CATL and Other Chinese Energy Storage Giants Nearly Fully Withdraw from U.S. Market
nashnova research
CATL, EVE Energy, and Hithium have almost completely withdrawn from the US market in 2026 — not from American restrictions alone, but from simultaneous two-way technology controls by both China and the US, forcing a global supply-chain reset.
Why isn't this just a US crackdown?
On the US side: tariff barriers, ownership reviews, plus compliance rules such as FEOC (Foreign Entity of Concern) and PFE (Prohibited Foreign Entity) keep stacking up.
On the China side: export controls on high-efficiency lithium-battery manufacturing equipment have tightened, technical staff face exit restrictions, and visa and business-travel approvals are under heavy scrutiny.
This means → both doors are closing at once. Chinese firms can neither gain US market access nor send the technical support needed to operate there.
Why can't they just build factories in the US?
Core engineers cannot travel to the US for guidance, key equipment is export-restricted, and the US critically lacks skilled workers in processes like electrode coating.
In plain terms = no people, no machines, no local know-how — local mass production is near zero.
Gotion High-Tech (partly owned by Volkswagen) announced US factory plans multiple times but failed to break ground under both Chinese and American regulatory scrutiny of its China-linked ownership.
Who is still making batteries on US soil?
AESC (originally a Nissan–NEC joint venture, later acquired by Chinese investors) runs two US plants and is described as virtually the only domestic lithium cell source.
To clear FEOC and PFE rules capping Chinese ownership at 25%, AESC recently began restructuring equity — planning a US-incorporated entity to buy out shares.
This means → even the "last one standing" must re-engineer its ownership to survive, showing the regulatory red line now reaches the shareholder level.
Can Korean firms and US automakers fill the gap?
LG Energy Solution, SK On, and Samsung SDI — along with Tesla, GM, and Ford — have all pursued vertical integration, building cell capacity primarily for their own vehicles.
That capacity is typically not available to outside buyers, widening the procurement gap for independent storage projects.
This reflects a supply problem beyond "who makes it" — it extends to "will they sell it to you."
Who is stepping into the vacuum?
With complete Chinese storage systems blocked at the border and major suppliers gone, new demand is opening for contract manufacturers with no Chinese ownership ties.
Taiwanese suppliers are reportedly eyeing US energy-storage system assembly opportunities.
Under current US rules, battery cells and modules can still be imported, but containerized storage systems must undergo final assembly inside the US.
What is the real unresolved question?
The global storage supply chain is restructuring fast, but the core tension remains: Chinese technology and equipment controls keep tightening while US domestic manufacturing capacity cannot fill the gap in the short term.
In plain terms = the old suppliers have been pushed out, and the new capacity hasn't grown in yet — who covers the gap in between?
This means → for storage-project developers and independent buyers, supply certainty over the next one to two years is the single biggest risk.
市场有风险，内容仅供研究参考，不构成投资建议。