# CATL launches 9 MWh TENER+ battery with 25-year design life *The Chinese cell maker cuts container counts by 40% and land footprint by 12% in a bid to relieve utility-scale grid bottlenecks across western renewable markets.* **Published:** November 3, 2026 **By:** Lian Chen **Section:** Batteries & Electric Vehicles — China **Format:** Breaking **Confidence:** medium **Source:** https://eastasiabrief.com/batteries-ev/catl-launches-9-mwh-tener-battery-25-year-design-1086 **Publisher:** East Asia Brief (https://eastasiabrief.com/) --- ## What to know - CATL details 9 MWh TENER+ BESS cutting project container count by 40% - Hitachi Energy signs MoU to integrate power conversion hardware in Australia - Australian grid validation testing under the joint agreement begins in Q1 2027 ![Workers inspect a containerized energy storage system installed in an open field near power towers. (AI-generated image)](https://eastasiabrief.com/media/2026-11-02-c850ac8bde29.webp) *Workers inspect a containerized energy storage system installed in an open field near power towers. (AI-generated image)* Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited published technical specifications Nov. 2, 2026, for its 9-megawatt-hour TENER+ containerized energy storage system, targeting utility developers facing land and grid bottlenecks. The Chinese manufacturer holds 30.4% of global energy storage battery shipments, leading the global sector for five consecutive years. The new platform packages lithium iron phosphate cells into a single utility enclosure. The system reduces the container count on a project site by up to 40% compared with conventional hardware, according to company documentation. It shrinks the required project land footprint by 12%. CATL engineered the battery for a 25-year operational lifespan, matching the service life of utility solar farms and wind installations. The cells incorporate slow-degradation chemistry to stabilize capacity across thousands of cycles. Developers can choose cell configurations tailored to extreme desert heat or an option providing zero capacity degradation during the first three years of service. The zero-degradation feature applies only to specific configurations, CATL said. Liquid cooling keeps internal cell temperatures uniform during rapid charge and discharge cycles. An intelligent thermal management system lowers auxiliary electricity consumption while improving overall round-trip efficiency — the percentage of electricity retrieved relative to the amount stored. A top-exhaust structure discharges hot air vertically rather than laterally. The design prevents horizontal heat plumes from elevating ambient temperatures around adjacent power conversion systems — the inverters that convert direct-current battery power into alternating current for high-voltage transmission grids. External inverter units can maintain their full rated electrical output during extreme summer heatwaves without thermal derating, the company said. Multiple TENER+ units can also be commissioned simultaneously with one digital command, cutting labor requirements during on-site installation. Acoustic dampening keeps operating noise below 65 decibels at a distance of one meter. That operating threshold permits developers to install large battery arrays adjacent to suburban substations and communities with strict boundary noise codes. The system enclosure includes protective coatings designed for humid and coastal air. The design allows installations near coastal industrial ports, transmission landings and offshore wind interconnect hubs. Alongside the lithium system, CATL exhibited its TENER Sodium platform, which provides more than 30 megawatt-hours per modular cabinet installation. The sodium-ion architecture operates across ambient temperatures from minus 35 to 55 degrees Celsius without requiring auxiliary heating units. The sodium configuration delivers more than 10,000 charge cycles at 45 degrees Celsius while maintaining 95% round-trip efficiency, CATL said. The system targets a 20-year operational life for remote mining networks and desert grids. The introduction extends CATL's containerized storage portfolio. The company launched the 6.25-megawatt-hour TENER platform in April 2024 and followed with the 9-megawatt-hour TENER Stack in May 2025. Hitachi Energy signed a memorandum of understanding with CATL to integrate power conversion equipment with the high-capacity enclosures. Power conversion systems account for roughly 15% of total balance-of-plant capital spending on utility battery projects. Australian engineering firm EPEC Group signed an agreement to conduct local system verification and balance-of-plant engineering. CATL also formed an agreement with UNSW Sydney to examine grid-connection modeling and local regulatory validation. CATL has supplied more than 17 gigawatt-hours of battery capacity across Australia, where utility batteries recently surpassed gas-fired generation during evening peak demand intervals. Worldwide, the battery manufacturer has deployed equipment across more than 3,000 storage facilities. The high-density format raises competitive pressure on South Korean cell manufacturers LG Energy Solution and Samsung SDI. Both South Korean suppliers are expanding direct-current container assembly lines to defend utility market share in North America, Europe and Australia. Research firm Battery StorageTech awarded CATL an AAA rating in its second-quarter bankability report, citing balance-sheet stability and grid delivery scale. That financial ranking lowers debt financing margins for utility developers seeking private project capital. CATL has not published commercial pricing per kilowatt-hour, initial factory production targets or the names of initial utility buyers for the delivery run. Australian grid-connection validation trials under the Hitachi Energy agreement are scheduled to begin site testing in the first quarter of 2027. ## Impact map | Event | Korea | China | Japan | Global impact | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | CATL 9MWh TENER+ launch | LG Energy Solution and Samsung SDI face margin pressure against 9MWh container density | CATL expands utility LFP export lead, defending 30.4% global shipment share | Hitachi Energy secures power conversion equipment integration on Australian grid projects | Utility storage developers reduce project footprint by 12% and balance-of-plant cabling capex | ## In this story - **Companies:** Contemporary Amperex Technology - **Tickers:** 300750.SZ - **Exposed:** Hitachi Energy, LG Energy Solution, Samsung SDI - **Policy:** Standards - **Impact:** Capex, Supply Chain, Pricing ## Primary sources 1. todayenergy.kr 2. energy-storage.news 3. manilatimes.net 4. pv-magazine-australia.com 5. energynews.biz --- Cite as: East Asia Brief, "CATL launches 9 MWh TENER+ battery with 25-year design life," November 3, 2026. https://eastasiabrief.com/batteries-ev/catl-launches-9-mwh-tener-battery-25-year-design-1086