Pioneer laid foundation for China's battery brilliance

China is the world's largest producer and consumer of lithium batteries, powering everything from electric vehicles to renewable energy storage systems. According to the 2025 China Lithium Battery Industry Data Report, in 2024, the country's lithium battery production exceeded 10 million metric tons, with a market value reaching trillions of yuan.

This remarkable achievement, however, has not been an overnight success. It is the result of decades of relentless innovation and dedication by pioneers like Chen Liquan, a visionary scientist who laid the foundation for China's lithium battery industry.

Last year, Chen, an academician at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, was awarded the CAS Outstanding Scientific and Technological Achievement Award, a recognition for a lifetime of groundbreaking contributions.

From developing China's first all-solid-state lithium metal battery to mentoring a new generation of scientists and entrepreneurs, Chen's work has been instrumental in transforming China from a follower to a global leader in battery technology.

Chen's journey into the world of energy science began in 1976, during a study visit to Germany's Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research. Originally tasked with studying crystal growth, Chen stumbled upon a material that would change the course of his career — and China's energy future.

"A German colleague told me about lithium nitride, a superionic conductor that could be used to make solid-state batteries for electric cars," Chen recalled. "That moment sparked something in me. I knew this was the future."

Determined to introduce this technology to China, Chen wrote to the CAS requesting a shift in his research focus. His request was approved, and within five months, he completed his original crystal growth project and dove headfirst into solid-state ionics — a field that was virtually nonexistent in China at the time.

In 1988, his team created China's first solid-state lithium battery, a milestone that marked the beginning of the country's lithium battery research. However, the technology was far from ready for mass production.

The landscape shifted dramatically in 1991 when Japan's Sony Corporation commercialized liquid lithiumion batteries. Recognizing the urgency, Chen made a bold decision: "We had to pivot. Liquid lithium-ion batteries were the immediate future, but we couldn't abandon our long-term goal of solid-state batteries."

By 1995, Chen's team had developed China's first liquid lithium-ion battery, and in 1998, they built the country's first pilot production line for cylindrical lithium-ion batteries.

"We used our own technology, our own equipment and our own raw materials," said Chen. "It was a modest start, but it was ours".

Chen's vision extended beyond the lab. He understood that for China to compete globally, it needed a robust industrial base. In the late 1990s, he played a key role in establishing China's first lithium-ion battery production line, which produced 200,000 units annually.

"This was the foundation of China's lithium battery industry," Chen said.