Recently, Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Limited (CATL), the world’s largest manufacturer of power and energy storage batteries, filed a lawsuit against Powin, a U.S.-based energy storage system integrator, in an Oregon court.
Source: Polar Star Energy Storage Network
Recently, Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Limited (CATL), the world’s largest manufacturer of power and energy storage batteries, filed a lawsuit against Powin, a U.S.-based energy storage system integrator, in an Oregon court. The lawsuit accuses Powin of failing to pay for energy storage batteries supplied by CATL. The unpaid fees, related to batteries delivered in 2023 and earlier, total approximately 310 million RMB (around 44 million USD).
Headquartered in Portland, Oregon, Powin is a leading global energy storage system integrator. According to CATL, it supplied batteries to Powin’s Chinese subsidiary, Yangzhou Fengwei Energy Technology Co., Ltd., in 2022, but Powin has failed to settle these payments. On April 13, 2023, CATL sent Powin an email outlining the overdue payments, and Powin acknowledged owing a total of 91.1 million RMB (about 12.5 million USD) for goods delivered in 2022. Powin agreed to settle the debt by October 31, 2023. However, when CATL fulfilled another battery order, Powin only paid a 10% deposit, leaving the remaining 90%, or 221.6 million RMB (approximately 29.7 million USD), unpaid.
On December 17, 2024, CATL formally filed a request for "interim measures to assist arbitration" with the Oregon court. Due to the unpaid batteries from 2022 and 2023, as well as breach-of-contract compensation, Powin now owes a total of 310 million RMB (around 44 million USD). The case will be arbitrated in Hong Kong. Reports indicate that Powin has not explained the delayed payments and has been shifting its assets in China, including removing its registered office. This suggests that CATL may need to seek asset seizure in Oregon.
According to CATL's 2023 financial report, the company generated 130.99 billion RMB in overseas revenue, representing 32.67% of its total operating income—an increase from 23.41% in 2022. This growth reflects CATL’s strong expansion in international markets, particularly in the energy storage sector.