Under pressure from Congress, U.S. utility company Duke Energy has announced plans to decommission energy-storage batteries manufactured by Chinese battery maker CATL at one of the country’s largest Marine Corps bases, as well as phase out CATL products at its civilian projects, the company confirmed to Reuters.
The move, which was not previously published, comes as top US officials warn that hackers affiliated with the Chinese government are targeting network-connected key US infrastructure, including the power system.
In December, Reuters reported that Duke Energy had temporarily disconnected industrial-scale CATL, and opened new tab storage batteries from a project on Marine Corps installation Camp Lejeune after lawmakers and experts expressed worries about the battery supplier’s close ties to China’s ruling Communist Party.
The permanent shutdown of the batteries, which occurred less than a year after a ribbon-cutting ceremony attended by US military commanders, is the latest illustration of how strategic competition between the US and China is harming US and Chinese firms, sometimes dramatically.
Duke Energy’s shift in strategy regarding batteries may have supply chain ramifications for the utility and cool an energy storage industry dominated by Chinese manufacturers.
“In partnership with policymakers and the Department of the Navy, we have made the decision to decommission the CATL battery energy storage system at Camp Lejeune and replace it with a domestic or allied nation supplier,” Duke Energy said in response to Reuters inquiry.
“By 2027, we are voluntarily moving away from specifying CATL battery energy storage technologies,” the statement said, adding that the business backed a “robust American supply chain.”
Duke Energy sought to allay congressional concerns about potential network vulnerabilities caused by the batteries by sending at least five executives, including its chief security and information officer, to meet with staff from the House of Representatives’ select committee on China in the first week of January, according to two sources familiar with the discussions.
While Duke Energy officials assured staff that the batteries were secure, they also expressed a desire to address congressional concerns, according to sources.
The executives revealed at the discussion that the company has been considering CATL batteries for almost two dozen different projects.
Duke Energy declined to comment on how the decision to remove CATL from its supply chain might affect those projects. It did not disclose which types of batteries would be used at the Camp Lejeune facility in the future.
According to one source acquainted with the Camp Lejeune project, Duke Energy did not have direct contracts with CATL and instead purchased the batteries through third-party sources.
Mike Gallagher, the Republican head of the bipartisan select committee, and Senator Marco Rubio expressed satisfaction to Reuters that Duke Energy has taken steps to decommission the CATL batteries at Camp Lejeune.
“Additionally, in our most recent meeting with company leadership, Duke committed to entirely phasing out CATL products from its supply chain,” the congressmen were quoted as saying.
