Alfen and CATL Target 5 GWh Sodium-Ion Deployment
In a major move to diversify battery supply chains and reduce exposure to lithium price volatility, Alfen and CATL announced a collaboration in July 2026 to deploy 5 GWh of sodium-ion battery energy storage systems across Europe. Alfen's first sodium-ion deployment is expected in the second half of 2027. However, scaling this technology presents challenges. Despite extensive battery research and technical expertise, Europe currently lacks the industrial production capacity required for sodium-ion batteries. Alfen CEO Michael Colijn highlighted the difficulty of translating European innovation from research into competitive local industrial production.
Modular Architectures and Strategic Partnerships
Alongside chemistry diversification, system architecture is evolving. At Sigenergy Day Europe 2026, the company showcased its BESS portfolio, including the modular SigenStack for commercial applications and SigenTerra for utility-scale storage. These systems utilize DC coupling to keep the PV-to-battery energy path on the DC side, boosting overall energy yield by 3%–4%. This technology was recently demonstrated in a 20 MWh Weissach im Tal project in Germany, which was installed in just 20 days.
Strategic partnerships and technological innovation are accelerating BESS deployment across Europe, even as the continent grapples with domestic manufacturing bottlenecks.
Similarly, Sungrow and be.storaged signed a framework agreement to deliver 1.6 GWh of BESS projects in Germany over the next two years, utilizing Sungrow's PowerTitan 3.0 system. To support these massive deployments, ABB announced a USD 200 million investment to expand medium-voltage equipment manufacturing across Europe, including in Italy, Bulgaria, Finland, Germany, and Poland, ensuring the grid infrastructure can handle the new storage capacity.
Source: GlobeNewsWire / PublicNow / PR Newswire
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