Overview
- A Financial Times report on Monday said CATL and Octopus Energy have formed a 50/50 joint venture to build a Europe truck battery‑swap hub network targeting more than 30 stations by 2035 with the first UK sites due to open in 2027.
- CATL publicly launched the CATL TENER Sodium storage system on June 23 and said its sodium‑ion production lines are ready, with first China deliveries scheduled for September 2026 and global commercial deliveries from June 2027.
- The TENER Sodium system is billed as modular units above 30 MWh, rated for about 15,000 cycles and operation from −20°C to 45°C, and CATL said the design is size‑compatible with existing lithium modules to ease integration.
- Chairman Zeng disclosed on June 23 that group production capacity will top 1,000 GWh in 2026 as CATL plans GWh‑level sodium‑ion shipments by year‑end while claiming production yields and costs 10%–20% below industry averages.
- CATL warns solid‑state batteries remain at an early development stage (roughly 'level 4') and says large‑scale, mass‑market solid‑state deployment will take several more years; the swap plan also aims to lower truck purchase costs, centralize battery lifecycle management and simplify recycling for operators.