Chinese companies have rapidly scaled up their overseas investment in making green tech, finds a report by the Net Zero Industrial Policy Lab at Johns Hopkins University.
Since 2022, they have committed more than USD 210 billion to green tech manufacturing projects, around 88% of the total recorded since 2011.
The investment involved 461 projects, across 53 countries, in batteries, electric vehicles, charging infrastructure, green hydrogen, solar panels and wind turbines. Before 2020, the investment had been dominated by solar power.
Southeast Asian nations remain the largest recipients, but 2024 saw the Middle East and North Africa region capture over 20% of new deals.
Battery materials now lead in capital terms, with Indonesia leading nickel- and cobalt-linked projects. Morocco is rising as a base for producing cathodes and green hydrogen. Egypt is excelling in green hydrogen and green ammonia. Europe has become a hub for battery gigafactories. The focus of the Gulf states is on solar modules and electrolyser manufacturing. While Brazil leads in Latin America with solar, battery materials, electric vehicles, green hydrogen and wind projects.
More than three-quarters of projects are located in the Global South, highlighting opportunities for emerging market to integrate into global supply chains, the report says.
Yet alongside these record-breaking figures, the report points to several vulnerabilities. Early 2025 data suggests a slowdown from the 2024 peak. Geopolitical headwinds, involving tariffs and other sanctions, have led to delays or cancellations of some projects.
Many firms are shifting to “light-asset” strategies to safeguard market access, such as allowing local firms to use Chinese manufacturing equipment or to make products under a Chinese brand.
Industrial analysts have also cautioned against overcapacity risks in China’s green tech sectors, mounting trade restrictions such as anti-dumping tariffs, and intensifying international competition as other countries deploy subsidies and standards.
Read Dialogue Earth’s recent reporting on Chinese energy projects taking off in Indonesia as western financing falters.