The 18th China International Battery Fair (CIBF2026) is set to take place from May 13 to 15, 2026, at the Shenzhen World Exhibition & Convention Center. As a premier annual global event for the battery industry, this edition, under the core theme "Linking the Globe, Empowering Green, Driving the Future," will feature an exhibition area of 280,000 square meters. It is expected to attract over 3,000 exhibitors and 300,000 professional visitors to Shenzhen. Against the dual backdrop of China's policy focus on high-quality development and the accelerated expansion of new energy exports, CIBF2026 is evolving into a central hub connecting domestic industrial upgrading with global market collaboration. It aims to facilitate a higher-quality leap for China's new energy battery industry within the global value chain.

With over two decades of deep industry engagement, CIBF has grown into one of the world's most influential new energy exhibitions. Since its trademark registration in 1999, the fair has been successfully held seventeen times, consistently capturing the industry's pulse and witnessing China's new energy battery sector transition from catching up to leading. The previous CIBF2025 attracted over 400,000 professional visits from more than 70 countries and regions, facilitating numerous technical collaborations and business deals, highlighting its central role in the global industrial ecosystem. CIBF2026 will continue its comprehensive coverage of the entire industry chain, showcasing products ranging from solid-state batteries, power batteries, and energy storage systems to hydrogen fuel cells, along with supporting segments like production equipment, raw materials, and recycling technologies. Concurrent technical exchange sessions focusing on power batteries, energy storage batteries, and fuel cells will decode cutting-edge industry trends.

Policy direction not only charts the course for industrial development but also injects strong momentum into CIBF2026. Currently, China's new energy battery industry is at a critical transition phase from "scale expansion" to "refined development," supported by a series of synergistic heavyweight policies. The MIIT's lithium battery symposium in November 2025 clearly outlined a development path emphasizing "technology competition, global expansion, and standardization," strictly controlling low-end capacity expansion while encouraging advanced technologies like 4680 and solid-state batteries, and establishing "green channels" for exports to address trade barriers and local production challenges. The "Work Plan for Stabilizing Growth in the Automotive Industry (2025-2026)" issued by eight ministries focuses on breakthroughs in key technologies like solid-state batteries, ensuring precise policy support. Meanwhile, the "15th Five-Year Plan for New Battery Industry Development" is under research and formulation, aiming to better coordinate industrial layout, prevent low-level redundant construction, and guide the industry toward differentiated and specialized development. Energy storage policies from the National Energy Administration are even clearer, targeting 100 GW of new energy storage capacity from 2025 to 2027, driving an investment scale of 250 billion yuan and opening vast market space for the battery industry. CIBF2026 will precisely align with these policy directions by setting up high-tech exhibition zones and policy interpretation areas, showcasing innovations encouraged by policies and building a bridge between policy and market for high-quality industrial development.

Bolstered by policy support, China's new energy battery exports are entering a new stage characterized by "technology export, local manufacturing, and ecosystem collaboration," with CIBF2026 serving as a key accelerator. In recent years, leading Chinese battery companies like CATL, Gotion High-tech, and CALB have accelerated their global footprints, intensively building gigafactories across Europe, with a concentrated wave of production commencements expected in 2026. This will form a comprehensive production network covering Western, Central, and Southern Europe. Facing changes in trade regulations like the EU's New Battery Regulation, Chinese companies leverage the technological and cost advantages of lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries to precisely meet the demand for affordable electric vehicles in the European market, enabling steady overseas expansion. CIBF2026 will further enhance its international platform attributes by expanding the International Pavilion and attracting global mainstream automakers, core suppliers, and industry organizations. This will create efficient channels for Chinese companies to connect with overseas partners. Through the fair, companies can accurately target overseas market needs, demonstrate localized operational capabilities, learn from international advanced standards and experiences, and promote Chinese technology and standards globally, helping to address challenges such as technical adaptation and trade compliance.

As a "barometer" and "accelerator" for China's new energy industry, CIBF2026 will further solidify China's central role in the global new energy battery sector. The fair is not only a platform for technology display and business exchange but also a hub for global industrial collaborative innovation. Here, domestic companies can leverage policy tailwinds for technological iteration and business model upgrades, while international partners can precisely connect with China's quality capacity and innovative technologies, fostering a virtuous cycle of optimized global resource allocation. As the global energy transition accelerates, CIBF2026 will continue to empower the industry with professionalism and connect the world through its platform, injecting stronger momentum into the globalization of China's new energy battery industry and contributing to the global green energy transition under the "dual carbon" goals.

Currently, over 2,600 companies have already registered to exhibit at CIBF2026, with few booths remaining. The global new energy industry's focus is on Shenzhen. This large-scale and in-depth industry event is poised to become a significant milestone marking new breakthroughs in the globalization of China's new energy battery industry.