Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited (CATL) has signed a cooperation agreement with Eastern European renewable energy company Solarpro for 2 gigawatt-hours of its Tener Sodium energy storage systems. Under the agreement, the partners intend to deploy central and eastern Europe’s first large-scale sodium-ion energy storage project later this year, marking CATL’s second sodium-ion order in the region this month.
Earlier this month, CATL reached a memorandum of understanding with a European energy integrator to supply 5 GWh of sodium-ion storage units in western Europe, beginning in 2027. The latest deal with Solarpro follows a collaboration that began in 2024, when the two companies installed a 150-megawatt-hour liquid-cooled storage system in Bulgaria. In May, they connected a 602-megawatt-hour lithium-ion system to the country’s power grid, boosting Bulgaria’s total storage capacity by roughly 10%.
The Tener Sodium energy storage solution, officially unveiled on June 22, offers a cycle life of up to 15,000 cycles and a service life of 25 to 30 years. It retains 92% of its capacity at temperatures down to –20 °C, making it suitable for winter conditions in eastern European markets. Each system features a rated capacity exceeding 30 MWh, supports four-to-eight-hour discharge durations, and is designed to fit within existing lithium-ion system dimensions for straightforward integration.
CATL plans to commence initial domestic deliveries in China in September, targeting cumulative shipments of 1 GWh by the end of 2026. International commercial deliveries are slated to begin in June 2027. Sodium-ion technology has emerged as a new growth avenue for CATL: earlier this year, the company signed a three-year supply agreement covering 60 GWh with a Chinese energy-storage integrator and announced a ¥5 billion investment to establish 40 GWh of new sodium-ion production capacity in Fujian province.
CATL’s founder has projected that low-cost sodium-ion batteries could eventually replace 30% to 40% of the existing battery market. The company also anticipates that 10,000 to 20,000 electric vehicles will be equipped with its sodium-ion cells by the end of this year.
Source: CNEV Post
