The 2023 World EV & ES Battery Conference to Be Held in Sichuan in June

The 2023 World EV & ES Battery Conference is scheduled to take place in Yibin, a prefecture-level city located in the southeastern part of Sichuan Province, China. The conference will be held from June 8th to 11th and marks a return to the same location as last year’s event which took place in July.

During the previous conference, a total of 48 power battery and new energy vehicle projects were signed with an investment totaling 96.2 billion yuan ($13.9 billion). Since then, an additional 19 projects have been signed with an investment of 23.5 billion yuan. Currently, there are already thirty-eight production projects that have been put into operation, providing employment opportunities for more than 30,000 people.

In 2022, Yibin accounted for 15.47% of the national total in power battery production and sales, with a total of 72GWh sold. This drove the industrial output value of Yibin’s power battery industry to reach 88.9 billion yuan, which is a year-on-year increase of 4.54 times. From January to February 2023, the city’s power battery industry achieved an output value of 11.7 billion yuan, representing a year-on-year increase of 45%. It is expected that this year’s output value will exceed 160 billion yuan.

Yibin plans to construct nine heavy-duty truck battery swapping stations, encourage the adoption of around 3,500 new energy vehicles for public transportation, and attain full electrification for sanitation vehicles while achieving a 78.6% electrification rate for buses.

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The real economy’s development relies heavily on financial support, particularly from equity investment funds. In 2021, CATL, a battery giant, began production at the first phase of its Yibin base. Robin Zeng, the founder of CATL, has stated that once completed, the Yibin base will become their most important power battery production facility in Southwest China. Other enterprises such as Canmax Technologies (an ESD control and cleanroom products maker), Dynanonic and BTR (lithium-ion battery core material makers), GEM (a new material maker), and Gokin Solar (a solar photovoltaic enterprise) are also present in this region.

Yibin now has a complete industrial chain coverage, ranging from lithium salt to positive and negative electrode materials, structural components, copper foil, diaphragms, electrolytes, conductive paste production equipment and recycling.