China’s push towards strengthening its new energy infrastructure achieved a major milestone today as Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Limited (CATL) became the first enterprise in the country to receive conditional exemption for road transportation of lithium-ion batteries. The pilot program’s official launch ceremony was held in Yibin, marking a transformative shift from “special supervision” to “safety exemption” for CATL’s power and energy storage battery products.
With rapid growth in the electric vehicle (EV) and energy storage sectors, China faces increasing demand for safe, reliable, and scalable logistics support. Lithium batteries—typically transported under strict hazardous goods regulations—have been a bottleneck in logistics capacity. CATL’s new qualification aims to ease transportation constraints, reduce costs, and enhance efficiency across the entire supply chain, setting a replicable model for the broader industry.
According to CATL, the exemption was made possible due to the company’s multi-level safety assurance framework, covering material selection, advanced design, intelligent manufacturing, and rigorous empirical testing. Battery cell safety failure rates are controlled at the parts-per-billion (PPB) level, positioning CATL at the forefront of global safety standards. All CATL battery types have fully passed China’s latest national standards, the mandatory UN38.3 transportation safety test, and thermal stability tests for road transport.
Officials emphasized that the reclassification of lithium-ion batteries from “special supervised products” to “exempt products” reflects not only an administrative shift but also a deeper industry-wide recognition of battery safety advancements. The breakthrough is expected to significantly improve both railway and road transport efficiency, offering fresh benchmarks for the safe movement of high-energy battery products.
With this development, CATL strengthens its leadership role in China’s new energy landscape, supporting the country’s transition to cleaner transportation and sustainable energy ecosystems. The company now prepares to expand these new transport standards nationwide as the pilot program progresses.
