Under pressure from Congress, U.S. utility company Duke Energy, opens new tab plans to decommission energy-storage batteries produced by Chinese battery maker CATL at one of the nation’s largest Marine Corps bases and will phase out CATL products at its civilian projects, the company confirmed to Reuters.
The decision, which has not been previously reported, comes as top U.S. officials warn that hackers linked to the Chinese government are targeting network-linked critical U.S. infrastructure, including the power grid.
Reuters reported in December that Duke Energy had temporarily disconnected industrial-scale CATL (300750.SZ), opens new tab storage batteries from a project on Marine Corps base Camp Lejeune after lawmakers and experts raised concerns about the
battery supplier’s close links to China’s ruling Communist Party.
The permanent shutdown of the batteries, less than a year after a ribbon cutting that involved U.S. military brass, is the latest example of how strategic competition between the United States and China is affecting U.S. and Chinese businesses – sometimes in dramatic ways.
Duke Energy’s change of course on the batteries could have supply chain implications for the utility and have a chilling effect on an energy storage market dominated by Chinese manufacturers. “In partnership with policymakers and the Department of the Navy, we have made the decision to decommission the CATL
battery energy storage system at Camp Lejeune and replace it with a domestic or allied nation supplier,”
Duke Energy said in a statement in response to Reuters questions. “By 2027, we are voluntarily moving away from specifying CATL
battery energy storage technologies,” the statement said, adding that the company supported a “robust American supply chain.”
