Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, good afternoon. I'm Robin Zeng, founder and chairman of CATL. I feel deeply honored to virtually attend the event, a prestigious gathering of the highest minds on the planet.
Throughout human history, energy has been a driving force behind civilization's growth. Every major leap in human development has been accompanied by an energy revolution. Today we are experiencing another revolutionary energy shift, one comparable to humanity's transition from hunter-gatherers to agricultural societies, from an era where we track down and gather fossil fuels to one where we can harvest energy in wind and solar farms and store it in batteries.
This revolution is enabled by science and technology progress which delivers practical solutions and drives down costs. According to the IEA and the BNEF, over the past decade, the cost of LFP batteries and solar PV has fallen by about 80%. Sustainable energy solutions have evolved from being technologically feasible to becoming an economically compelling choice.
CATL is enabling renewable energy to achieve true economic competitiveness across a range of applications. In the mining sector, solar plus storage systems powered by CATL have been deployed in Chile and the Democratic Republic of Congo, supplying electricity to remote operations at about one-quarter the cost of diesel generators.
A similar transformation is underway in industrial applications in Pakistan. The rapid growth of distributed solar combined with CATL's energy storage solutions is providing reliable power to local cement plants, cutting electricity cost by half.
In California, we see what the future power system will look like at a grid scale. And as storage capacity expands, the duck curve created by high renewable penetration has been significantly eased in 2025. The grid recorded more than 1,800 hours when clean energy met or exceeded total electricity demand, showing what becomes possible when renewables and storage grow together.
These developments point to a broader reality. In many regions, clean energy is being adopted not just for climate goals but also because technological progress has made it the most commercially viable option.
We are embracing the profound shift towards a net-zero energy era. The future energy system, to my mind, can be defined by three words: distributed, intelligent, circular.
First, distributed. The power system, which includes renewable generation and advanced battery storage, is mushrooming across the world, especially in areas with weak grid infrastructure. This will replace a lot of fossil fuel energy which is centralized and relies heavily on large-scale power plants and a strong grid.
However, a high proportion of renewable energy introduces new challenges to the stable operation of the power system. To address those challenges, CATL has developed an innovative high-wattage grid-forming energy storage technology which can act as a stabilizer for a zero-carbon energy system. It can provide grid frequency regulation, reactive power compensation, damping control, and system inertia support. It also offers excellent black start capabilities which are crucial in the case of large-scale breakdowns like the one that hit Spain last year.
This technology has been successfully validated in engineering, and in China we're applying this technology to build an off-grid industrial park which is powered entirely by wind, solar, and storage to supply a 40-gigawatt battery plant. It showcases how advanced energy technology can create a new power system.
Beyond being distributed, future energy storage will be more intelligent. They will be able to handle vaster amounts of data and adjust to fluctuations in renewable power generation and consumption. Advanced AI-driven scheduling and optimization will be required to balance energy supply and demand. For instance, we use AI to enhance energy system management for SenseTime's AI data center in Shanghai, helping manage the fluctuating energy demand of computing tasks.
Thirdly, circular economy is crucial for achieving zero-carbon energy. Unlike fossil fuels which are burned, used materials for zero-carbon energy systems can be recycled. CATL has been at the forefront of the effort. We have achieved the highest recovery rates in the industry: 99.6% for nickel and cobalt, and 96.5% for lithium, to build a stable, sustainable supply of critical raw materials. We are also working closely with OEMs and industry peers to promote a circular economy in the industry.
Driven by continual progress in zero-carbon technologies, a sustainable energy era is no longer a distant vision. It is approaching rapidly. In my mind, 2030 will mark the true beginning of the sustainable energy era.
How can we get there? My answer is: science shows us what is possible, but engineering and manufacturing determine how fast we get there. Basic science remains the ultimate source of transformation. Breakthroughs in material 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 around 30% of what a fully sustainable energy system requires. Many disruptive technologies have yet to emerge and much fundamental research still lies ahead. For technology to truly change the world, it must move beyond labs and be deployed at scale.
Today we have made scientific and technological breakthroughs in frontier areas such as condensed batteries, solid-state batteries, and perovskite solar cells. Yet there is still much more to do to scale these innovations from lab to the market. That is why we have invested heavily in R&D, more than all other players in the industry combined.
While fighting global warming appears to be a climate issue, it is essentially an energy issue and fundamentally a development issue. We believe international cooperation is the most efficient way to tackle it, and we are willing to share battery technologies and experience with the world. We have evolved from exporting batteries outside China in the early days to local production for local markets.
We are also licensing technology to our partners to help them build their own battery plants. To accelerate the transition to a sustainable energy era, we need to scale up advanced technology in a more efficient and affordable manner. However, in some markets, in our experience, building and equipment regulations are the cause of the higher cost of production.
We would like to propose a solution: setting up a special economic zone that adopts similar regulations for building and equipment which are practiced in China. This would quickly scale up productivity, as it has been proven successful in China.
Ladies and gentlemen, a recent study by Columbia University projects a 1.7°C temperature rise above the pre-industrial level in 2027. To tackle global warming, we need to take immediate action to build a sustainable energy system. This requires technology breakthroughs, courage, and wisdom.
As a pioneer of energy transition, CATL is willing to work more closely with the scientific community, governments, businesses, and anyone who is committed to the mission. In closing, let's work together towards a net-zero energy future and leave a healthy, green Earth for future generations.
