Two Republicans ask Pentagon to add Chinese Battery Maker CATL to restricted List

Two Republican senators on Wednesday requested that the U.S. Defense Department add Chinese battery manufacturer CATL to a list of restricted companies suspected to be working with Beijing's army.

Experts say that companies added to this list are not eligible for U.S. government contracts, and they also face significant reputational risk.

Senator Marco Rubio and Representative John Moolenaar of the House Select Committee on China asked Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, to place CATL, formally known China's Contemporary Amperex Technology Co, on the list. They said "it would send a strong signal to U.S. businesses that are currently weighing partnership with CATL."

CATL and Pentagon did not respond immediately to comments.

They said that CATL had deep links to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and its military. "Reliance on CATL batteries puts U.S. security at risk by making the CCP responsible for our energy infrastructure."

Under pressure from legislators, U.S. utility Duke Energy announced in February that it would decommission the energy-storage battery produced by CATL on one of America's largest Marine Corps base and phase out CATL product at its civil projects.

Ford Motors is building a new battery plant in Michigan, and Ford Motors plans to license CATL's technology for the production of low-cost Lithium-Iron batteries. Rubio and other lawmakers have expressed serious concerns over the plan.

The Defense Department has added more than 12 Chinese companies to its list in February as part of an effort to prevent American technology from being used to aid China.

In February, companies such as Hesai Technology, NetPosa, and YMTC were added to the list. These companies join the previously listed aviation company AVIC and other Chinese mobile energy companies CNOOC, BGI Genomics Co., and China Railway Construction Corp.

(source: Reuters)