China’s Five Year Battery Plan Targets Large Scale Solid State Use by 2030

China makes more than 80 percent of the world’s battery cells, according to the International Energy Agency, and its new five year battery plan reads to me like an effort to keep that lead when the chemistry changes. The headline goal is initial large scale use of all solid state batteries by 2030, so the country that dominates today’s lithium ion production is setting a date for the next generation.

The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) published the plan for 2026 to 2030, and according to CnEVPost seven government agencies issued it jointly, including the National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Transport. I’d read the word initial carefully, because the company roadmaps below all start with small batches and only reach mass production around 2030.

Targets for Solid State, Cycle Life and Defect Rates

Beyond the solid state goal, the plan sets 15,000 charge and discharge cycles for long life lithium batteries and a defect rate at parts per billion level for leading manufacturers, which would mean roughly one defect per billion units. At one full cycle a day, 15,000 cycles would take about 41 years, which is way longer than most people keep a car. For solid state cells the plan lists better interfacial contact, longer cycle life, pressure system engineering and scaled up production of high performance solid electrolytes, and it pairs high voltage cathodes with lithium metal or anode free designs. It also asks for manufacturing equipment such as isostatic presses, which tells me China is planning the factory tooling in parallel with the chemistry.

Lithium remains at the centre of China’s battery industry, with sodium ion and flow batteries as complements. For sodium ion the plan stresses cost, safety and resource availability and asks for cold resistant, high energy density power batteries as well as long life storage batteries. That sits alongside the tax exemption for sodium ion and solid state cells through the end of 2028, which I covered in my piece on the next generation battery race.

Company Roadmaps Point to Small Batches Long Before 2030

BYD’s executive vice president Stella Li says the company’s first vehicle with a solid state battery arrives in 2027, and its battery arm FinDreams plans limited batches that year before ramping up to mass production by around 2030. CarNewsChina points to roughly 1,000 vehicles in the first trial, aimed at flagship models such as Yangwang and Denza. CATL is more cautious in public: chairman Robin Zeng said in June that solid state technology sits at level 4 on a nine level readiness scale, and he has said mass adoption in millions of vehicles is unlikely before 2030.

BYD’s chief scientist Lian Yubo expects liquid lithium ion and solid state batteries to coexist for 15 to 20 years. If I were buying an EV in Europe over the next two or three years, I wouldn’t delay for solid state, because the first cars will be expensive flagships built in small numbers and mainstream models will keep using liquid cells.

Battery Passports and Recycling Are the Parts Europe Will Feel First

The plan proposes a digital identity system for products including NEV power batteries, explores internationally accepted battery passport arrangements and promotes mutual recognition of carbon footprint data. That lines up with Regulation (EU) 2023/1542, which makes a digital battery passport mandatory for EV batteries from February 2027. On recycling, the plan requires companies to set up used battery collection systems in line with their sales volumes and encourages building recycling capacity in major export markets where conditions allow. It also backs mergers and restructuring among battery makers and faster development of domestic lithium, cobalt and other mineral resources.

That matters for Europe because Chinese makers supply 72.8 percent of the batteries installed in the world’s EVs this year (a count by manufacturer headquarters, where the IEA’s 80 percent counts where the cells are made), with CATL at 39.9 percent, according to the SNE Research figures in my article on the global battery market. CATL’s Debrecen plant in Hungary has also begun trial cell production, so the passport and recycling rules apply to batteries made on European soil as well as imported ones.

I’d read 2030 as a policy milestone. The dates that matter to European buyers come earlier: 18 February 2027, when the EU battery passport starts, and the small solid state batches BYD and CATL are planning for the same year.

FAQ

What is China’s new five year battery plan?
It’s the New Type Battery Industry Development Plan for the fifteenth five year period, covering 2026 to 2030. Seven government agencies issued it jointly, including MIIT, the National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Transport, and it was released on 28 September 2026.

How much of the world’s battery production does China control?
China accounts for more than 80 percent of global battery cell production, according to the International Energy Agency’s Global EV Outlook 2026. Chinese producers also supply about 75 percent of the batteries deployed in electric cars worldwide, and over half of the EU market.

When will China use all solid state batteries at scale?
The plan targets initial large scale use of all solid state batteries by 2030. BYD and CATL both plan small batch production in 2027, and CATL’s chairman doesn’t expect mass adoption in millions of vehicles before 2030.

What battery targets does the plan set besides solid state?
It sets 15,000 charge and discharge cycles for long life lithium batteries and a defect rate at parts per billion level for leading manufacturers. It also asks for cold resistant, high energy density sodium ion power batteries and long life sodium ion storage batteries.

When will solid state EVs arrive in Europe?
No European launch date has been announced. BYD says its first solid state vehicle arrives in 2027, and early cars are expected to be flagship models built in small numbers.

How does the plan relate to the EU battery passport?
The plan explores internationally accepted battery passport arrangements and mutual recognition of carbon footprint data. The EU makes a digital battery passport mandatory for EV batteries from 18 February 2027 under Regulation (EU) 2023/1542.

Featured Image: Zuken