On May 29, China Aviation Lithium Battery Co., Ltd. (CALB) established a joint venture with Handan Industrial Investment Group and Handan Urban Operations Group in Hebei Province, creating a company with registered capital of 4 billion yuan ($570 million). The partnership will focus on developing power and energy storage battery projects, with particular emphasis on energy storage system integration.

source: CALB

As one of China's leading battery manufacturers, CALB brings substantial technical expertise and industry experience to the venture. The company has demonstrated strong capabilities across battery R&D, manufacturing, and market expansion, with its advanced battery technologies already gaining widespread adoption and recognition in the electric vehicle sector. This foundation positions CALB to provide critical technical support and product infrastructure for the joint venture.

According to corporate filings, both Handan Industrial Investment Group and Handan Urban Operations Group are state-owned enterprises with significant regional resource advantages and integration capabilities. Handan, as one of China's major industrial cities, offers comprehensive industrial infrastructure and abundant supporting resources, providing a solid foundation for energy storage battery project development and construction.

Local state-owned enterprises enjoy inherent advantages in policy support, land allocation, and capital deployment, ensuring robust backing for smooth project implementation. This multi-faceted support structure is expected to accelerate project timelines and guarantee comprehensive resource allocation.

Cultivating a Second Growth Curve

Energy storage systems represent core technology for addressing the intermittency and instability challenges of renewable energy sources. These systems effectively balance energy supply and demand, improve energy utilization efficiency, and ensure stable grid operations.

CALB's focus on energy storage system integration aligns with broader energy transformation trends, positioning the company strategically in future energy markets. Energy storage system integration extends beyond battery technology, requiring innovation and optimization across system design, energy management, and safety controls.

Through this joint venture, CALB can integrate resources from all partners, increase R&D investment in energy storage system integration, and enhance its core competitiveness in the storage market. The joint venture structure allows each party to leverage their respective strengths effectively.

The strategic value of this partnership must be viewed against the backdrop of explosive global energy storage industry growth. Industry forecasts project the global energy storage market will exceed $100 billion by 2030, with China representing the largest incremental market as it transitions from policy-driven to market-competitive dynamics.

According to financial reports, CALB achieved revenue of 27.75 billion yuan ($3.9 billion) in 2024, representing 2.8% year-over-year growth. While power battery business revenue declined, energy storage systems and other business segments posted substantial growth, surging from 4.757 billion yuan the previous year to 8.2 billion yuan—a remarkable 72.4% increase.

The decision to double down on energy storage system integration represents a calculated move to build a second growth curve through value chain extension.

InfoLink data shows CALB's energy storage cell shipments jumped from tenth globally in 2023 to fifth place in 2024, demonstrating rapid market share expansion.

In Q1 2025, CALB maintained high growth momentum with power and storage battery shipments reaching an estimated 20GWh, representing nearly 150% year-over-year growth. "The explosive order growth in Q1 fundamentally reflects the synergy between technological innovation and market strategy," said Wang Xiaoqiang, Senior Vice President and General Manager of CALB's Energy Storage Division.

Growth momentum stems from four key dimensions: significant overseas market expansion, stable foundational orders from leading clients, concentrated delivery of large-scale storage projects, and continued competitive advantages from 314Ah cell technology. Industry sources suggest CALB's Q1 energy storage battery shipments may rank among the global top two.

Why Handan?

As the only city in North China with complete industrial chains spanning coal power, steel, and construction materials, Handan faces transformation pressures under carbon neutrality goals. The city's GDP energy intensity exceeds the national average by 42%, creating urgent decarbonization imperatives.

The CALB-Handan partnership represents a strategic attempt to transform environmental constraints into development momentum. By introducing energy storage value chains, the collaboration can absorb intermittent generation from local solar and wind projects while providing green energy solutions for enterprises like Hangang Steel. Most critically, it cultivates an emerging industrial cluster with potential output exceeding 10 billion yuan.

Project implementation will directly stimulate related local industry development, creating cluster effects. Power and energy storage battery construction encompasses multiple upstream and downstream sectors including battery materials, component manufacturing, and equipment installation. This breadth can attract numerous related enterprises to Handan, generating substantial employment opportunities and tax revenue while promoting local economic prosperity.

Furthermore, as energy storage technology continues developing and expanding applications, Handan is positioned to establish new economic growth points in renewable energy, enhancing regional competitiveness and sustainable development capabilities.

The joint venture will also strengthen cooperation and exchanges between Handan and new energy enterprises, attracting additional technical and talent resources to the region while advancing regional innovation ecosystem development.

Despite promising prospects, the CALB-Handan collaboration faces significant challenges.

As the energy storage market heats up, increasing numbers of companies are entering this space, intensifying competition. The joint venture must leverage its unique advantages, develop differentiated strategies, strengthen brand building and marketing, and increase market share.

Conclusion

The convergence of CALB's technological DNA with Handan's transformation imperatives creates value transcending individual corporate strategic positioning.

In an increasingly complex environment characterized by volatile electricity prices, accelerating technological iteration, and frequent policy adjustments, corporate survival depends less on static competitive advantages and more on cultivating dynamic adaptive capabilities. Perhaps, like this 3,000-year-old city seeking renewal amidst industrial forests, China's new energy sector will ultimately write new development narratives through the interweaving of boundary-breaking and integration.