At the 17th Annual Meeting of the New Champions, also known as the Summer Davos Forum 2026 held in Dalian, Contemporary Amperex Technology Co.,Ltd. (CATL) founder, chairman, and CEO Robin Zeng delivered a speech at a forum themed "No Power, No Intelligence."
Zeng remarked on the robustness and stability of China's power grid infrastructure, noting that the grid has never experienced sudden power outages. He acknowledged that maintaining this level of reliability requires significant investment.
He detailed that CATL has begun implementing artificial intelligence technology in some of its data centers. This application allows for power supply to manufacturing facilities at a lower cost and with greater efficiency, resulting in a highly stable operational process.
Zeng highlighted that several of CATL's manufacturing plants have already adopted AI systems, including those for energy storage applications. "Because of the application of artificial intelligence, we have saved 30% on electricity costs. I am very satisfied with this," he stated.
Looking ahead, Zeng pointed out that the wider adoption of renewable energy will lead to an increase in energy storage facilities and a corresponding rise in the number of electric vehicles. The use of battery swap infrastructure, for both passenger cars and heavy-duty trucks, will also expand, driving demand for large-capacity batteries. These batteries would typically charge at swap stations and be exchanged into vehicles as needed. Energy storage systems, he noted, are crucial for integrating renewable energy into the grid and maintaining its balance.
Zeng also discussed electric vehicles themselves, which are equipped with batteries, onboard systems, and chips. He described the EV as both a means of transportation and a source of data or "tokens." While driving, a vehicle requires the battery to provide propulsion and also to power its computing units.
With over 40 million electric vehicles already on the road in China and battery production scaling up, Zeng sees a competitive race to build "gigafactories." Consequently, CATL plans to establish its own resource production system to support this token-based ecosystem.
Comments