On Feb. 19, CATL held a ground-breaking ceremony for its electric chassis R&D facility in Shanghai and the second phase of the intelligent power system R&D and manufacturing base operated by its wholly-owned subsidiary Ruiting Contemporary Amperex Technology Shanghai) Limited “Ruiting CATL the power battery giant announced via its WeChat account.

CATL breaking ground for two new projects in Shanghai; photo credit: CATL

The significant move came after CATL signed a cooperation agreement with the local authority of the China Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone Lin-gang Special Area. The aforesaid two projects will involve a total investment of 2.8 billion yuan $442.71 million).

CATL said it aims to build green, highly efficient and intelligent factories in Lin-gang Special Area and upgrade key technologies for the new energy vehicle NEV) industry.

Qu Tao, Assistant to CATL's Chairman, revealed the two new projects will be dedicated to the research of the low-energy-consumption and long-range power battery architecture, the R&D of highly efficient battery system’s thermal management technology and low-temperature application, as well as the multi-level battery safety protection technology. Those efforts are expected to greatly enhance the efficiency of NEV system integration, and systematically resolve such industrial pain points as range anxiety and fast charging issues.

CATL announced in Sept. 2021 that its Ningde facility had been recognized by the World Economic Forum WEF) as a global Lighthouse factory, the first battery manufacturing base joining WEF's Global Lighthouse Network GLN).

Due to the replicability of the manufacturing system, CATL will apply its experience of building a global lighthouse factory in the construction of the two Shanghai factories.