CATL targets carbon-neutral battery value chain by 2035 after meeting operational goal

Gasgoo Munich- CATL unveiled a roadmap to achieve carbon neutrality across its battery value chain by 2035 at an event in Ningde, Fujian province, on August 17. The battery manufacturer also formally presented the results of its previously announced target to make its core operations carbon-neutral by the end of 2025.

The new plan shifts the focus from emissions generated directly by CATL's own operations to the substantially larger footprint associated with raw materials, component production, transportation and recycling.

CATL first announced its two-stage carbon-neutrality strategy in 2023, setting targets for its core operations in 2025 and the wider battery value chain in 2035.

By the end of 2025, 20 CATL battery plants had received carbon-neutrality certification under the ISO 14068-1 framework, according to the company. Electricity classified by CATL as zero-carbon accounted for 100% of the power used in its core operations.

Carbon neutrality in core operations covers emissions arising from CATL's own production and operating activities, particularly the electricity and thermal energy consumed by its factories. It does not mean that those operations generated no emissions; rather, residual emissions were balanced with verified carbon credits after reduction measures were applied.

CATL said it produced 748 GWh of batteries in 2025, while its lithium-ion battery sales increased 2.3-fold between 2022 and 2025. The company remained the world's largest battery manufacturer during this period, making the decarbonization of its expanding production network a significant test of whether lower-carbon manufacturing practices can be deployed at scale.

With few established industry models available when the program began, CATL first mapped the emissions associated with nearly 40 battery-manufacturing processes and a wide range of upstream materials.

It launched its "CATL Carbon Chain" management platform in 2022 to collect and organize that information. The system now covers CATL's battery production and key upstream suppliers, with more than 1,000 emissions models developed for products and raw materials. These models are intended to identify where carbon reductions can be made and to measure subsequent progress.

CATL organized its operational program around six areas: product design, manufacturing, factory operations, supply, circularity and zero-carbon electricity.

Since 2023, the company has used more than 18 terawatt-hours of electricity classified as zero-carbon. Energy consumption per unit of battery output in 2025 was 28% lower than in 2022, while carbon-emissions intensity fell by approximately 77% over two years. CATL estimates that its measures have avoided more than 10 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent in total. These figures were reported by the company and should be distinguished from the carbon credits used to neutralize its remaining operational emissions.

Image source: CATL

CATL's next target encompasses the battery value chain from mineral extraction to finished products. The company estimates that suppliers generate more than 80% of the life-cycle emissions associated with its products, with their combined footprint exceeding that of CATL's core operations by more than five times.

That imbalance explains why the 2035 goal depends heavily on changes beyond CATL's own factories. Materials producers, component suppliers, logistics providers and recycling companies will all need to participate for the target to be met.

CATL said its carbon-management platform can trace emissions through mineral extraction, raw-material refining, material synthesis and component manufacturing. The company describes it as the lithium-ion battery industry's first carbon-data platform covering this entire upstream chain.

The platform has so far completed calculations using operational emissions data from more than 100 core tier-one suppliers. CATL is using that information to formulate reduction measures in four areas: material development, material production, logistics and battery recycling.

CATL Procurement Director Huang Bin said the company wants emissions reductions to lower costs as well, turning environmental performance into a source of commercial competitiveness.

CATL plans to publish a green procurement guide that will incorporate carbon footprints, renewable-energy use and energy consumption per unit of output into supplier qualification and auditing. An initial group of 30 core suppliers will participate in a dedicated supply-chain decarbonization program.

The company has also proposed establishing a global collaborative platform for a carbon-neutral lithium-ion battery ecosystem. The initiative would focus on developing common standards, coordinating technology projects and organizing joint action across the industrial chain.

At the event, CATL signed value-chain cooperation agreements with suppliers of cathode materials, anode materials and current collectors. It also entered into strategic partnerships with China's National Center for Climate Change Strategy and International Cooperation (NCSC) and the Shanghai Environment and Energy Exchange.

The agreements provide an organizational framework for CATL's 2035 target, although the company has not disclosed supplier-specific emissions targets or interim milestones. Progress will therefore depend on whether its carbon-data system produces comparable, auditable reductions across a geographically dispersed supply chain.