(Yicai) July 17 -- Chinese battery giant Contemporary Amperex Technology teamed up with Dutch energy solutions provider Alfen to jointly roll out a 5 gigawatt-hour advanced sodium-ion energy storage system across Europe from 2027.

CATL and Alfen will deploy the former’s Tener Sodium Energy Storage System in the Netherlands and other Western European countries from next year, the Ningde-based company announced yesterday.

This marks CATL’s first bulk supply of Tener Sodium to European clients, as well as Europe’s first large-scale roll-out of sodium-ion energy storage systems.

CATL unveiled Tener Sodium, the world’s first real-world validated sodium-ion energy storage solution, last month. It is compatible with either sodium-ion or lithium-ion batteries, enabling CATL’s system integrator partners greater flexibility in battery material selection.

CATL and Alfen have worked together on lithium-ion energy storage before. This project will expand their cooperation to a new generation of sodium-ion solutions, demonstrating that overseas partners have formally incorporated sodium-ion-based energy storage systems into their procurement portfolios, CATL pointed out.

The joint deployment of the sodium-ion project with Alfen will allow CATL to accumulate localized European grid application experience for sodium batteries, optimize product adaptation to European grid codes, and accelerate the global scaling of sodium-ion energy storage shipments, the Chinese company noted.

Compared with lithium-ion batteries, sodium-ion batteries deliver superior performance in safety, operating temperature range, and full-lifecycle sustainability in energy storage solutions. They do not rely on lithium raw material supplies, making costs stable, as they are not affected by lithium price volatility.

The performance and cost advantages of sodium-ion batteries have made them an increasingly popular alternative for energy storage projects. In April, CATL secured a three-year order for 60 GWh of sodium-ion batteries from leading Chinese energy storage system integrator Hithium Energy Storage, the world’s largest sodium-ion battery supply agreement to date.

Driven by explosive growth in energy storage demand, CATL’s energy storage business has become a core pillar for the company. In the first quarter, the segment achieved revenue of CNY28.6 billion (USD4.2 billion), accounting for over 22 percent of CATL’s total revenue in the period, up from 15 percent a year earlier.

Editors: Tang Shihua, Futura Costaglione