CATL and renewable energy contractor Solarpro have signed a cooperation agreement covering 2GWh of sodium-ion battery energy storage systems for projects in Europe.
The companies plan to deploy what they describe as the first large-scale sodium-ion battery storage project in Central and Eastern Europe during 2026. Neither the capacity nor location of the first project has been disclosed.
The agreement covers CATL’s TENER Sodium storage system, which the Chinese battery manufacturer unveiled in June. CATL claims the system can deliver 15,000 cycles, equivalent to an operating life of 25–30 years, and retain more than 92% of its capacity at –20°C.
The low-temperature performance is expected to be particularly relevant in parts of Eastern Europe, where winter temperatures can fall to between –15°C and –20°C.
TENER Sodium is available for storage durations ranging from one to eight hours. CATL said the modular system provides more than 30MWh of rated capacity per unit, allowing a 1GWh project to be constructed using 34 units.
The agreement builds on previous work between CATL and Bulgaria-based Solarpro. In May, the companies connected a 601MWh lithium-ion BESS to the Bulgarian grid. The project, which uses CATL’s TENER system, was said to have increased Bulgaria’s installed energy storage capacity by approximately 10%.
Solarpro said it has delivered more than 4GWh of battery storage capacity and 14GW of solar projects in 16 countries.
The Solarpro agreement is CATL’s second European deal for TENER Sodium announced this month. The battery manufacturer signed a memorandum of understanding with Dutch energy systems company Alfen for the deployment of 5GWh of sodium-ion storage systems in the Netherlands and other Western European markets from 2027.
CATL described the Solarpro agreement as a further step towards the commercial deployment of sodium-ion technology, which replaces lithium with more abundant sodium-based materials.
The company began developing sodium-ion cells for commercial applications in 2021 and launched its Naxtra sodium-ion battery brand in 2025. It said in June that initial deliveries of TENER Sodium in China would begin in September 2026, with global commercial deliveries scheduled to follow in June 2027.
CATL has not disclosed the value of the Solarpro agreement or a delivery timetable for the full 2GWh.
Photo: second from left: Adelin Antonov, CEO and board member of Solarpro Technology AD; centre: Amanda Xu, CTO of CATL’s energy storage systems business and president of CATL ESS Europe
Credit: CATL
