CATL & CarbonScape: Bio-Based Graphite for EV Batteries

Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited (CATL) is the world’s largest battery manufacturer, with a 38% market share in EV batteries.

It operates 15 battery manufacturing plants globally and its technology powers some of the world’s most influential automakers, including Tesla, BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen.

CATL has entered into a strategic investment partnership with CarbonScape, a developer of sustainable bio-based graphite materials for battery applications.

Inside the collaboration

The collaboration between the two companies combines CarbonScape’s innovative biographite technology with CATL’s experience in industrialisation, manufacturing and large-scale deployment.

It offers board representation to CATL and positions it as an important partner in the scaling of CarbonScape’s technology.

This will become increasingly relevant as automakers and policymakers look for low-carbon, locally sourced and cost-competitive anode materials for graphite supply chains in the US and Europe.

Oscar Luo, Executive President, Global Head of BD, Licensing and Venture Management at CATL, says: “Sustainable innovation across the battery value chain is essential to advancing the global energy transition.

“CarbonScape’s technology introduces a novel method for producing battery-grade graphite from renewable resources, embodying a true breakthrough in material science.

“We are excited to support this pioneering effort – one that aligns with the vision of a zero-carbon future by redefining how critical materials are sourced and produced.

“This is not just about scaling a process; it’s about catalysing a shift toward fundamentally cleaner and smarter energy solutions.”

Supporting the energy transition

Across global markets, the growth of electric mobility and energy storage is expected to drive demand for battery-grade graphite.

CarbonScape has developed a process that can convert by-products from forestry into battery-grade graphite that is suitable for lithium-ion battery applications.

With the partnership, CATL will contribute expertise in manufacturing operations, process optimisation and commercialisation.

Ivan Williams, CEO of CarbonScape, says: “This partnership is about far more than capital. It provides access to CATL’s unparalleled expertise in scaling and mass production, world-class facilities, global market reach and a clear pathway to gigafactory-scale deployment.

“It validates the strategic importance of biographite in the future of electrification and uniquely aligns technical de-risking with route-to-market readiness.

“Together, we aim to bring commercial biographite production online by the end of the decade.”

What do the companies bring to the partnership?

The multi-year collaboration between CATL and CarbonScape encompasses technical and commercial objectives for each company.

Both organisations will validate the technology at demonstration scale at CATL facilities, working to refine the process in preparation for deployment at full-scale commercial plants.

CATL, alongside Lochpine Capital, has become a strategic shareholder in CarbonScape and will provide strategic support to the company.

The investment into the partnership helps fund technology de-risking and scale-up, helping to strengthen CarbonScape’s position for future commercial deployment.

The structure of the partnership includes equity-based incentives which are aligned with the successful commercial deployment of CarbonScape’s technology.

Vincent Ledoux-Pedailles, Chief Commercial Officer at CarbonScape, says: “Graphite is the forgotten giant of the battery supply chain – the single largest material in every EV battery by volume, yet the majority of that supply is oil-based.

“What we have built at CarbonScape is the only proven pathway to produce battery-grade graphite from forestry residues, at target cost parity with conventional graphite and with a carbon-negative footprint.

“CATL’s investment is the most powerful validation this technology could receive.”