The sodium-ion battery cells in CATL’s Tener Sodium energy storage system. Credit: CATL
- CATL unveiled Tener Sodium, the world’s first field-validated sodium battery storage system.
- The system has a rated capacity of more than 30 MWh, with first deliveries in China set to begin in September.
CATL (HKEX: 3750) on Monday unveiled the Tener Sodium energy storage system, calling it the world’s first field-validated sodium battery energy storage solution.
The world’s largest battery maker rolled out the product at its 2026 CATL energy storage new product event. The company said the new system has been redesigned around greater flexibility, higher operational stability and higher system availability.
The new storage system has a rated capacity of more than 30 MWh and uses a fully modular design, with each module weighing 42 tons.
The CATL Tener Sodium energy storage system. Credit: CATL
It supports 1-, 2-, 4-, 6- to 8-hour storage applications and can be flexibly configured to specific project requirements.
CATL said the system features its first-of-its-kind Bi-DC dual-direction voltage control, which lifts the system’s round-trip efficiency (RTE) by nearly 2%.
The decoupling of energy and power further simplifies project deployment, CATL said.
On operational stability, the new system delivers an ultra-long cycle life. The company said it can reach 15,000 cycles at 25°C, corresponding to 70% state of health, equivalent to a 25- to 30-year service life.
The system is also all-climate ready. It offers more than 10,000 cycles at 45°C and retains more than 92% of its capacity at minus 20°C. The company said the system can also suppress fire and explosion under extreme conditions.
System availability is another focus. CATL’s first-of-its-kind millisecond-level self-healing solution can locate and isolate faults within 200 milliseconds and restore unaffected portions within 150 milliseconds, delivering station-level redundancy at minimal extra cost.
The system is fully compatible in size with lithium batteries and supports seamless switching.
CATL said mass production is ready. The company will begin first deliveries in China in September and expects to ship 1 GWh by the end of 2026.
Global commercial deliveries of Tener Sodium will start from June next year, CATL said.
The launch extends CATL’s intensive push in energy storage. The company rolled out its five-year zero-degradation Tener system in April 2024 and released the 9 MWh high-capacity Tener Stack in May 2025.
It comes against a backdrop of rapidly heating up sodium battery industry. In April, CATL signed a three-year supply agreement totaling 60 GWh with Chinese energy storage system provider HyperStrong, setting an industry record.
To support demand, the company later announced an investment of 5 billion yuan ($739 million) to build 40 GWh of sodium-ion battery capacity in Fujian.
As of the end of 2025, CATL’s cumulative investment in sodium battery research and development had approached 10 billion yuan, according to information it previously disclosed.
The company has been advancing the commercialization of sodium batteries in the passenger vehicle segment under its Naxtra brand since April 2025.
CATL founder and chairman Robin Zeng has previously told investors that, over the long term, low-cost sodium-ion batteries could replace 30% to 40% of the existing battery market.
The 3 billion yuan ($440 million) facility will reduce investment risks for large-scale energy storage projects through full-scenario, real-world testing.
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