NINGDE, China, February 5, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Dr. Robin Zeng, Chairman and CEO of CATL, delivered a speech on the future of energy at the Global Laureates Summit and World Government Summit in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, on February 3. Full text below:
Throughout human history, energy has been the driving force behind the growth of civilization. Every major advance in human development has been accompanied by an energy revolution. Today we are experiencing another revolutionary energy shift, comparable to humanity’s transition from hunter-gatherer societies to agricultural societies – from a time when we hunt down and collect fossil fuels, to a time when we can harvest energy in wind and solar farms and store it in batteries.
This revolution is made possible by scientific and technological progress, which provides practical solutions and reduces costs. According to the IEA and BNEF, over the past decade, the cost of LFP and solar batteries has fallen by around 80%. Sustainable energy solutions have moved from being technically feasible to being an economically compelling choice.
CATL enables renewable energy to achieve true economic competitiveness across a range of applications. In the mining sector, CATL-powered solar and storage systems have been deployed in Chile and the Democratic Republic of Congo, providing electricity to remote operations at about a quarter of the cost of diesel generators.
A similar transformation is underway in industrial applications. In Pakistan, the rapid growth of distributed solar power, combined with CATL’s energy storage solutions, provides reliable power to local cement plants, cutting electricity costs in half.
In California, we’re seeing what future grid-scale power systems will look like. As storage capacity increases, the “duck curve” created by high renewable energy penetration has significantly softened. In 2025, the grid recorded more than 1,800 hours where clean energy met or exceeded total electricity demand, demonstrating what becomes possible when renewables and storage grow together.
These developments reveal a broader reality: in many regions, clean energy is being adopted not only to meet climate goals, but also because technological advances have made it the most commercially viable option.
We embrace profound change towards an era of net zero energy consumption. The future energy system, in my opinion, can be defined by three words: distributed, intelligent, circular.
First, distributed power systems, which include renewable energy generation and advanced battery storage, will expand around the world, particularly in areas where grid infrastructure is weak. This will replace much fossil energy, which is centralized and heavily dependent on large-scale power plants and a robust grid.
However, a high proportion of renewable energy poses new challenges to the stable operation of power systems. To address these challenges, CATL has developed an innovative high-voltage grid-forming energy storage technology, which can act as a stabilizer for carbon-free energy systems. It can provide grid frequency regulation, reactive power compensation, damping control and system inertia support. It also offers excellent black start capabilities, crucial in the event of large-scale power outages, like the one that hit Spain last year.
This technology has been successfully validated in engineering, and in China we are applying it to build an off-grid industrial park, powered entirely by wind, solar and storage to power a 40 GWh battery factory. It shows how advanced energy technology can create a net-zero energy system.
Beyond being distributed, future energy systems will be more intelligent. They will be able to process large amounts of data and adapt to fluctuations in renewable energy production and consumption. Advanced AI-driven planning and optimization will be needed to balance energy supply and demand. For example, we are using AI to improve energy system management at SenseTime’s AI data center in Shanghai, helping to manage the fluctuating energy demand of computing tasks.
Third, the circular economy is crucial to achieving zero-carbon energy. Unlike fossil fuels, which are burned during use, materials for carbon-free energy systems can be recycled. CATL has been at the forefront of this effort and has achieved the highest recovery rates in the industry: 99.6% for nickel and cobalt and 96.5% for lithium. To build a stable and sustainable supply of essential raw materials, we also work closely with NGOs and industry peers to promote a circular economy in the sector.
Driven by continued advances in zero-carbon technologies, the era of sustainable energy is no longer a distant vision: it is fast approaching. In my opinion, 2030 will mark the true beginning of the sustainable energy era.
How can we get there? My answer is this: science shows us what is possible, but engineering and manufacturing determine how quickly we get there.
Basic science remains the ultimate source of transformation. Breakthroughs in materials science, artificial intelligence and new energy systems will continue to shape what the future can look like. To be honest, with today’s technologies we may have solved less than 30% of the needs of a fully sustainable energy system. Many disruptive technologies have yet to emerge and much fundamental research remains to be done.
For technology to truly change the world, it must go beyond laboratories and be deployed at scale. Today, we have achieved scientific and technological breakthroughs in pioneering fields such as condensing batteries, solid-state batteries and perovskite solar batteries. Yet much remains to be done to move these innovations from the laboratory to the market. That’s why we invest heavily in R&D – more than everyone else in the industry combined.
If the fight against global warming appears to be a climate issue, it is in essence an energy issue, and fundamentally, a development issue. We believe that international cooperation is the most effective way to address this, and we are willing to share battery technologies and experiences with the world. We have moved from initially exporting batteries to “local production, for local markets”. We also license technologies to our partners to help them build their own battery factories.
To accelerate the transition to a sustainable energy era, we must develop advanced energy technologies more efficiently and more affordably on a global scale. However, in some markets, in our experience, construction and equipment regulations cause a higher cost of production. I would like to propose a solution: create special economic zones that would adopt building and equipment regulations similar to those practiced in China. This will quickly increase productivity, as has been proven in China.
Ladies and gentlemen, a recent study from Columbia University predicts a temperature increase of 1.7°C above pre-industrial levels in 2027. To combat global warming, we must take immediate action to build a sustainable energy system. This requires technological advances, courage and wisdom.
As a pioneer in the energy transition, CATL is willing to work more closely with the scientific community, governments, businesses and anyone committed to this mission. Let’s work together for a zero-energy future and leave a healthy, green Earth for future generations.
SOURCE Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited (CATL)
