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MUNICH, Germany – June 22, 2026 – Chinese battery leader CATL officially launched the TENER Sodium Energy Storage System in Munich, positioning it as the first sodium-ion battery storage solution to undergo real-world validation. The company confirmed that the technology, production capacity and supply chain have all reached commercial maturity. CATL projects cumulative shipments of 1 GWh by the end of 2026, while international deliveries are slated to commence in June 2027.
“We are committed to advancing energy independence globally and delivering long-term value,” said William Wu, Director of CATL’s Energy Storage Technology Center. “Our mission has been to create a battery chemistry from abundant resources available on every continent, capable of meeting the energy needs of eight billion people, with longer cycle life and higher safety.” Wu emphasized that sodium and lithium would together form the twin pillars of future energy storage.
As renewable penetration grows and AI-driven electricity demand accelerates, energy storage is transitioning from a supplementary asset to critical grid infrastructure. Traditional systems have leaned heavily on lithium, whose concentrated supply chains and price swings introduce significant risk. By contrast, sodium is over 1,000 times more abundant than lithium, widely distributed, and offers advantages in extreme-temperature performance, safety and cost – making a shift toward sodium-ion chemistry in storage almost inevitable.
Amanda Xu, CTO ESS and President of ESS Europe at CATL, stated in her keynote: “The energy storage industry has moved beyond pure scale competition. Success now depends on creating long-term value. Our guiding principle is that readiness creates certainty.” This, she noted, is the mission behind TENER Sodium.
Powered by CATL’s latest sodium-ion technology, the TENER Sodium system provides more than 30 MWh of rated capacity through a fully modular architecture. The design yields three customer benefits:
Beyond modularity, CATL engineered a station-level platform purpose-built for sodium-ion systems:
1. Voltage regulation: To handle the wide voltage range of sodium-ion cells, a dedicated bidirectional DC (Bi-DC) voltage regulation system automatically boosts voltage in the low range, enabling the PCS to maintain optimal output. This lifts round-trip efficiency (RTE) by nearly 2%, translating to millions of additional kilowatt-hours per year for a 1 GWh plant. The system is compatible with mainstream PCS products and strengthens grid support.
2. BMS: A bespoke battery management system exploits sodium’s sloping voltage curve for more precise state-of-charge estimation. Sodium-ion cells also tolerate 20% higher overcharge SOC than lithium-ion cells, giving the BMS an extra 20% safety buffer and operational flexibility.
3. Ultra-low auxiliary consumption: A top-discharge airflow design eliminates thermal-island effects and cuts heat generation by nearly 30%. Paired with a high-efficiency liquid cooling system, auxiliary power drops from the industry-typical 2% to just 1%, potentially saving millions of euros in operating costs for large, long-duration projects.
4. Low noise: At only 65 decibels – 10 dB quieter than conventional systems – TENER Sodium eases community concerns, enabling siting closer to load centers and reducing transmission and distribution expenses. Moreover, the system shares the same footprint and enclosure design as LFP systems, allowing operators to switch between sodium-ion and LFP batteries without redesigning projects or re-certifying. An upgrade path to 2000V high-voltage architectures is also reserved.
The safety, return and reliability advantages of TENER Sodium are the product of sustained R&D. CATL began work on sodium-ion batteries in 2016, investing nearly €1.2 billion over ten years. More than 300 R&D staff have contributed, generating over 1,600 patent families and more than 200 granted global patents, while overcoming over 100 technical hurdles and building a complete materials-to-cells manufacturing chain.
What started in the lab has matured into a scalable material system for energy storage. CATL now has the capacity to produce tens of thousands of tonnes of anode and cathode materials, and production costs for NFPP cathode materials are expected to fall further. The company is collaborating with system integrators to create a full closed-loop ecosystem spanning cell R&D, system delivery, testing and commercial rollout.
On the manufacturing side, CATL has invested RMB 5 billion to expand sodium-ion lines at its Fuding base, adding 40 GWh of annual capacity. The Jining base in Shandong has planned 160 GWh of sodium-ion capacity. Mass-production lines are fully commissioned and operating, ready to support large-scale deployment.
With technology, product, supply chain and manufacturing all reaching maturity, commercialization is accelerating. In China, the first sodium-ion energy storage systems will be delivered to customers this September; cumulative shipments are expected to hit 1 GWh by year‑end 2026. International deliveries are set to follow in June 2027.
In April 2026, CATL and HyperStrong signed a three-year, 60 GWh sodium-ion storage deal – the world’s largest commercial sodium-ion contract – marking the sector’s entry into the gigawatt-hour era.
From pioneering LFP as a mainstream storage chemistry, to standardizing dedicated energy storage cells at 280 Ah and 314 Ah and the second-generation 587 Ah cell, and now launching a field-validated sodium-ion system, each of CATL’s technology transitions has pushed the industry forward.
The TENER Sodium launch signals a new phase where lithium and sodium jointly form the backbone of next-generation energy storage, supporting the energy transition for decades. As the system begins global delivery, CATL and its partners are translating strategic vision into a more stable, cost-effective and sustainable energy future.
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Last Update:2026-06-24 10:03:53
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