The announcement, in numbers
CATL is not a niche supplier. The Chinese company held a 39.2% share of the global EV battery market in 2025, ranking first for the ninth consecutive year, according to SNE Research data cited by CATL in its corporate sustainability update, first reported by Electrek. Nearly four in every ten EV batteries sold worldwide come from CATL.
- 20 plants are now ISO 14068-1 certified.
- Since 2023, the plants consumed more than 18 billion kWh of zero-carbon electricity.
- Energy use per unit of production fell by 28% compared with 2022.
- Carbon emissions per unit fell by about 77%.
- CATL estimates its measures cut more than 10 million metric tons of CO₂e between 2023 and 2025.
That is a meaningful operational improvement. But the number to keep in view is the boundary around it.
Carbon neutral is not the same as zero emissions
ISO 14068-1 does not require a factory to emit nothing. It requires companies to quantify and reduce emissions first, then use carbon offsets to cover the remainder. CATL says direct reductions were the priority, but the announcement does not disclose gross residual emissions or how many carbon credits were used. It also does not break down how much of the 18 billion kWh came from direct renewable generation and how much from green electricity certificates or other purchasing arrangements.
“Carbon neutrality cannot be built on estimates alone. It requires reliable data, clear boundaries, and systematic execution,” said Jiang Li, CATL vice president and head of its Corporate Sustainable Development Management Committee.
That is the right principle. The missing disclosure is the split between direct cuts and offsets — and the additionality of any certificates behind the “zero-carbon” label.
The bigger number: supply chain is five times the factory
CATL’s own data shows that more than 80% of a battery’s lifecycle carbon footprint sits in the supply chain. By comparison, the company’s own factories and direct operations account for roughly one-fifth of the total. That means even all 20 carbon-neutral plants cover only a minor share of the battery’s full climate impact. Minerals have to be mined, refined and processed before cells are ever assembled, and the emissions in those upstream steps remain largely outside CATL’s factory-level certification.
Why the boundary matters for Europe
European readers will see this boundary question become regulatory rather than voluntary. The EU Battery Regulation is phasing in mandatory carbon footprint declarations, and the battery passport is intended to make supply-chain emissions data visible at cell and pack level. A manufacturer that can prove carbon neutrality across its own plants will still have to disclose the upstream mining, refining and processing emissions that dominate a pack’s total footprint. That is not just an academic accounting exercise: for European carmakers and buyers, factory carbon neutrality is only one part of a battery’s climate scorecard. For European consumers, the practical test is simple: ask for the pack’s full carbon footprint, not just the factory certificate.
The same logic applies to European gigafactories. A locally built cell can still carry heavy upstream emissions from nickel, lithium or graphite processing, which is why the EU framework will focus on the full lifecycle rather than the final assembly site alone. Once the carbon footprint declaration becomes mandatory for EV batteries sold in the EU, the data gap CATL currently points to will turn into a compliance requirement for every producer. The same distinction applies to recycled content rules and due diligence: a cell assembled in a certified plant can still carry carbon-intensive lithium, nickel or cobalt unless upstream data proves otherwise.
Source: Electrek
