Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited (CATL) has announced that its solid-state battery technology has currently reached level four out of nine in its internal development scale, according to Chairman Robin Zeng’s comments at an industry panel. With full commercialization targeted only at level nine, these remarks temper expectations for near-term mass production of solid-state cells in major vehicle platforms.
Engineering teams at CATL are addressing several key technical challenges before volume manufacturing can begin. These include reducing interface contact resistance and ensuring robust packaging integrity for the solid electrolyte. CATL says it is prioritizing research investments on these critical issues rather than prematurely expanding manufacturing capacity.
Forthcoming national regulations are expected to redefine power-pack classifications based on liquid electrolyte content. Under the proposed framework, packs containing between 5% and 20% liquid electrolyte will be categorized as hybrid designs, while true solid-state batteries must contain less than 5% liquid. This clear threshold has implications for infrastructure investment: existing lithium-ion assembly lines would require under 10% modification to produce hybrid cells, calling into question previous market forecasts for battery machinery, which were estimated at 59.2 billion yuan.
On the deployment front, CATL Chief Scientist Wu Kai has set a goal to advance to level seven or eight by 2027, enabling pilot-scale validation. In contrast, Dongfeng Motor plans to begin mass production of its advanced energy pack by late 2026. Dongfeng’s design aims for a 1,000-kilometer range, initially leveraging a hybrid solid-liquid configuration to maintain thermal stability and accelerate time to market.
Market data from May 2026 underscores the dominance of conventional liquid chemistries. According to China EV Datatracker, total cell installations reached 71.9 GWh, a 25.9% year-over-year increase. Lithium iron phosphate batteries accounted for 58.4 GWh (81.2%), while ternary chemistries held 13.4 GWh (18.6%). These figures suggest that large-scale integration of true solid-state batteries is unlikely before 2030.
Source: CarNewsChina
