CATL raises US$4.5 billion in Hong Kong IPO, ‘deepens integration into global capital markets’

LinkedIn
Twitter
Reddit
Facebook
Email

The world’s largest lithium-ion battery company, CATL, has completed its secondary listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEX), raising US$4.5 billion, a few weeks after launching its latest grid-scale BESS product.

The initial public offering (IPO) comprised 135 million CATL shares (before a greenshoe option) at a price of HKD 263 (US$33.58) each, with the price on the first day of trading (20 May) reaching HKD 296 per share, a 12.55% increase from the offer price. CATL is already listed on the Shenzhen exchange.

Financial outlets and analysts have said this shows that appetite remains among international investors for Chinese manufacturing stocks despite trade tensions between Beijing and Washington, including increased tariffs and other policy moves to curtail the use of foreign technologies in clean energy projects.

CATL sells its lithium-ion batteries to electric vehicle (EV) manufacturers, battery energy storage system (BESS) manufacturers and system integrators, as well as via its own BESS products, which are supplied to either system integrators or engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) firms.

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Enjoy 12 months of exclusive analysis

Not ready to commit yet?
  • Regular insight and analysis of the industry’s biggest developments
  • In-depth interviews with the industry’s leading figures
  • Annual digital subscription to the PV Tech Power journal
  • Discounts on Solar Media’s portfolio of events, in-person and virtual

Or continue reading this article for free

Dr. Robin Zeng, chairman and CEO of CATL, said: “This listing signifies our deeper integration into the global capital markets and marks a new milestone in our mission to drive the global zero-carbon economy.”

We recently interviewed executives from the company at the ees Europe trade show in Germany (Premium access) as the company launched its latest grid-scale BESS, the Tener Stack.

CATL prospectus

The company is by far the largest lithium-ion manufacturer globally, with a market share of energy storage system (ESS) battery shipments of 37% in 2024, three times the next-largest, and a similar figure for EVs.

Note that its share for ESS has been falling slightly each year, perhaps related to more competition in the market. The charts below are taken from its Hong Kong IPO prospectus.

The prospectus showed that 30.5% of CATL’s 2024 revenue was generated from overseas markets, of which a large but undisclosed portion will have been the US. A year-on-year ESS segment revenue fall of 15.3% in Q1 2024 was attributed to falls in market prices. Indeed, Trump’s substantial ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs came in on 2 April, though two separate 10% increases were announced during Q1 which may have affected some orders.

The company said that numerous factors are driving energy storage industry growth, including electricity demand growth, policy support, renewables growth, data centres and increasing cost-competitiveness of lithium-ion BESS.

Interestingly, its prospectus cited research showing that over 2024-2030 the data centre-tied BESS segment will grow three times faster than the front-of-meter (FTM) segment and twice as fast as the behind-the-meter (BTM) segment, to become almost as large as the overall BTM market, as shown in the graph below. From 2020 to 2024, FTM was by far the fastest grower.

Read Next

September 26, 2025
Hithium will supply its latest 6.25MWh DC block products to engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) company Solarpro, for projects in Eastern Europe.
Premium
September 19, 2025
Several Chinese companies active in the energy storage space have recently released their financial reports for H1 2025, with the majority posting strong growth. Their energy storage business segments have been a key driver of that growth.
Premium
September 18, 2025
ESN Premium speaks to Matt Harper, president of flow battery company Invinity Energy Systems, about pursuing a competitive advantage in an emerging space.
September 17, 2025
China has published a national plan to promote large-scale energy storage facilities, encouraging investment and broader participation in the electricity market.
September 17, 2025
Chinese PV module manufacturer Trina Solar has received the green light from the Victoria government in Australia to build a 500MW/1,000MWh battery energy storage system (BESS).

Most Popular

Email Newsletter