While CATL's board has approved the plan, the proposal still requires approval from regulators in Beijing

Swedish engineers say structural batteries using lightweight electrodes would massively reduce battery mass

CATL showed off the lithium iron phosphate (LFP) Shenxing Plus battery on the first media day of the Beijing auto show

While rivals claim to be further ahead in the race to develop the next generation of batteries, Nissan has hinted it’s poised to make the great leap forward sooner

Energy storage projects face high upfront costs and also difficulties in getting grid connections and selling electricity into China's power markets

China and Indonesia account for 70% of global supplies of nickel, but producers in the countries have become unprofitable after the battery metal shed more than 80% of its price since last year

The Biden administration's curbs are designed to wean the US electric vehicle battery supply chain away from China

Prices of the key EV battery metal have already tumbled close to 80% this year with supply outpacing the rise in demand

Spot lithium prices in the world's top producer of the battery metal were effectively down close to 80% year-on-year

A basket of prices for the key electric vehicle battery metal has dropped by more than 60% this year

China is the world's top graphite exporter and refines more than 90% of the world's graphite into the material used in virtually all EV batteries

China has already claimed exclusive rights to excavate 92,000 square miles of international seabed