CATL Delivers the World’s First Eight-Hour Energy Storage System, Advancing GWh-Scale Long-Duration Storage Deployment

On October 28, CATL and Quinbrook, a globally recognized energy infrastructure investor, held a ceremony marking the rollout and delivery of the first long-duration energy storage units.

Developed by CATL based on its TENER long-duration energy storage system, EnerQB is designed for a series of long-duration storage projects in Australia. It is the world's first system-level product designed for gigawatt-hour (GWh) -scale long-duration energy storage applications, marking a transition for lithium-ion long-duration storage from pilot demonstrations to large-scale deployment.

Advancing GWh-Scale Long-Duration Energy Storage Deployment

The handover ceremony took place that morning at CATL's Xiamen production base. Brian Restall, CEO of Quinbrook; Tan Libin, Chief Customer Officer and Co-President of Sales & Marketing at CATL; and Shang Qingbo, Head of CATL's Xiamen Production Base, attended the event and jointly cut the ribbon.

During the ceremony, CATL representatives formally handed over the first EnerQB unit off the production line to Quinbrook. The first units will be shipped to Australia for deployment at a Quinbrook site to deliver real world operations of the long duration technology. CATL and Quinbrook previously signed a Global Framework Agreement that includes cooperation on new technology innovation and access to existing CATL technology, so Quinbrook can deliver on their pipeline of long-duration energy storage projects in Australia totaling more than 3 GW/24 GWh. EnerQB system is expected to be delivered and deployed across these projects in phases.

Brian Restall, CEO of Quinbrook

Quinbrook is a global fund manager focused on clean energy and digital infrastructure. "We have a long standing supply relationship with CATL. As a company we continue to be impressed by CATL's ability to maintain its status as a world-leading technology provider in battery energy technology. Quite simply, to date, CATL has always delivered on time for our projects and its equipment performance has met, and in some cases, exceeded the guaranteed performance requirements." said Brian Restall. "Schedule, reliability, ESG and performance are very important considerations for clean energy investors like Quinbrook. To secure revenue agreements, clean energy projects enter into long-term energy supply contracts with large energy users. Therefore the equipment we choose for our clean energy projects must meet our ESG, schedule and reliability requirements."  He noted that long-duration storage combined with renewable energy projects deliver dispatchable renewables, helping to make electricity supply more sustainable, reliable and affordable.

"This delivery is a major milestone for CATL in long-duration energy storage and a tangible demonstration of our commitment to innovation and sustainable development,"  said Shang Qingbo, Head of CATL's Xiamen Production Base. He added that long-duration storage would increasingly become dependable, long-term infrastructure for power systems.

Guests at the official handover of the first EnerQB units

As the share of wind and solar generation continues to rise, power systems require greater energy-shifting capabilities and a more reliable power supply. Energy storage applications are expanding from frequency regulation and energy arbitrage to energy shifting over longer periods. Supported by both market demand and policy, storage systems with discharge durations of eight hours or more are becoming an important direction for the industry.

At the same rated power, an eight-hour storage system requires four times the energy capacity of a two-hour system and twice that of a four-hour system. This creates opportunities for growth in battery cell and system demand, opening up new markets for the energy storage industry.

As electricity demand from AI data centers continues to grow, long-duration storage can extend the hours during which renewable power is available and strengthen security of supply, positioning it as an important component of sustainable computing infrastructure.

Integrated Cell and System Innovation Supports a 25-Year Design Life

Long-duration storage must sustain discharge over many hours while withstanding local operating conditions over many years, with minimal failure risk and maintenance requirements. EnerQB is a dedicated model within CATL's TENER long-duration energy storage family, developed for a series of Australian long-duration storage projects. Through coordinated innovation at the cell and system levels, it delivers high reliability, low energy consumption and environmental benefits throughout its 25-year lifecycle.

EnerQB Long-Duration Energy Storage System

At the cell level, EnerQB uses battery cells designed for high-temperature operation. By optimizing material activity and suppressing side reactions, the cells reduce degradation during long-term operation, combining high-temperature tolerance with a long service life.

At the system level, EnerQB incorporates CATL's Free Cooling technology. Its compressor-free, circulating cooling system substantially simplifies thermal management, reducing failure risk and operation and maintenance (O&M) costs. The high-temperature-tolerant cells work in tandem with the efficient cooling system to reduce auxiliary power consumption while supporting reliable operation over 25 years.

The refrigerant-free design also substantially reduces environmental impact, including the potential contribution of refrigerants to global warming. Eliminating the compressor further helps reduce operating noise.

These innovations give EnerQB a 25-year design life, a round-trip efficiency (RTE) of at least 96%, and an annual availability rate of at least 98%. At 25°C and one charge-discharge cycle per day, its 24-hour auxiliary energy consumption ratio is below 1%.

For large-scale energy storage plants, auxiliary energy consumption and maintenance expenditure accumulate with project scale and operating life. By improving reliability, reducing losses and simplifying O&M, EnerQB lowers lifecycle operating costs and supports the large-scale deployment of eight-hour energy storage.