The rise and precarious reign of China’s battery king

The headquarters of the battery giant is in China. The building looks like a big slide out of the urban sprawl. The company's raison d'tre is the battery pack.

You have definitely heard of the brands that use the batteries from CATL. More than 30% of the world's EV batteries are supplied by the company. The industry's kingmaker is 54-year-old Zeng Yuqun, also know as Robin Zeng. Zeng is described as savvy, direct, and abrasive. His leadership has resulted in the valuation of the company ballooning to more than $170 billion, making it the most valuable company in the world. Part of that fortune is built on owning stakes in mining projects in China, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Indonesia, giving the company a tighter grip on the global battery supply chain.

Such scale gives CATL huge influence—and allows the company to be picky with its contracts and push the rising prices of raw materials onto its clients. “They're pretty much dictating the terms,” says Mark Greeven, professor of innovation and strategy at IMD Business School in Lausanne, Switzerland. CATL pushes clients for long-term, five-year deals. and it’s reluctant to customize its batteries for different carmakers, he adds. Advertisement

These decisions have made Zeng very rich. He is one of the world's wealthiest people. He is second on the list of the world's top green billionaires. Musk might make more news, but Zeng is still in charge.

Zeng is not a person like Musk. He doesn't give interviews and avoids the spotlight. Zeng's business could be hampered by his notoriety, according to Insiders. The personality-cult style of leadership is appreciated and celebrated in the west. The former head of Chrysler's northeast Asia business in Beijing believes it's dangerous in China. It's not possible to be bigger than Beijing. As they look for batteries to power their vehicles, carmakers are becoming more cautious about how much power CATL has.