Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL) has signed an agreement with Quinbrook to deploy over 10GWh of the Chinese battery manufacturer’s EnerC Plus battery storage technology over the next five years.
Formalised via the signing of a global framework agreement, the partnership includes the design, optimisation and supply of CATL’s EnerC Plus technology, a complete liquid cooled containerised battery storage solution, across three international markets including the US, UK and Australia.
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It is important to note that Quinbrook’s renewables and storage development portfolio in the US, UK and Australia currently exceeds 50GW.
One project which could see the integration of CATL’s storage solution is the Sun Cable Project, an Australian-based 20GW solar and storage project situated in the Northern Territory. The two companies stated they will work together closely to assess the viability of integrating an 8-hour charge and 16-hour discharge energy storage solution for the project.
The companies will also assess the feasibility of deploying the first 1GWh+ EnerC Plus projects in Australia and the UK. In the US, Quinbrook has already deployed CATL’s storage technology in the Gemini solar-plus-storage project in Nevada.
Brian Restall, Quinbrook’s managing director for Australia and the co-chair of Quinbrook’s Global Procurement Committee said: “Quinbrook has a long history of working closely with CATL for our innovative stationary storage projects.
“We are impressed by the quality of CATL’s technology that consistently tops DNV’s annual Battery Scorecard report, their robust product supply chains and the company’s commitment to investing in research and development to maintain their cutting edge technical advantage. We look forward to continuing our working partnership and assessing the viability of CATL’s ultra long duration storage solutions as well.”
CATL is also ranked as the world’s biggest battery manufacturer, most recently in research by Korean firm SNE Research, which found it held a 37% share of the global market.
While that’s largely due to its presence in the electric vehicle (EV) space, it has been steadily growing its activities in the stationary BESS market, including as a supplier of cells as well as integrated solutions like EnerC.
Examples include a 10GWh, multi-year deal signed in late 2022 with US BESS system integrator FlexGen, which is using EnerC for its pipeline of North American projects, and another 5GWh deal for EnerC solutions in the US with energy storage project developer HGP Storage, for projects in the Texas ERCOT market. That deal was announced in March and begins with an initial single-site 450MWh project.
Another deal was signed in late 2022 by the manufacturer with UK-based energy storage investor Gresham House Energy Storage Fund, for an initial 7.5GWh, rising to a potential 10GWh, again thought to be focused around the EnerC solution.
CATL also continues to increase its presence in the Australian market. In September 2023, the company was selected to provide a battery energy storage system (BESS) for the Kwinana Battery Energy Storage System 2 (KBESS 2), a 4-hour 200MW/800MWh battery storage project being developed in Western Australia.
Commenting on the partnership with Quinbrook, Tan Libin, vice-president of CATL said: “We are excited to strengthen partnership with Quinbrook, which is experienced in leading investments and initiatives that support a stable transition to a decarbonised power system.
“Together with Quinbrook, we look forward to implementing more large-scale battery energy storage projects globally with our innovative solutions, so as to help addressing climate change and move towards a clean and sustainable future.”
