CATL announces Moura partnership for Brazil battery auction

CATL has announced a strategic partnership with Moura to jointly participate in Brazil’s Capacity Reserve Auction for Energy Storage (LRCAP 2026 – National Storage), organized by the Ministry of Mines and Energy (MME). The agreement was announced at The Smarter E South America 2026, held in São Paulo, Brazil, from Aug. 25 to Aug. 27.

The partnership combines CATL’s energy storage systems with Moura’s knowledge of the Brazilian market. According to CATL, it also involves a second strategic partner that is a market leader in power conversion systems (PCS) and inverters in Brazil. The companies aim to develop localized production that meets the auction’s local-content requirements.

At the event, CATL showcased its portfolio of utility-scale energy storage systems for the Brazilian market.

The TENER S system is designed to maintain its capacity and power without degradation during the first five years of its 20-year design life, according to CATL. It uses liquid cooling that the company says can reduce auxiliary energy consumption by up to 20%, while increasing areal energy density by 30% and reducing equipment footprint by 20%.

For high-density utility-scale and commercial and industrial (C&I) applications, CATL presented the TENER H. The system uses 575 Ah cells and provides 9 MWh of storage capacity per container. CATL says it increases land utilization by 45% and can be configured for two-, four-, or eight-hour durations.

The two-hour configuration is designed for fast-response applications such as grid stabilization, while the four- and eight-hour versions can achieve up to 96% round-trip efficiency, according to CATL.

CATL also introduced the TENER Sodium in Brazil for the first time. The integrated 30 MWh sodium-ion storage system has a 20-year design life, 95% round-trip efficiency, an operating range of -20 C to 45 C, and IEC, UL, and CE certifications.

The system integrates a battery management system (BMS), PCS, and thermal management system designed around the characteristics of sodium-ion batteries.

CATL says it holds a 45% share of Brazil’s energy storage market. The company has projects in transmission, agriculture, cold-chain logistics, and industrial facilities.

One project cited by CATL is the Registro system, which entered operation in December 2022. The company describes it as Brazil’s first utility-scale battery storage system installed in the transmission sector.

The system supports a substation serving 15 cities and approximately 2 million people.

CATL says it has established a South American service network to support assets throughout their life cycle. The network includes five senior storage specialists and more than 140 certified engineers.

The company says it can provide remote support within one hour, on-site technical service within two days, and escalation to interregional specialists within five days. It also maintains regional spare-parts inventories intended to remain available for up to 20 years, supported by four global central warehouses and more than 50 forward stocking locations.

CATL provides training through its South American facility in Santiago, Chile, and maintains regional channels for transportation, dismantling, and material recovery at the end of equipment life.

Storage expansion

The partnership comes as CATL’s global energy storage business expands. Revenue from its energy storage battery systems division reached CNY 53.26 billion in the first half of 2026, up 87.54% year on year.

According to SNE Research data cited by CATL, the company shipped 125 GWh of batteries for energy storage systems during the first half and held the largest global market share over the period.

CATL also cited recent assessments by industry research firms. S&P Global Energy ranked the company as a Tier 1 supplier of energy storage cells and systems for 2026 and placed it first globally by market share in both categories.

Wood Mackenzie gave CATL an “A” rating and placed it among the top three global BESS integrators. BloombergNEF has included CATL in its Tier 1 energy storage list for 11 consecutive quarters since the first quarter of 2024.

Recent projects cited by CATL include a 602 MWh installation in Burgas, Bulgaria, developed with Solarpro and commissioned in May 2026.

In Australia, CATL is supplying systems for all three phases of the Supernode project and providing long-term operations and maintenance services. In the United States, the company is supplying equipment for the Gemini project, which combines 380 MW of solar generation with 1,416 MWh of storage and has been operating since July 2024.

From pv magazine Brazil