The 21C Innovation Lab by Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL), China's largest automotive lithium-ion battery maker, officially laid the foundation on June 24 in Ningde, Fujian Province.

The lab has a total investment of 3.3 billion yuan, covers an area of about 270 acres, and the construction period is from 2019 to 2023, with part of it expected to be completed and put into use by the end of 2021.

The CATL21C Innovation Lab will layout three main directions of new energy storage materials chemical system, new energy storage system design and engineering, and new energy storage materials application scenario, and four supporting directions of advanced materials and devices, advanced methods and equipment, industrial construction system, and energy policy think tank.

In the short and medium term, CATL's research focuses on the development of next-generation batteries, such as lithium metal batteries, all-solid-state batteries and sodium-ion batteries, as well as the development of commercial application-related technologies, such as lithium-ion battery reliability models and non-destructive testing technologies.

Founded in 2011, CATL's business covers the R&D, production and sales of power battery systems and energy storage systems for new energy vehicles, with core technologies in the field of power and energy storage batteries including materials, cells, battery systems and battery recycling and secondary use.

Market research firm SNE Research's 2019 global lithium-ion power battery shipments data shows that CATL ranked first in the world for the third consecutive year with 32.5 GWh of shipments, accounting for nearly one-third of the global market share.

In the first quarter of this year, CATL achieved an operating income of 9.031 billion yuan, down 9.53% year-on-year, and a net profit of 742 million yuan, down 29.14% year-on-year.

For the performance decline, the company said, mainly by the new coronavirus pneumonia epidemic and market impact, the installed capacity of new energy vehicles fell sharply, resulting in a decline in the company's power battery sales revenue in the first quarter, the net profit attributable to shareholders of listed companies fell compared with the previous year.