China nickel tycoon seeks growth in US energy storage market

REPT BATTERO Energy Co., a unit of Xiang’s Tsingshan Holding Group Co., this week opened an office in California, marking its first US outpost.

REPT “is surely giving full respect to the world’s second largest energy storage market,” Chairman Hui Cao said during an interview. Although a specific target hasn’t yet been set, the aim is for the US to “contribute more than 10%” to REPT’s revenue.

The US energy-storage market represents a potentially vast opportunity for REPT, which currently counts China, Europe and Southeast Asia as its biggest revenue drivers, Cao said. “We believe the future is bright” in the US, he added.

To be sure, REPT will be going up against heavyweight competitors including a unit of Elon Musk’s Tesla Inc. The Hong Kong-listed company also faces heightened geopolitical risks, with some US lawmakers working to blacklist certain Chinese firms and the Biden administration moving to increase tariffs on batteries, solar cells and other products from China.

To mitigate any potential risks, Cao said REPT is partnering with American companies that handle “sensitive” big-data issues in the energy-storage business. The company hasn’t so far been challenged by the authorities, he noted.

Cao downplayed any potential impact from the upcoming US presidential election in November. He said he has no preference for either Republican nominee Donald Trump or his Democratic opponent Vice President Kamala Harris.

“At the end of the day, American consumers want the products with the best value for money,” he said. “That’s the real demand. Tariffs may bring some extra costs to the manufacturers, but the customers in the US will be hit harder.”

REPT began as a supplier of batteries to energy-storage projects and has since expanded to selling to carmakers such as Stellantis NV and Li Auto Inc. It ranked as the world’s number three in terms energy storage cell shipment in the first half of 2024, according to data from InfoLink Consulting.

At home, REPT’s competitors include top battery makers Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. and Gotion High-Tech Co. The company was the sixth biggest lithium iron phosphate battery manufacturer by EV battery installations, the China Automotive Battery Innovation Alliance ranking showed.