On Thursday, Chinese battery giant CATL released its 2021 annual report. Its operating income reached 130.356 billion yuan ($20.1 billion) in 2021, a year-on-year increase of 159.06%. The firm’s net profit was 15.931 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 185.34%.
Sales of power battery systems represented the main source of income for CATL in 2021, whose revenue was 91.49 billion yuan, up 132.06% year-on-year.
During the reporting period, the sales volume of lithium-ion batteries was 133.41 GWh, up 184.82% year-on-year, of which the sales volume of power battery systems was 116.71 GWh, up 162.56% year-on-year.
In 2021, CATL earned 15.46 billion yuan from lithium battery materials, a year-on-year increase of 350.74%. Driven by the booming demand for downstream new energy vehicles, customers have been driving strong demand for batteries, and accordingly, the sales volume of lithium battery materials by CATL has increased. In addition, as the market prices of major metals keep rising, CATL has raised its own prices accordingly, driving revenue growth.
During the reporting period, the firm’s annual battery production capacity increased from 69.10 GWh in 2020 to 170.39 GWh in 2021, and production bases such as Zhaoqing in Guangdong, Yichun in Jiangxi and Guiyang in Guizhou were established in response to market demand.
CATL said that in 2021, it deepened its long-term strategic cooperation with Tesla, Hyundai, Ford, Daimler, Great Wall Motors, Li Auto and other global automotive firms. A supply framework agreement signed with Tesla in June 2021 stipulates that CATL will supply products to Tesla from 2022 to 2025.
In terms of products, the announcement shows that CATL’s second generation ferrous lithium phosphate CTP products have been delivered in large quantities, and high-voltage ternary products have been widely used in passenger cars whose battery life is within 700km. The energy density of ferrous lithium phosphate in mass production has reached 200Wh/kg.
According to the financial report, as of December 31, 2021, CATL had 10,079 R&D staff, and the company and its subsidiaries owned 3,772 patents in China and 673 patents abroad.
Another announcement by CATL on Thursday suggests that the company is investing in Xiamen Times New Energy Technology’s Battery Industry Base Project in China’s southeastern Fujian Province, with a total investment of no more than 13 billion yuan. This project is intended to construct a production line for power battery systems and energy storage systems.