A sudden fire broke out in the CATL’s Z plant on September 29. This factory, constructed in 2020, supplies batteries to Tesla and other car manufacturers in China. According to CATL’s officials, the fire was quickly extinguished without casualties. The cause of the ignition is under investigation.

CATL is the world’s biggest NEV battery maker, founded in 2011. It currently has thirteen factories worldwide. In China, CATL holds almost 50% of the market share. CATL started constructing the Z manufacturing base in Ningde, Fujian province, in 2019. The plant was finished in September 2020 and was awarded as the Industry 4.0 technology factory (a lighthouse factory). It is this factory that ignited in China on September 29.

CATL Z plant ignition details

At 11:26 on September 29, the Publicity Department of the Dongqiao Economic and Tech Development Zone received an alarm that a fire broke out at the CATL Z plant. Fire forces immediately rushed to the site to deal with the emergency. The fire broke out in an independent building in the CATL Z plant area. It is a high-temperature static block with an area of 15,000 square meters.

On late September 29, CATL officials responded to the situation. They said the fire monitoring system helped to discover the fire and deal with it quickly. The fire was successfully extinguished with no casualties. Officials underlined that the impact of the company’s overall production operation is small. CATL chairman Robin Zeng also said that the ignition isn’t a big problem.

The cause of the ignition is still under investigation. It is also unknown how the fire will influence the factory’s supply period. The Z plant sells batteries to various automakers, including Tesla. However, we at CarNewsChina are happy that this ignition wasn’t as deadly as a massive factory fire in South Korea that killed 22 people.

Source: Sina, CATL