CATL chairman Robin Zeng has donated 1.5 million shares in the battery maker to the Shanghai Jiao Tong University Fujian (Ningde) Advanced Research Institute. The shares were valued at about 420 million yuan ($62.5 million), using CATL’s October 14 closing price of 280.12 yuan. The donation ceremony was held Thursday at the 2026 World Energy Storage Conference.
Located in Ningde, Fujian province, the institute was set up in June 2026 by the city government, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Fujian’s education authorities and CATL. It is not a university campus or branch; instead, it applies the university’s research capabilities to local projects and student training. Its work spans new-energy batteries, photovoltaics, zero-carbon systems and electric transportation.
Applications for the institute’s 2027 graduate intake opened on October 10. It plans to enroll about 50 full-time professional master’s students, including 20 in a CATL joint-training program. Students will study at Shanghai Jiao Tong University in their first year, then conduct research in Ningde with academic and industry supervisors. The first-stage facility, near CATL’s 21C Lab, is planned to cover about 23,000 square meters and be ready in December 2027.
The contribution follows a 2025 pledge by CATL vice chairman Li Ping and his wife to give 4.05 million shares to Fudan University. CATL’s battery installations reached 333.0 GWh in the first eight months of 2026, representing a 39.4% global market share, according to SNE Research.