CATL has formed a partnership to work on projects awarded contracts through Brazil’s first national energy storage auction programme, which received more than 6,000 bids.
CATL has formed a partnership with local battery manufacturer Moura to supply projects with winning contracts in Brazil’s Capacity Reserve Auction for Energy Storage (LRCAP – National Storage).
The news comes a few weeks after the Brazilian government’s Energy Research Office (EPE) said registration had been completed for the LRCAP programme’s two auctions. A total 6.091 project bids were received, representing 296,908MW of power capacity.
This was a record for participation in energy auctions of any kind in Brazil, the EPE said on 4 August.
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The two auctions are the National Storage category, which includes a domestic content requirement threshold, and Storage, for which all other systems are eligible.
The South American country’s first national storage auction was announced in early June by the Ministry of Mines and Energy, a day after the National Electric Energy Agency (ANEEL) approved its first market regulations for energy storage systems (ESS).
Those regulations now have ANEEL regulating and supervising electricity storage as an energy sector activity, including access to the network and revenue stacking from batteries that provide multiple functions.
Their introduction had been long-awaited, having been first floated in 2019. Energy storage trade association Associação Brasileira de Armazenamento de Energia (ABSAE) commented in June that energy storage had “definitely entered the agenda of the Brazilian electricity sector,” following “years of debate and regulatory construction.”
Chinese solar and BESS players see potential in utility-scale, C&I markets
According to CATL, the partnership will enable equipment supplied to meet the auction’s local content requirements, while leveraging Moura’s position as an established provider of inverter and power conversion system (PCS) technologies to the Brazilian market.
The world’s biggest lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery manufacturer announced the partnership as it showcased its range of large-scale battery energy storage system (BESS) solutions at Intersolar South America last week in São Paulo, Brazil.
The conference and expo, part of the Smarter E global series that also includes its biggest annual show in Munich, Germany, took place last week at the Expo Center Norte, São Paulo.
Alongside a large contingent of other Chinese solar PV and BESS industry players, battery manufacturer Cornex signed a 1.5GWh cell supply deal for a new factory in Bahia, northeastern Brazil.
The framework agreement, signed on 26 August at the show, is with Windey Energy Technology Group, a renewable energy services provider that was China’s first commercial wind turbine manufacturer.
Windey inaugurated its Camaçari Energy Storage Factory at Camaçari Industrial Park in late June, with Governor of Bahia Jerônimo Rodrigues among the dignitaries at a launch ceremony.
It’s Windey’s first BESS plant outside China and will assemble, integrate, test and commission systems for the Brazil and Latin American markets. Cornex will be its core cell supplier.
Between them, CATL and Cornex delivered nearly a third of all BESS cell supply in 2025, according to Benchmark Mineral Intelligence. CATL led the market with a 20% share, Cornex’s was 9%, behind EVE Energy, Hithium and BYD Energy Storage.
A market environment in which Chinese suppliers of key equipment, such as battery cells, power electronics, and software, face barriers to business in the US and potentially other markets due to political or regulatory changes likely means greater emphasis on emerging markets such as Latin America.
The already organically growing demand for renewable energy, especially in Brazil and Chile, is perhaps an even bigger driver of interest in Latin America.
Solar PV inverter and BESS manufacturer Sungrow said at the show that it has now reached 25GW of cumulative PV inverter orders and 10GWh of BESS orders under contract across Latin America, as it showcased products aimed at commercial and industrial (C&I) and utility-scale market segments.
The company claimed that the adoption of energy storage is accelerating due to regulations, including Brazil’s InMetro Ordinance 140/2022, which establishes mandatory safety, performance, and labelling rules for distributed solar and storage equipment, rising electricity prices, and increasing risks of blackouts.
Sungrow talked up the potential for C&I battery storage in Brazil. The addressable market includes farms and businesses that require backup power for continuous operation and electricity bill reduction through peak shaving and onsite renewable generation, the company said.
According to Benchmark Mineral Intelligence research, Sungrow, which launched its BESS division in partnership with Samsung SDI and does not manufacture cells, was the third leading battery storage system integrator by shipment volume globally in 2025. Sungrow took a 9% market share behind BYD (13%) and Tesla (10%). CATL ranked joint fourth in system integration with 6%, tied with the energy storage division of Chinese state-owned train manufacturer CRRC, and pureplay system integrator HyperStrong.
Our publisher Solar Media, part of Informa Connect, will host the Energy Storage Summit Latin America 2026 on 26-27 October, 2026, in Santiago, Chile. Energy-Storage.news readers can use our discount code ESN20 at checkout for 20% off tickets.
