CATL signed strategic cooperation agreements with Taijin New Energy, HKC New Materials and other partners to jointly build 400,000 tonnes of copper foil capacity over three years, covering equipment procurement, cost-based pricing, joint R&D and green power sharing—marking a shift from traditional procurement to a co-governance supply chain model.
Agreement Core: 400,000 Tonnes Over Three Years
On September 6, 2026, CATL announced it had formally signed strategic cooperation agreements with Xi'an Taijin New Energy & Materials Sci-Tech Co., Ltd. and Shenzhen HKC New Materials Co., Ltd. Under the agreements, CATL will work with two partners including HKC New Materials to jointly develop 400,000 tonnes of new copper foil production capacity over the next three years.
This marks CATL's second three-year copper foil capacity commitment in less than ten months. Previously, Jiayuan Technology signed with CATL in November 2025, committing to prioritize supply for a combined minimum of 626,000 tonnes from 2026 to 2028. The two rounds of agreements involve a total of 1.026 million tonnes across different partners and fulfillment scopes.
Five Core Cooperation Pillars
| Cooperation Dimension | Specific Content |
|---|---|
| Equipment Procurement | Unified coordination, standards and centralized procurement management with Taijin New Energy |
| Capacity Building | 400,000 tonnes of new copper foil capacity over three years |
| Cost Pricing | "Cost-plus, reasonable profit, shared risk" principle with locked processing fees |
| Joint R&D | Technology breakthroughs and iterative upgrades |
| Green Power Sharing | Shared renewable energy resources to reduce production emissions |
Partner Profiles: Equipment Leader + Materials Innovator
Taijin New Energy (688813.SH)
- Focuses on high-end intelligent electrolytic copper foil equipment and titanium electrode materials
- Holds over 45% domestic market share in copper foil equipment
- Provides standardized, large-scale equipment deliveries for CATL's expansion projects
HKC New Materials
- Specializes in new material technology R&D for PCB, copper clad laminate and lithium battery applications
- Annual high-performance electrolytic copper foil capacity exceeds 100,000 tonnes
- Core business: copper rolling and processing
Copper foil is a critical material for lithium battery negative electrode current collectors, accounting for approximately 8%-10% of cell costs. China has become the world's largest copper foil production and consumption market, with 2025 lithium battery copper foil shipments exceeding 940,000 tonnes, up over 36% year-on-year.
Pricing Innovation: Cost-Plus Mechanism Breaks Traditional Bargaining
The most groundbreaking aspect of this cooperation lies in the pricing mechanism. The parties will adopt a "cost-plus, reasonable margin, shared risk" pricing principle, establishing mechanisms to lock in long-term supply volumes and processing fees for new capacity.
This differs fundamentally from traditional copper foil procurement:
- Traditional model: CATL as buyer negotiates price with copper foil suppliers; prices fluctuate with market conditions
- Co-building model: CATL deeply participates in capacity planning, equipment standard setting and cost structure optimization, providing financial support through advance payments and optimized payment terms; both parties share market risks
The underlying logic is clear:
- Secure supply: CATL's H1 2026 operating revenue reached RMB 276.917 billion, up 54.80% YoY, with continuously rising upstream material demand
- Stabilize costs: Electricity accounts for over 30% of copper foil production costs; green power sharing and centralized procurement reduce systemic costs
- Quality control: Unified equipment standards ensure copper foil quality consistency from the source
Industry Significance: From Transaction to Co-Governance
CATL's signing heralds the lithium battery copper foil industry's transition from traditional buy-sell procurement to a new co-governance model.
The industrial impact includes:
- For copper foil companies: Long-term orders mean stable cash flow and expansion confidence, reducing market volatility risk
- For CATL: Flattens the cost curve for critical materials and enhances supply chain resilience
- For the industry: Leading battery companies trade orders for deep supply chain binding; upstream material firms shift from "passive suppliers" to "strategic partners"
In H1 2026, China's NEV market recorded 4.558 million registered sales, including 3.081 million BEVs; the energy storage industry remains in rapid expansion, with national new-type energy storage capacity reaching approximately 153 GW/396 GWh by end-June 2026. Sustained downstream demand growth is the fundamental driver behind CATL's upstream capacity locking.
Outlook: Supply Chain Leverage Competition Intensifies
CATL's H1 net profit reached RMB 47.031 billion, with abundant cash flow enabling it to deeply bind upstream suppliers through advance payments and payment term optimization. This strategy is being replicated across more material segments—from lithium mining and cathode materials to separators and electrolytes. Leading battery companies are systematically restructuring the upstream supply chain landscape.
For automotive industry participants in Central Asia, Russia and other emerging markets, understanding the CATL model offers valuable insight: establishing long-term strategic partnerships in core material segments, rather than simple transactional relationships, is the key path to ensuring supply chain security and cost competitiveness.
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