Key Points: In August 2026, WELION New Energy was valued at 20 billion yuan. In 2026, solid-state battery became a capital hotspot, with WELION New Energy (valued at 20 billion yuan), Qingtao Energy (27.9 billion yuan), and ProLogium Technology ($3.8 billion) all sprinting toward IPOs, vying for the "first share." Meanwhile, the market capitalizations of publicly listed firms worldwide diverged significantly (QS approximately $3.3 billion, SLDP only $465 million). A gap still exists between technological breakthroughs and commercialization — Qingtao's gross margin dropped to -111.6%, and the industry urgently needs to overcome cost and process bottlenecks, with the real showdown likely after 2030.
2026 has become a big year for solid-state battery IPOs, with WELION (20 billion yuan valuation), Qingtao (27.9 billion yuan valuation), and ProLogium ($3.8 billion valuation) fiercely competing for the "first share." Leaders such as CATL and BYD are accelerating industrialisation, but the industry is mired in a "production means losses" dilemma (Qingtao's gross margin -111.6%). Behind the capital frenzy, all-solid-state batteries still face high costs and process bottlenecks, and 2030 may be the watershed for commercialization.
Foreword
On August 3, 2026, WELION New Energy was recently conducting a Pre-IPO funding round targeting 2 billion yuan, with a pre-money valuation of approximately 20 billion yuan.
In 2026, the global solid-state battery industry stands at a critical juncture from technology validation to engineering implementation. This year, the capital race in the solid-state battery field suddenly accelerated — WELION New Energy, spun off from the Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, formally launched a Pre-IPO funding round targeting 2 billion yuan and a pre-money valuation of about 20 billion yuan, and completed the IPO counseling filing for the ChiNext board in December 2025; if progress goes smoothly, it is expected to list on the A-share ChiNext board in 2027. Meanwhile, Qingtao Energy submitted its IPO application to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in April 2026, planning to raise $700 million to $900 million; ProLogium Technology of Taiwan, China announced a SPAC listing in the US with a transaction valuation of $3.8 billion; US solid-state battery firm Factorial Energy landed on Nasdaq in June 2026. The battle for the "first solid-state battery stock" has fully unfolded.
Behind the capital frenzy lies the practical need for solid-state battery industrialisation — moving from labs to mass production lines requires massive funding to support capacity construction and industry chain investment. According to SMM forecasts, global solid-state battery shipments are expected to exceed 10 GWh in 2030, and hybrid solid-liquid battery shipments to exceed 200 GWh. By 2035, global solid-state battery shipments are expected to approach 1,000 GWh, and hybrid solid-liquid battery shipments to near 1,500 GWh. Facing this multi-trillion-yuan growth market, both battery giants and startups are accelerating their capital market forays. The following will respectively review the status and IPO progress of solid-state battery-related listed companies in China and overseas.
The background triggering the "IPO big year" of 2026: Besides the industry's own development needs, the further smoothing of listing channels for "hard technology" companies under the full registration-based IPO system on the A-share market at the end of 2025, along with the relaxation of the market capitalization threshold for specialist technology companies under Chapter 18C of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (from HK$8 billion to HK$6 billion), directly lowered the listing difficulty for solid-state battery enterprises.
I. Domestic Solid-state Battery Listed Companies and IPO Status
1.1 Listed Companies
China’s solid-state battery industry chain-related publicly listed firms have established a relatively complete layout.
(1) Battery cell side, CATL (300750.SZ) is deploying multiple technology routes including sulphide/oxide, and the revenue contribution from its solid-state battery business had risen to 12% in Q1 2025; Gotion High-tech (002074.SZ) ranks among the leading A-share listed companies in all-solid-state battery industrialisation progress, and the design of its 2GWh mass production line has been completed; Farasis Energy (688567.SH) has completed the preparation of large-capacity pouch cells for its first-generation sulphide all-solid-state battery (400Wh/kg), and its second-generation semi-solid-state solid-liquid hybrid battery was mass-produced in 2026; BYD (002594.SZ), EVE (300014.SZ), Sunwoda, and others are also actively making arrangements.
(2) Material side, Ganfeng Lithium (002460.SZ) focuses on the oxide electrolyte technology route; Easpring Technology and Ronbay Technology concentrate on solid-state battery cathode materials; SEMCORP has deployed the R&D and production of lithium sulphide, solid-state electrolytes, and solid-state electrolyte membranes; Tianqi Lithium, as a lithium resource supplier, is deeply involved in the industry chain.
(3) Equipment side, enterprises such as Lead Intelligent Equipment and Nakenuoer provide solid-state battery production equipment.
1.2 Enterprises in the IPO Process
(1) WELION New Energy
submitted its ChiNext IPO tutoring filing to the Beijing Securities Regulatory Bureau on 10 Dec 2025, with CSC Financial as the tutoring sponsor. Currently, it is advancing a Pre-IPO financing round with a target size of RMB2 billion and a pre-money valuation of approximately RMB20 billion. As of end-June 2026, it had completed the second phase of tutoring; if everything proceeds smoothly, it is expected to list on the A-share ChiNext board in 2027. Its shareholders include NIO Capital, Xiaomi Yangtze River Industry Fund, Huawei Hubble Investment, Geely Holding, as well as Tianqi Lithium, Huayou Cobalt, SEMCORP, and other industry chain enterprises.
The deeper significance of WELION New Energy’s shareholder structure: the investment by upstream enterprises such as Tianqi Lithium and SEMCORP is not merely financial; it aims to lock in future lithium supply and electrolyte membrane procurement share in the solid-state battery market, reflecting the trend of vertical integration in the industry chain.
(2) Qingtao Energy
on 8 Apr 2026 officially submitted its listing application to the main board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, with Guotai Junan Securities, CICC, and China Merchants Securities as the joint sponsors. After completing its Series H financing in Feb 2026, its valuation was approximately RMB27.9 billion. According to its prospectus, in terms of 2025 shipments, the company is the largest supplier of solid-liquid hybrid and all-solid-state batteries in China.
II. Overseas Solid-State Battery Listed Companies and IPO Status
Japanese traditional automakers such as Toyota and Honda mainly rely on independent R&D in the all-solid-state battery field and have not sought independent listing for financing; however, their mass production timetables have also been postponed (Toyota’s timeline has been pushed back from 2027 to 2030), indirectly confirming the technical difficulty.
2.1 Listed Companies
(1) QuantumScape (QS)
went public on the NYSE via a SPAC in 2020. It focuses on all-solid-state lithium metal battery technology, targeting the EV sector. As of 30 June 2026, its market cap was approximately $3.21 billion to $3.42 billion.
(2) Solid Power (SLDP)
listed on Nasdaq in 2021. It is dedicated to developing sulphide-based all-solid-state battery technology. As of the end of Q1 2026, its market cap was approximately $465 million.
(3) Factorial Energy (FAC)
completed its business combination with SPAC Cartesian Growth Corporation III on 8 June 2026, officially debuting on Nasdaq. The merger was valued at approximately $1.3 billion. The firm focuses on solid-state battery technology R&D and has secured investments from several top automakers.
The valuation gap between QuantumScape and Solid Power in the secondary market ($3.3 billion vs. $465 million) mainly reflects the market’s differing assessments of the commercial prospects of the “lithium metal anode” route versus the “sulphide electrolyte” route, with the former considered more aligned with next-generation high energy density requirements.
2.2 Enterprises in the IPO Process
ProLogium Technology
announced in May 2026 that it had entered into a merger agreement with SPAC TDAC, with the transaction valued at approximately $3.8 billion (approximately 25.7 billion yuan). It expected to list on Nasdaq in H2 2026 under the ticker symbol “PRLG.” Founded in 2006, the company holds over 1,100 global patents, and its gigafactory in Dunkirk, France, has received subsidy support of approximately €1.4 billion from the French government. ProLogium’s Dunkirk plant has a planned annual capacity of 48 GWh, but actual commissioned capacity in 2026 was less than 5 GWh, yielding a capacity fulfillment rate of only about 10%. The gap between planned and actual capacity highlights the arduous path of solid-state battery industrialisation.
III. Solid-State Battery Related Listed Firms at a Glance
Technology Route Distribution Overview: Global solid-state battery enterprises currently fall mainly into three major technology camps—sulphide (CATL, Solid Power), oxide (Ganfeng Lithium, ProLogium Technology), and polymer (some European firms). Among them, sulphide is seen as the mainstream direction due to its highest ionic conductivity , but poor air stability is a common challenge.
Solid-State Battery Related Listed Firms at a Glance
SMM believes the capital race in the solid-state battery sector is now in full swing. From China’s A-share ChiNext board to the Main Board of HKEX, and from Nasdaq to the NYSE, major global capital markets have all become arenas for solid-state battery enterprises. However, capital euphoria coexists with the arduous path of industrialisation—Qingtao Energy’s power battery business gross margin has plummeted to -111.6%, with cumulative net losses over three years exceeding 3 billion yuan [Note: The -111.6% gross margin at Qingtao Energy results from low solid-liquid hybrid battery capacity utilization (approximately 35% in 2025) combined with high R&D investment (exceeding 40% of revenue), leading to severe fixed-cost dilution. This data contrasts with the fact that all-solid-state batteries have not yet entered mass production—the industry consensus is that solid-liquid hybrid batteries are a “transitional route,” and mass production of all-solid-state batteries has been widely postponed to 2028-2030. ]; there also remains a significant gap between ProLogium’s actual and planned capacity. From laboratory to mass production line, and from technology verification to engineering implementation, solid-state batteries must still surmount numerous challenges in cost, process, and market. Who will cross the finish line first likely will not be revealed until after 2030.
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