Chinese EV battery giant CATL will set up research and development centre in Hong Kong, in win for government innovation hub push
More details are expected to be revealed in a ceremony on Thursday when CATL, the Fujian-based EV battery giant, will sign a memorandum of understanding with local authorities.
CATL to make battery offering 400km driving range from 10-minute charge
CATL accounts for the largest share of the global EV battery market, according to analysts. It supplies major carmakers including Volkswagen AG, BMW, Nissan Motor and Tesla.
It announced in August that it would start producing the world’s fastest-charging EV battery by the end of 2023, two years after unveiling the first sodium-ion battery – a new technology using cheaper raw materials to save production costs.
Hong Kong has been stepping up efforts into luring foreign investment. Last month, the government’s Office for Attracting Strategic Enterprises announced that it had attracted more than 30 foreign and mainland Chinese companies which pledged to invest about HK$30 billion (US$3.8 billion) in the city, including the UK drug giant AstraZeneca.
Chinese chip makers plan to invest billions on R&D, production in Hong Kong
The drug company will set up a research base in the Lok Ma Chau Loop by late 2024 at the earliest and will focus on developing cell and gene therapies.
CATL’s plan to set up a research centre in Hong Kong comes as the EV battery firm diversifies its markets amid intensifying geopolitical risks, the latest example being its collaboration with Ford Motors in the United States.
UK drug giant AstraZeneca to set up research base in Hong Kong: Paul Chan
Ford’s plan to use technology developed by CATL at its new US$3.5 billion EV plant in Michigan has been questioned by some US lawmakers, who requested the Biden administration to review the licensing agreement to ensure no subsidies under the country’s Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) would be given to the Chinese company.
The IRA was signed into law by Biden last year and is regarded as the most significant effort in US history to curb the effects of climate change, with US$360 billion allocated for a shift towards renewable energy.