On June 18th, the Hunan Provincial Department of Industry and Information Technology, Development and Reform Commission, Department of Science and Technology, Department of Finance, Department of Natural Resources, and Department of Commerce jointly released the "Hunan Province Lithium Battery and Advanced Energy Storage Materials Industry Three-Year Action Plan (2024-2026)" (hereinafter referred to as the "Plan"). The plan aims to consolidate the advantages of the entire industrial chain, accelerate the technological layout of new battery such as solid-state batteries, sodium-ion batteries, and hydrogen fuel cells, etc., as well as next-generation energy storage materials, and build a lithium battery and advanced energy storage material industry system with characteristics and advantages of Hunan Province.

Hunan Province (located in the central-southern part of China), one of China’s most comprehensive lithium battery and energy storage material supply chains, has established a fully integrated industrial chain system covering "mineral materials-energy storage materials-battery cells-terminal applications-battery recycling". It possesses distinctive advantages in the field of cathode materials. Data shows that in 2023, the revenue of Hunan Province's lithium - battery and advanced energy - storage material industry was approximately 110 billion yuan ($15.3 billion), ranking first among the six central provinces.

According to the plan, relevant departments in Hunan Province will promote the coordinated development of four major sectors: advanced energy storage materials, battery cells manufacturing, terminal applications integration, and battery recycling, aiming to build a "four-in-one" industrial system. Efforts will be made to strengthen the core leading area of Changsha-Zhuzhou-Xiangtan, elevate Chenzhou as a growth hub, build three industrial supporting areas in Changde, Yueyang, and Yongzhou, and construct a spatial layout of "one core, one pole, and three auxiliaries". Efforts will also be made to focus on technology, resources, projects, enterprises, markets, etc., with six major actions implemented to double the industry's scale, while driving the high-end, intelligent, and green transformation of the lithium battery and advanced energy storage materials sector.

The plan proposes that in the next three years, the operating revenue of the lithium battery and advanced energy storage materials industry in the province should strive for an average annual growth rate of 10%, and the industry scale will exceed 150 billion yuan ($20.65 billion) by 2026. Additionally, it aims to cultivate 1-2 leading enterprises with global competitiveness, and add 2-3 ten-billion-level enterprises and 5-8 billion-level enterprises.