A rundown of the news making headlines in and around China:
Tesla Megapacks: Tesla Inc.’s new battery factory in Shanghai has begun production. The plant, which manufactures its Megapack energy-storage batteries, is the company’s first such facility outside the U.S. The plant adds to its assembly plant for electric vehicles (EVs) in Shanghai and comes as the U.S. firm is trying to regain market share lost to local rivals recently. The factory has an annual capacity of 10,000 Megapack units, each with around 3.9 megawatt-hours of energy, and will supply the Chinese and overseas markets. The market is paying close attention to the Megapack facility and whether it will have a “catfish effect” in the energy storage industry, just as Tesla’s car plant was a catalyst for activity in the local EV market. Competition is already fierce in the domestic energy storage industry, with industry giants such as Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd. (CATL), BYD Co. Ltd. and Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. having stepped up production of energy storage batteries and systems in the past two years.
