The Munich launch marks what CATL calls the first real-world validated sodium-ion energy storage system, with international shipments scheduled to begin in June 2027.
CATL launched TENER Sodium in Munich on June 22, presenting it as the world’s first real-world validated sodium-ion energy storage system and saying the product has reached full commercial readiness across technology, manufacturing capacity and supply chain support. The company said cumulative deliveries are expected to reach 1 GWh by the end of 2026, with global shipments starting in June 2027. The system is built on CATL’s latest sodium-ion battery chemistry and delivers more than 30 MWh of rated energy through a modular architecture. CATL said each module weighs about 42 tons and that only 34 units are needed for a 1 GWh installation. It also said the design separates power and energy blocks, allowing storage durations of 1, 2, 4, 6 and 8 hours, while damaged modules can be isolated and replaced independently to improve availability and lower operating costs. CATL highlighted station-level features tailored for sodium-ion systems, including a dedicated Bi-DC bidirectional voltage regulation system, which it said improves round-trip efficiency (battery charge-discharge efficiency) by nearly 2%, and a sodium-ion BMS (battery management system) designed to improve SOC (state of charge) estimation. The company said sodium-ion batteries also offer a 20% higher SOC overcharge tolerance than lithium-ion batteries, giving the operating system a wider safety margin. It added that a top-venting airflow design cuts system heat generation by nearly 30% versus conventional solutions and reduces auxiliary power consumption from the industry average of 2% to 1%, while noise is limited to 65 decibels, or 10 decibels below conventional systems. The company said TENER Sodium is compatible with LFP systems and uses the same footprint, allowing customers to switch between sodium-ion and lithium-ion technologies without changing enclosures, redesigning projects or repeating certification processes. CATL also said the platform preserves an upgrade path toward 2000 V high-voltage architectures. CATL said it has been researching sodium-ion batteries since 2016 and has invested nearly 1.2 billion euros over the past decade. With more than 300 R&D specialists, it said it has built up more than 1,600 patent families, secured more than 200 granted patents worldwide and overcome more than 100 technical challenges. On manufacturing, CATL said it has capacity to supply tens of thousands of tons of anode and cathode materials, invested 5 billion RMB to expand sodium-ion production lines at its Fuding base by 40 GWh annually, and planned 160 GWh of sodium-ion capacity at its Jining base in Shandong province. The company said China deliveries of its first sodium-ion energy storage systems will begin in September this year. It also cited an April 2026 agreement with HyperStrong for a three-year, 60 GWh order, which CATL described as the world’s largest commercial sodium-ion contract and a sign that sodium-ion energy storage has entered the GWh-scale deployment phase.