Chinese Battery Makers' Raw Material Control: CATL, BYD, and the LFP Integration Model

CATL and BYD together held about two-thirds of the global power-battery market through 2025, and both run vertically integrated sourcing that reaches from mine equity and offtake to precursor refining and cathode production. LFP now accounts for more than 80% of Chinese automotive battery installations, a chemistry whose iron-phosphate inputs structurally cut cobalt and nickel exposure relative to NMC while leaving lithium dependence intact. CATL's multi-billion-dollar upstream push spans Bolivian brine, domestic lepidolite, and DRC cobalt offtake, while BYD has anchored supply through refining joint ventures. China now controls the majority of global black-mass recycling capacity, and CATL's early sodium-ion commercialization is the first credible signal that the chemistry can displace LFP at the entry segment, with implications for marginal lithium demand beyond 2027.