'Who Are Those Guys?' Meet the China SSB Alliance Battery Companies

“Who are those guys?”

That’s the question asked by outlaws Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (as portrayed by Paul Newman and Robert Redford in the eponymous 1969 film).

The question is asked as the outlaws peer through the dust in the distance at the posse relentlessly chasing them—and eventually realize that it includes a famous marshal, Joe Lefors, and a native American tracker called Lord Baltimore. In other words, it’s a posse of law-enforcement all-stars.

That same question was asked last week, when it was reported that China is has put together its own all-star team of battery makers to speed commercialization of solid-state batteries (SSBs): The China All-Solid-State Battery Collaborative Innovation Platform (CASIP), was established last month to create a supply chain for SSBs by 2030.

And in response, in boardrooms around the globe, China’s competitors tried to gage just what—and who—they’re up against.

So, who are those guys?

The widely referenced initial report from Nikkei Asia named five specific battery companies and mentioned that the CASIP alliance included six of the top ten battery makers—but that doesn’t limit the number of companies in CASIP to only six.

Click through as we share what we know so far—and also make some educated guesses about the rest.