Duke Energy Removes CATL Batteries From Marine Base

Under pressure from Congress, US utility company Duke Energy plans to decommission energy-storage batteries produced by Chinese battery maker CATL at one of the nation's largest Marine Corps bases and will phase out CATL products at its civilian projects, the company confirmed to Michael Martina of Reuters.

The permanent shutdown of the batteries is the latest example of how strategic competition between the US and China is affecting US and Chinese businesses - sometimes in dramatic ways. I Photo: CATL

The decision, which has not been previously reported, comes as top US officials warn that hackers linked to the Chinese government are targeting network-linked critical US infrastructure, including the power grid.

Reuters reported in December that Duke Energy had temporarily disconnected industrial-scale CATL storage batteries from a project on Marine Corps base Camp Lejeune after lawmakers and experts raised concerns about the battery supplier's close links to China's ruling Communist Party.

The permanent shutdown of the batteries, less than a year after a ribbon-cutting that involved US military brass, is the latest example of how strategic competition between the US and China is affecting US and Chinese businesses - sometimes in dramatic ways.

Duke Energy's change of course on the batteries could have supply chain implications for the utility and have a chilling effect on an energy storage market dominated by Chinese manufacturers.

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