CATL has signed an agreement with HGP Storage that will see the Chinese battery manufacturer supply the Dallas-based entity with around 450 megawatt-hours of lithium-ion batteries for a Texan energy storage operation, the company said on Monday.
Why it matters: The collaboration highlights CATL’s exploration of new avenues of growth in the energy storage sector. It is also the latest landmark for the Chinese electric vehicle battery giant as it expands overseas.
Details: Powered by CATL’s containerized liquid-cooling battery system, the facility will be able store up to 450 MWh of electricity in a single cycle and will begin operation in 2024.
- For comparison, UK clean energy developer Harmony Energy said it began running Europe’s largest battery energy storage system with an energy capacity of 196 MWh in Yorkshire, UK, last November.
- CATL and HGP Storage are forging a long-term partnership with plans to push for the deployment of another five gigawatt hours (GWh) of energy storage systems for public utilities.
Context: Energy storage is the second biggest revenue source for CATL, accounting for about 14% of its total revenue in 2022. The sector sustained strong growth momentum for CATL in 2022 as the company’s revenue from energy storage more than tripled to RMB 45 billion ($6.5 billion) from a year earlier.
- The world’s biggest battery maker, CATL had a 39% share of the global EV battery market in 2022 and accounted for more than 40% of the power battery usage segment, according to figures compiled by industry tracker SNE Research.
- The company has facilitated multiple grid-scale battery storage projects worldwide, including a 1.4 GWh solar power and battery storage facility near Las Vegas. It has also partnered with Ford to build a $3.5 billion battery plant in Michigan, scheduled to begin operations in 2026.
- In a policy proposal sent to Beijing earlier this year, CATL chairperson Zeng Yuqun called for more efforts to accelerate the adoption of lithium-ion batteries for energy storage. Zeng was a delegate of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, the country’s top political advisory body.