CATL debuts world’s first field-validated sodium-ion battery storage system

Chinese battery manufacturing giant CATL has unveiled what it says is the world’s first real-world validated sodium-ion energy storage solution, with global deliveries to begin in the middle of 2027.

CATL’s new Tener Sodium Energy Storage System was unveiled on Tuesday at an event at Intersolar Europe 2026 in Munich, Germany, boasting full commercial maturity across the technology, production capacity, and supply chain readiness.

Sodium is 1,000-times more abundant than lithium and distributed widely across the planet, and is seen as a potentially economic substitute for lithium-ion based batteries, although they have yet to reach commercial scale.

“CATL is committed to promoting energy independence around the world while delivering long term value for our customers,” said William Wu, director of CATL’s Energy Storage Technology Center.

“To achieve this we have made it our mission to develop a new battery chemistry based upon abundant resources available across all continents, one that can support the energy needs of all eight billion people, while offering longer cycle life and enhanced safety.

“We believe that sodium and lithium together will form the twin foundations of the future energy storage system.”

Sodium-ion based systems also offer better extreme-temperature and safety performance, as well as the cost potential.

Each Tener Sodium system delivers more than 30 megawatt-hours (MWh) of rated capacity on a modular architecture. So 34 units can combine for a 1 gigawatt-hour (GWh) project.

CATL says the sodium-ion system achieves 15,000 charge cycles at 25°C for an average system life of between 25 to 30 years based on a 70 per cent state of health (SoH) standard.

The power blocks support durations of 1, 2, 4, 6, and 8 hours, and the modular system also reduces maintenance cost by allowing faulty modules to be quickly isolated and replaced independently of the whole.

CATL’s Tener system also reduces cell expansion force by 40 per cent, reduces gas generation by 35 per cent, and maintains a thermal runaway surface temperature of approximately 200°C – approximately 60 per cent lower than that of lithium-ion batteries.

CATL also claims that the system has been designed to be fire- and explosion-proof even under extreme conditions. And it has been designed to operate at only 65 decibels — 10 decibels lower than conventional systems and the equivalent of a normal conversation or business office.

Cumulative shipments are expected to reach 1 GWh by the end of 2026, with global deliveries to begin in June 2027.

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