CBAK Energy reports 9.6% GHG emissions fall at Dalian battery plant
CBAK Energy Technology (NASDAQ: CBAT) has reported a 9.6% year-on-year reduction in combined Scope 1, 2 and 3 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions at its Dalian manufacturing facility in 2025, alongside a 5.9% improvement in GHG emissions intensity. The intensity figure exceeded the facility's stated 4% annual reduction target by 1.9 percentage points. CBAK attributed the improvements to three measures: expanded on-site solar generation, reduced manufacturing energy consumption, and higher recovery rates for production materials used in lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cylindrical cell production.
LFP, or lithium iron phosphate, is a battery chemistry favoured for its lower cost, longer cycle life and relative thermal stability compared with nickel-manganese-cobalt chemistries. It has become the dominant cell format in utility-scale stationary storage and is gaining share in electric vehicles, particularly in China and emerging markets.
The operational detail
The Dalian facility's 3.9-megawatt-peak (MWp) rooftop solar system generated approximately 3.5 million kilowatt-hours (kWh) in 2025. Of that output, around 3.2 million kWh, or 92.5%, was consumed on-site to power electrode coating, cell formation and grading processes, with the remaining 263,000 kWh exported to the local grid. Production-line upgrades and tighter process controls cut overall manufacturing energy use by more than 10%, the company said.
On materials recovery, the facility deployed an automated closed-loop solvent system that the company reports recovers more than 95% of the N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP) solvent used in cathode-coating preparation. The recovered NMP was returned to the coating line at full purity without blending with virgin solvent. The company also upgraded a steam-condensate return system to recover 48 metric tons of water per day. Improved material utilisation is reported to have cut associated GHG emissions by an estimated 883.2 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent, based on internal calculations that have not been externally verified.
Chief executive Zhiguang Hu said: "Our progress in Dalian pairs lower emissions with more efficient use of production resources. We plan to apply these practices more broadly, improve the consistency and comparability of our environmental data, and make resource efficiency a core part of how CBAK Energy grows and serves customers worldwide."
Market and supply-chain context
Emissions disclosures from battery manufacturers are becoming a procurement signal as much as a regulatory obligation. European original equipment manufacturers and energy storage developers face tightening supply-chain due-diligence requirements under the EU Battery Regulation, which from 2027 will require carbon footprint declarations for EV and industrial batteries, with performance thresholds phased in thereafter. Facility-level GHG and energy data of the kind CBAK is publishing can feed directly into supplier audit processes and help customers meet their own Scope 3 reporting obligations.
The broader LFP cell market remains heavily concentrated in China, with CATL, BYD and a tier of mid-sized producers including CBAK competing on cost, cycle performance and, increasingly, supply-chain transparency. For Western buyers diversifying away from the largest Chinese suppliers, granular facility-level environmental data can be a differentiating factor, though the emissions figures here are based on internal calculations and the company acknowledges it intends to improve the comparability of its environmental reporting over time.
CBAK said the facility received no environmental regulatory penalties in 2025 and managed 978.95 metric tons of hazardous, industrial and municipal solid waste through compliant disposal channels. The company has not disclosed a timetable for extending the Dalian practices to its Nanjing and Shangqiu operations, or a capital figure associated with the environmental upgrades.