CATL to supply 2.4 GWh Australian BESS, invests $1BN in DeepSeek AI

CATL will supply battery energy storage systems to Edify Energy’s Smoky Creek and Huthrie’s Gap solar and energy storage project in Queensland, Australia.

The deal will see CATL provide energy storage to the plant, which will comprise a 720 MW solar capacity co-located with a 600MW/2.4 GWh BESS. CATL said the storage provided for the project will be integrated with grid-forming inverters that employ a reverse DC-coupled hybrid configuration.

Edify Energy reached financial close on the Smoky Creek and Guthrie’s Gap Solar Power Stations project in May 2026. The developer has awarded Gamuda company DT Infrastructure the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contracts for the project and is targeting delivery and operations in 2028.

The Smoky Creek and Huthrie’s Gap project is backed by long-term revenue contracts secured ahead of commissioning, including two long-term solar and battery hybrid services agreements with Rio Tinto, which will see the global mining company purchase 90% of the power and battery storage capacity at the project for 20 years. The hybrid installation also has a contract with the Australian governments capacity investment scheme.  

While CATL continues to secure gigawatt-scale BESS contracts, the battery manufacturer has further increased its exposure to the AI segment with a $1 billion investment in DeepSeek. CATL is joined by China-based technology multinational Tencent Holdings and other investors in DeepSeek’s first funding round, which is reportedly set to raise around CNY 50 billion ($7.3 billion)

Chinese AI company DeepSeek made global headlines in January 2025 when its large-language model (LLM) achieved comparable results to US-based market leaders at a claimed fraction of the development cost.

CATL’s new stake in DeepSeek follows a $600 million investment in Hangzhou Zhongheng Technology Investment in April 2026. Hangzhou Zhongheng Technology Investment is a major shareholder in Zhongheng Electric, an HVDC and power solutions provider. The investment comes as major chip manufacturers such as Nvidia call for a switch from AC- to DC-based electricity system architectures to keep pace with increasing power demands.

CATL’s recent investments give the company exposure to the companies building and operating data centers for AI development, as well as the high-voltage DC manufacturing capabilities that will be needed to build data centers with the power density that global tech giants are asking for.