BYD to deliver 3.4 GWh to Chile in Latin America’s largest battery supply deal

Chinese battery giant BYD Energy Storage has clinched its largest Latin American contract to date, securing a 3.5 GWh supply deal with Spanish developer Grenergy for the next phase of Chile’s significant Oasis de Atacama project.

The agreement will see BYD deliver 6,240 of its MC Cube-T containerized systems to power the Elena phase of the desert development, which pairs 446 MW of solar with the substantial storage.

The deal pushes Oasis de Atacama’s total contracted storage to 6.5 GWh when combined with the 3 GWh already secured for earlier phases. The full project is targeting 11 GWh of storage capacity paired with 2 GW of solar generation, cementing its status as one of the world’s largest projects. In perspective, the single 3.5 GWh phase exceeds the entire operational battery storage capacity of many European markets.

BYD’s MC Cube-T units pack the company’s signature Blade Battery technology, which relies on lithium iron phosphate or LFP chemistry. The containerized approach offers deployment flexibility across the expansive desert site, where land constraints are hardly a concern.

Grenergy has taken a multi-vendor approach across Oasis de Atacama’s various phases, spreading supply risk while tapping different battery manufacturers though BYD has supplied batteries in the past as well. BYD’s Chinese rival CATL, in October 2024, supplied 1.25 GWh of batteries for phase four of the Oasis de Atacama site. The developer has locked in long-term power purchase agreements to backstop the project’s revenue streams.

Chile’s Atacama Desert has become a renewable energy hotspot, offering world-class solar irradiation and vast open spaces. However, grid congestion issues have made storage increasingly critical for project economics, particularly for developments of this magnitude.

The Elena phase represents BYD’s deepest push into the Latin American utility storage market. Construction completion timelines remain under wraps.