China is still the world’s only source of lithium-iron-phosphate (LiFePO4) batteries.

This will soon change as domestic LiFePO4 (short: LFP) manufacturing is coming online. However, this capacity will initially not meet U.S. demand, and only a limited number of cell types will be available.

We have been working successfully with two Chinese battery manufacturers for years. We recently developed a 100 V battery with one of our vendors and are about to run this battery through UL certification.

Working with Chinese partners has been characterized by respect, kindness, and a good amount of banter.

It all begins with respect. We are engineers, and our Chinese partners are engineers. We speak the same language of electronics and source the same components. We respect each others’ competencies, and sharing compliments and appreciation on a ZOOM call changes the body language. Shoulders relax, faces light up.

Arnold Leitner, CEO, with Vera Wang, one of our Chinese partners at RE+ in Las Vegas in 2023.

Respect then fosters kindness. We are an ocean, a data line, and a few time zones apart. We make it easy on each other when scheduling calls. We work around holidays. We embrace each other at tradeshows when we can just sit down–no scheduling is needed.

Kindness creates room for banter. Nothing solves an engineering challenge or shipping hiccup like some humor. We know we can solve the problem, but it is so much easier to do when you have a smile and a twinkle in the eye.

We are a fiercely competitive company. We are an American company. We root for ourselves. We demand a level playing field.

But we also need and believe in collaboration and trade. We believe in empathy and competition. We believe in our Chinese partners, and they believe in us.

With every email and with every call, we build a trans-Pacific partnership. To meet the world’s challenges, we need to work together. We are starting one battery pack at a time.