Recently, CATL announced the establishment of a new company, Times Resources Group (Xiamen) Co., Ltd., with a registered capital of up to 30 billion yuan.

This wholly-owned subsidiary will be responsible for the investment, operation and management of new energy minerals, which is equivalent to the "main force" of CATL in the upstream resource layout.

What's more noteworthy is that not long ago, CATL also invited mining tycoon Chen Jinghe (founder of Zijin Mining) to serve as a consultant to the company's mining department.

While setting up a platform on a large scale, CATL obviously wants to deeply lay out key mineral resources such as lithium, cobalt and nickel, and firmly grasp the "source" of the battery industry chain in its own hands

Why set up a new investment platform?

The answer is straightforward: in order to stabilize the "lifeblood" of battery raw materials.

In the latest announcement, CATL explained: In recent years, the company has been laying out key minerals for new energy such as lithium, nickel, and phosphorus to ensure the stable supply of raw materials. Now, in order to more deeply control upstream resources and create an integrated advantage from mine to battery, it was decided to establish the "Times Resources Group"

The positioning of this new platform is very clear: focus on the investment, operation and management of new energy minerals; integrate existing mining assets around the battery business needs of CATL; and actively look for high-quality mining projects around the world to ensure that raw materials are continuously supplied and prices are not roller coasters

In fact, this move has long been foreshadowed.

In the past few years, the prices of raw materials such as lithium and nickel have fluctuated, and even the global power battery leader CATL has "can't bear it". As a result, it began to turn its attention to the source - mines and mining rights.

A recent blockbuster move is to invite Chen Jinghe, the founder of Zijin Mining, to serve as a mining consultant.

Who is Chen Jinghe? He is the "godfather" figure of China's mining industry, and he single-handedly built Zijin Mining with a market value of nearly 930 billion yuan. As soon as he retired in January this year, CATL quickly invited him out of the mountain - the urgency was clear at a glance.

The Times Resources Group, which was established this time, has a registered capital of up to 30 billion yuan, and the sources of funds include: CATL's own and self-raised cash; and the equity of a number of mining-related subsidiaries it holds

To put it bluntly, this is CATL using the "familiar formula" to go to the next city: no longer only make batteries, but make an all-round march into upstream minerals - whoever controls the resources will have the right to speak in the future battery industry

It is no longer enough to make your own battery

In the venture capital circle, everyone has long noticed that CATL is not only making batteries, but also quietly weaving a huge investment network.

According to enterprise investigation data, since its establishment, CATL has invested in 152 projects, with more than 14,000 indirect shareholdings, covering a wide range of areas - from lithium battery raw materials, production equipment, to vehicles, parts, to wind power, photovoltaics, energy storage, and even aerospace, almost new energy-related tracks have its figure

More importantly, a number of investment institutions with "CATL genes" have begun to appear frequently. For example: Puquan Capital, Chendao Capital, Bai Rui Capital...... Although they do not have "CATL" in their names, they are closely related to CATL.

Why do you fight like this?

Because a new round of industrial transformation is accelerating - it is no longer enough to make your own batteries.

To maintain the leading position, it is necessary to extend its tentacles to the upstream and downstream of the industrial chain through investment, and to card the future in advance.

Therefore, behind many popular technology companies, you can see the shadow of the "CATL":

Take Puquan Capital as an example: it is funded and established by the CVC platform ("CATL New Energy Industry Investment Co., Ltd."), which is wholly-owned by CATL, focusing on cutting-edge fields such as carbon neutrality, embodied intelligence, new energy materials, and unmanned driving. At present, it has appeared in the list of investors in many star projects such as Galaxy GM, Zhongqing Robot, Zero One Automobile, and Easy Control Intelligent Driving

The layout of the "CATL Era" has long been moved

As early as 2024, Boris Capital, founded by Li Ping, co-founder and vice chairman of CATL, invested in Qianxun Intelligence, which is now valued at more than 20 billion yuan.

Recently, they invested in sweet potato robots. Unknowingly, "whether it has received investment from CATL" has become a weather vane in the embodied intelligent circle

Why? Because this not only represents money, but also represents industry recognition - a giant like CATL is willing to bet, which shows that this company has real landing capabilities and commercialization prospects

More importantly, being invested in the "CATL" often means: not only getting funds; but also having access to real test scenarios and stable order channels - which is more precious than financing for early-stage technology companies

On the same day as announcing the establishment of a 30 billion mineral platform, CATL also released its financial report for the first quarter of 2026: revenue was 129.131 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 52.45%; net profit was 20.738 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 48.52%. Calculated, the average daily net profit is 230 million yuan

Three main lines are worth paying attention to

For investors, understanding the layout of the "CATL" is equivalent to getting a ticket to the next generation of energy revolution

Main line 1: Upstream resources are independent and controllable

domestic development enterprises of key minerals such as lithium, nickel and phosphorus; companies with overseas mine rights or recycling technologies; resource parties with potential cooperation with CATL

Risk warning: long mine development cycle, geopolitical risks, environmental protection policies.

Main line 2: CATL ecological chain

Hard technology companies invested by Puquan, Chendao, and Bai Rui, especially in the fields of embodied intelligence, unmanned driving, energy storage, and carbon neutrality; These companies not only received funds, but also accessed the industrial verification system of CATL

Logic: CATL endorsement = commercialization capability certification.

Main line 3: Battery technology extension

new technology directions such as solid-state batteries, sodium-ion batteries, and recycling; CATL invested 5.3 billion yuan in R&D in the first quarter, a year-on-year increase of 10%, and innovation is still accelerating