Robin Zeng

Robin Zeng rode China’s EV boom to become the world’s battery king. CATL makes over a third of the world’s EV batteries, supplying global automakers like Tesla and Toyota as car fleets electrify. Zeng set up CATL in 2011 after Beijing required that foreign automakers transfer technology to a local company to qualify for EV subsidies. The tech transfer is now headed in the other direction: U.S. automakers like Ford and GM are exploring licensing CATL tech to make batteries on U.S. soil.