and 2025.
- CATL's announcement does not disclose remaining gross operational emissions or how many carbon credits were used to balance them, nor does it break down how much of its zero-carbon electricity came from direct renewable generation versus certificates.
- CATL says more than 80% of a battery's lifecycle emissions come from its supply chain — over five times the emissions of its core operations — covering mining, refining, materials manufacturing, and transport.
- CATL has gathered baseline carbon data from more than 100 core Tier 1 suppliers and will require new suppliers from 2027 onward to provide product carbon-footprint data, with emissions performance now factored into order allocation and contract length.
- CATL's internally developed CCMS platform, introduced in 2022, tracks carbon data across plants, production lines, products, raw materials, and core suppliers, and has built more than 1,000 product and material emissions models to date.
Why it matters: CATL holds 39.2% of global EV battery production, but over 80% of each battery's emissions come from suppliers outside its walls. From 2027, new suppliers must report carbon-footprint data and emissions performance will influence CATL's order allocation — making carbon disclosure a de facto prerequisite for winning its business.
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