The 2026 World Power Battery Conference opened on September 3 in Yibin, Sichuan Province, China, bringing together industry stakeholders to discuss key developments in the power battery sector. The conference covers a range of topics, including industry policies, advanced technologies, innovative applications, next-generation energy storage solutions and battery recycling. Through a series of thematic sessions and international exchanges, the event aims to strengthen cross-border industrial cooperation and promote practical collaboration in the global power battery industry.
According to data released at the conference, China’s indigenously developed technologies have contributed to the development of the power battery industry. The driving range of lithium-powered batteries has extended from around 100 kilometers in the early days to as much as 1,000 kilometers today. Charging time has been cut from hours to around 10 minutes. Battery durability has jumped from approximately 300 charge cycles to as many as 1,500 cycles for energy storage batteries, and costs have fallen by 90%.
At the opening ceremony, eight innovative power battery technologies for the 2025–2026 period were unveiled, including power batteries that support ultra-fast charging in around 10 minutes, hybrid solid-liquid batteries with a specific energy of 350 Wh/kg, and large-capacity, high-safety energy storage batteries with capacities ranging from 300 Ah to 600 Ah. These breakthroughs are expected to provide further impetus for innovation across the industry.
Ouyang Minggao, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, pointed out three major development trends for the power battery industry. The first is battery safety across the entire lifecycle. China’s mandatory national standard, Electric Vehicles Traction Battery Safety Requirements, officially took effect on July 1. Under the standard, batteries must not catch fire or explode; the gases they release must not harm vehicle occupants; and after 300 fast-charging cycles, they must still pass external short-circuit tests without igniting or exploding. The second is AI empowerment across the whole chain. The application of AI to intelligent battery design, manufacturing, and management will reshape the battery industry across the entire technology, industrial, and value chains. The third is green and low-carbon development throughout the full lifecycle.
At the conference, Wang He, founder and CTO of GALBOT, shared the company’s exploration of embodied intelligent robots. One of its latest products, which breaks through the workload limits of humanoid robots, was developed through deep integration with the power battery industry and has already been commercialized on a large scale at companies including CATL. Wang believes that leading players in the sector are likely to reach the “ChatGPT moment” for embodied intelligence by 2028. This, he said, would usher in a steep growth curve for the humanoid robotics industry, with the explosive growth of humanoid robots opening up a new horizon for the power battery sector.
Spain served as the Guest Country of Honor at this year’s conference. Betanzos, the Spanish Ambassador to China, said that Chinese investment in Spain is shifting its focus from trade toward long-term industrial projects, bringing production to Spain, creating high-quality jobs, and establishing alliances with local Spanish companies.
The World Power Battery Conference was launched in Yibin, Sichuan Province, in 2022, and this year marks the fifth year that the city has hosted the event.
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