Key News Facts
EV battery usage in the first half of this year rose 20% year on year. China’s CATL kept first place with 242.7GWh, up 25.3%, and a 39.9% share (38.2% a year earlier). BYD was second with 14.4%, and LG Energy Solution was third with 52.6GWh, up 8.4%.
ESS battery shipments moved even more sharply. They jumped 71% year on year to 461.3GWh, and LG Energy Solution grew 357%. The combined share of China’s top three rose 1.7 percentage points, but LG Energy Solution’s share also rose by nearly the same margin, 1.6 percentage points.
For the equipment industry, the meaning of these numbers is simple. CATL and BYD expanding capacity while LG Energy Solution ramps up ESS production at the same time means equipment orders across electrode, assembly and formation continue on both sides.
Mechanism-Perspective Impact Analysis
Total usage of 608.5GWh, up 20% year on year, means the total operating load of electrode and assembly equipment such as coaters, roll presses and winders grew by the same amount. Growth speed, however, differs sharply by company. CALB (+39.5%) and Gotion (+43.3%) grew faster than CATL (+25.3%), a signal that the Chinese followers are in a new-line expansion phase. New lines make it easier to unify equipment specifications than existing lines, so orders for standardized coaters and assembly equipment are likely to follow (to be confirmed: whether each company publishes process standards for its new lines).
By contrast, SK On’s usage fell 6.7% year on year, the only decline among the three Korean makers. Where utilization of existing lines drops, demand for efficiency improvement and repair of existing lines (calender roll replacement, slitter knife regrinding and similar) tends to grow relative to new equipment orders. Equipment suppliers need to shift their approach to SK On from new-line orders toward maintenance and partial retrofits of existing lines (to be confirmed: whether SK On announces new capacity additions).
Spec Comparison Table
| Company | H1 2026 usage | YoY | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| CATL | 242.7GWh | +25.3% | 39.9% |
| BYD | 87.7GWh | +1.6% | 14.4% |
| LG Energy Solution | 52.6GWh | +8.4% | 8.6% |
| CALB | 31.2GWh | +39.5% | Undisclosed (to be confirmed) |
| Gotion | 28.0GWh | +43.3% | Undisclosed (to be confirmed) |
| Panasonic | 22.7GWh | +10.2% | 3.7% |
| SK On | 19.0GWh | -6.7% | 3.1% |
The combined share of seven Chinese companies was 72.4%, up 1.5 percentage points year on year (primary source: Electronic Times, 2026-08-05). What stands out in the table is that the growth ranking and the share ranking do not match. CATL leads in absolute volume, but the smaller CALB and Gotion are growing faster than CATL. Equipment demand is coming both from expansion at large makers and from new entry by mid-sized makers, so suppliers should spread their sales portfolio rather than concentrate on one or two large customers.
Design Reflection Checklist
- Confirm whether process standards for new lines at CALB, Gotion and other followers are published
- Prepare standard coater and assembly equipment specs for new capacity demand
- Define maintenance scope such as calender roll replacement and slitter knife regrinding for low-utilization customers
- Track whether SK On announces new capacity additions
One-line summary: With H1 EV battery usage up 20%, Chinese followers such as CALB and Gotion are outgrowing CATL while SK On declined, so equipment orders come from both large-maker expansion and new entrants, and sales to Korean makers must weigh maintenance work as well.