CATL's Zeng Yuqun: Battery Energy Density Still Insufficient, Using Large Language Models to Accelerate Electrochemical Discovery

Zeng Yuqun, Chairman and Founder of CATL. Photo by our reporter Yuan Jing. "Whether it is the scientists present here today or other scientists, we need the support of the world's brightest minds." On October 31, the main forum of the opening ceremony of the 2026 World Laureates Forum was held at the Lingang Center. Zeng Yuqun, Chairman and Founder of CATL, said in his speech that CATL is promoting battery technology to empower energy development, but the energy density of existing batteries is still insufficient to support broader applications. The entire industry needs to leverage artificial intelligence and the global scientific community to accelerate original innovation in the field of electrochemistry. Zeng Yuqun first presented a set of achievements from CATL. CATL's global market share of electric vehicles reached 39%, and its energy storage systems accounted for 30%; the batteries it recycles are equivalent to providing energy for about 1.7 million vehicles. The company also possesses proprietary patented technologies and accumulated knowledge. But he immediately said that although CATL is a leading enterprise in the battery field, it has not done enough. He stated bluntly that CATL "does not have sufficient energy density to empower applications," which is precisely where more scientific discoveries and technological innovations are needed to achieve breakthroughs. In Zeng Yuqun's view, the battery system is a highly complex process involving multiple time scales from femtoseconds to decades, and also touching on multiple dimensions at the atomic level. For this reason, CATL is using large language models to empower scientific discovery. Zeng Yuqun introduced that the company has more than 1 trillion pieces of test data and has developed its own AI-native research system that connects wet laboratories with dry laboratories. However, he still believes that currently "not enough is being done," and that support from the scientific community in the field of electrochemistry is especially needed. Intellectual property protection is key to sustainable innovation. He said that if global innovation is to be encouraged, IP protection is crucial, and he hopes governments around the world can formulate underlying rules. He revealed that CATL has established a special fund of US$5 million and pays patent fees from each battery's revenue at a certain percentage. Scientists and entrepreneurs should work together to protect intellectual property and better promote technological innovation.