ATL (company)

Zeng Yuqun, more commonly known as Robin Zeng, founded ATL in 1999.{{Cite web |last=Rathi |first=Akshat |date=2019-04-03 |title=The inside story of how CATL became the world's largest electric-vehicle battery company |url=https://qz.com/1585662/how-catl-became-the-worlds-biggest-electric-car-battery-company |access-date= |website=Quartz |language=en}} Operating from the company headquarters in Hong Kong, Zeng acquired technology licenses from US companies to make batteries for laptops and MP3 players.

Two years after establishment, ATL was able to produce batteries for 1 million devices. In the aftermath of this success, the company was acquired by TDK in 2005.Tyler-Dudley, Davis, et al. "[http://www.johnandrewferguson.com/documents/batteryking.pdf CATL: China’s Battery King.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230716184805/https://www.johnandrewferguson.com/documents/batteryking.pdf |date=2023-07-16 }}" 6 May 2021 Zeng continued managing ATL after the acquisition together with Huang Shilin. TDK's acquisition saw ATL expand its production into the smartphone market, becoming a key battery supplier to prominent technology companies like Samsung and Apple.

In 2006, ATL started exploring the electric vehicle (EV) battery market, with the first inquiry coming from Indian car company, Reva. Given the fundamental differences between batteries used in EVs and those in portable devices, ATL's founders Zeng and Huang established a dedicated research department for EV battery development.

In 2008, some of ATL's early EV batteries were used in a demo fleet of electric buses during the Beijing Olympics. This marked the company's first foray into the EV market. In 2011, Zeng and Huang separated ATL's EV battery business into a new company, Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Limited (CATL).

ATL continued its growth trajectory and, in the first quarter of 2020, it held the largest revenue share (36.5%) in the smartphone battery market.{{Cite web |date=2020-07-08 |title=ATL Leads the Global Smartphone Battery Market Share in 1Q20 |url=https://www.eetasia.com/atl-leads-the-global-smartphone-battery-market-share-in-1q20/ |access-date= |website=EE Times Asia |language=en}} Later in 2020, the company expanded its operations to India by acquiring 180 acres of industrial land in Haryana, aiming to supply batteries to the country's smartphone and EV industries.

In 2023, ATL formed strategic partnerships with Group14 Technologies and AM Batteries. The partnership with Group14 Technologies aimed at integrating advanced silicon battery technology to improve ATL's battery performance,{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=2023-02-28 |title=Group14 Technologies Enters Production to Power the Next Generation of Smartphones for Amperex Technology Limited (ATL) |url=https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/group14-technologies-enters-production-to-power-the-next-generation-of-smartphones-for-amperex-technology-limited-atl-301757185.html |access-date= |website=www.prnewswire.com |language=en}} while the collaboration with AM Batteries focused on developing solvent-free electrode manufacturing technology, addressing environmental concerns in the lithium-ion battery production industry.{{Cite web |last= |date=2023-04-07 |title=AM Batteries and Amperex Technology Limited to jointly develop solvent-free electrode manufacturing technology for li-ion batteries |url=https://batteryindustry.tech/am-batteries-and-amperex-technology-limited-to-jointly-develop-solvent-free-electrode-manufacturing-technology-for-li-ion-batteries/ |access-date= |website=BatteryIndustry.tech |language=en-GB}}

ATL is headquartered in Hong Kong, with subsidiaries in Ningde and Dongguan, China,{{Cite web |title=ATL sued Zhuhai Guanyu for more than 100 million yuan! {{!}} Shanghai Non ferrous Metals |url=https://news.metal.com/newscontent/101730609/atl-sued-zhuhai-guanyu-for-more-than-100-million-yuan |access-date=2024-03-31 |website=news.metal.com}} as well as India.

ATL's parent company, TDK, is expected to begin manufacturing batteries for iPhones in India starting in 2025.{{Cite web |date=2023-12-07 |title=Apple plans to move iPhone 16 battery production out of China and into India |url=https://qz.com/apple-plans-to-move-iphone-16-battery-production-out-of-1851079784 |access-date=2024-03-31 |website=Quartz |language=en}}

Huang Shilin co-founded ATL along with Zeng Yuqun in 1999, and would later become the vice chairman and Zeng's second in command at CATL.{{Cite web |last=Rathi |first=Akshat |date=October 12, 2023 |title=How China Left the World Far Behind in the Battery Race |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-10-12/how-china-left-the-world-far-behind-in-the-battery-race |website=Bloomberg}}

CATL was formed in 2011 as a spin-off of ATL's EV battery division.{{Cite web |last=Thompson |first=Alex |date=2022-12-20 |title=The History Of CATL: An Asian Giant {{!}} AceOn Group |url=https://www.aceongroup.com/news/the-history-of-catl-an-asian-giant/ |access-date=2024-03-31 |language=en-GB}}

In 2021, Ampace was founded as a joint venture between ATL and CATL. The company is headquartered in Xiamen. While ATL has generally specialized in small batteries such as those used in smartphones and laptops, and CATL has specialized in large batteries used in EVs, Ampace has focused on medium sized batteries such as those used in electric scooters, UAVs, and power tools.{{Cite web |date=2024-04-18 |title=Little known spin-off of China's CATL dominates home energy storage market |url=https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/3259342/how-little-known-spin-chinese-battery-giant-catl-has-come-dominate-global-home-energy-storage-market |access-date=2024-05-09 |website=South China Morning Post |language=en}}

In January 2024, Ampace launched a battery management system (BMS) intended to improve safety and reliability in medium sized applications.{{Cite web |last=Johnson |first=Seth |date=2023-12-30 |title=Ampace: Pioneering Portable Power Solutions with Advanced Technology |url=https://wccftech.com/ampace-pioneering-portable-power-solutions-with-advanced-technology/ |access-date=2024-05-09 |website=Wccftech |language=en-US}} Other products developed by Ampace include the Andes 600 Pro, a 600 watt portable power station,{{Cite web |last=Westlake |first=Mark |title=Ampace Andes 600 Pro Portable Power Station Review - Gearbrain |url=https://www.gearbrain.com/ampace-andes-600-pro-review-2662304578.html |access-date=2024-05-09 |website=www.gearbrain.com |language=en}} and the Kunlun series ultra-long lifecycle batteries.{{Cite web |last=Sakharkar |first=Ashwini |date=2023-09-22 |title=Ampace unveils ultra-long cycle life batteries with 15,000-cycle |url=https://www.inceptivemind.com/ampace-unveils-ultra-long-cycle-life-batteries-15000-cycle/34351/ |access-date=2024-05-09 |website=Inceptive Mind |language=en-US}}

In April 2022, ATL and CATL partnered to establish a joint venture called the "Xiamen Ampcore Technology Limited" to further expand into the electric vehicles business. Xiamen Ampcore Technology Limited's capital is 5 billion RMB, with ATL having a 30% stake and CATL having a 70% stake. The same year, ATL and CATL also established a battery pack joint venture called "Xiamen Ampack Technology Limited" capital is RMB 1 billion, with ATL holding 70% and CATL holding 30%. ATL established Xiamen Ampeak Technology Limited, in which ATL owns 100% of the shares, as a holding company of the two joint ventures.{{Cite web |date=April 27, 2022 |title=Announcement on Business Alliance and Establishment of Joint Venture with Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited [Background to Disclosure] and Notice of Establishment of Subsidiary |url=https://www.tdk.com/en/news_center/press/20220427_02.html |website=TDK}}

{{reflist}}

• {{official website|https://www.atlbattery.com/en/product.html}}

Category:Battery manufacturers

Category:Companies of Hong Kong

Category:Chinese companies established in 1999

Category:Electronics companies established in 1999

Category:Chinese brands