Contemporary Amperex Technology Ltd (CATL) hopes to use its energy-storage business to build on its global dominance in electric vehicle (EV) batteries, as the global oil crisis creates a surge in demand for its technologies and products.The company, which commands nearly 40 per cent of the world’s EV battery market, announced on Thursday the official launch of a 3 billion yuan (US$442.52 million) research facility in Xiamen, a city in China’s southeastern Fujian province.The Xiamen Energy Storage Validation Research Institute (ESVL), which CATL said is the world’s largest and most comprehensive one-stop testing and validation platform in the industry, will allow energy storage system (ESS) stations to undergo testing in extreme conditions, before their use in local grids.The testing platform – which is expected to open to the whole industry – may help China-made products expand overseas, according to Chen Xiaobo, head of ESVL, as regulators in Western grids typically have higher standards for safety and technology.“If the products of domestic integrators expanding overseas can perform well in quality, reliability, safety and connection with local grids [at ESVL], I believe this will rapidly enhance their overall competitiveness,” Chen said at a media briefing on Thursday.By working with global certification agencies, ESVL can test the energy storage stations based on international grid standards, Chen said. Overseas demand for so-called turnkey projects – referring to ready-to-use facilities – was increasing and could boost company profits, he added, but noted that domestic suppliers currently face an “enormous” profitability gap compared with US giant Tesla.CATL’s leadership team hope the facility will raise industry standards. Photo: Handout