Measures to aid battery development

China is speeding up development of the transportation system to support the growth and global leadership of its power battery industry.

The Ministry of Transport and nine other departments have issued a set of measures aimed at addressing the key industry challenges. These measures aim to clear bottlenecks in the logistics of lithium batteries for new energy vehicles by 2027 and improve transport safety and efficiency.

"The power lithium battery industry for new energy vehicles, as the pillar supporting automotive development, is entering a new phase, where both scale and quality are advancing simultaneously," said Wang Jianxin, vice-chairman of the China Battery Industry Association.

To support the growing demand for power batteries, MOT and other agencies have strengthened the technical requirements for lithium battery transport, introducing new standards for multimodal logistics across rail, road, air and sea.

These standards include requirements for different safety levels, as well as packaging and transportation protocols to ensure safe handling. In November 2024, China conducted its first large-scale railway transport trial, with three dedicated trains carrying batteries from manufacturers like CATL and BYD. This marked a significant step in rail transport for the power battery industry.

In road transport, Sichuan province and Chongqing municipality have launched a pilot project to establish a safe and efficient lithium battery transport corridor in recent days, aiming to improve logistics and ensure safety.

The Civil Aviation Administration of China is also working on a technical plan for the air transport of lithium batteries. By the end of 2024, China's air freight volume of lithium batteries reached 645,000 tons, an increase of 21.26 percent year-on-year.

MOT has also issued China's first technical guidelines for the safe shipment of lithium batteries by sea. These new rules will help improve the safety and efficiency of battery shipping and align with international shipping regulations.

As Xinhua News Agency reported, China's lithium battery industry posted total output value exceeding 1.2 trillion yuan ($168.78 billion) in 2024. Of this, power battery output hit 826 gigawatt-hours, a growth of 22.4 percent year-on-year. The sales of NEVs in China exceeded 10 million units for the first time in 2024 and the total installed capacity of power batteries for NEVs reached 548.4 GWh, an increase of 41.5 percent year-on-year.

In addition, Chinese companies secured six of the top 10 spots in global rankings for battery installations, with a combined market share exceeding 60 percent. The total export of China's lithium batteries amounted to 197.1 GWh, a rise of 29.2 percent.

In 2025, China's power battery industry has continued its growth momentum. In the first three quarters, the cumulative installed capacity of power batteries reached 493.9 GWh, an increase of 42.5 percent year-on-year.

Lithium battery exports in the same period reached approximately 130 GWh, a rise of 32.7 percent compared to 2024. These figures show China's expanding role in the global power battery market.