CATL Targets "Small Orders" in Energy Storage

CATL, already a leader in the large-scale energy storage market, is accelerating its efforts to serve small and medium-sized integrators.

On August 21, the "CATL Mall" WeChat mini-program went live. The platform sells original manufacturer products to energy storage integrators, currently offering two models of lithium iron phosphate (LFP) energy storage cells: 280Ah (1P) and 314Ah, with a minimum order quantity of three crates.

Wallstreetcn has learned that over 1,800 enterprises have registered on the platform, which has already seen actual procurement. Small-batch orders are covered by a five-year warranty and official after-sales service, with plans to sell battery cabinets and energy storage containers in the future. CATL is expanding the product and service scope of its mall.

According to the semi-annual report, CATL is not short of large orders or production tasks. In the first half of 2026, the company's battery system capacity utilization rate reached 94.86%, and revenue from energy storage battery systems amounted to RMB 53.261 billion, a year-on-year increase of 87.54%. During the same period, CATL also signed a three-year cooperation agreement with HiTHIUM for sodium-ion battery energy storage, with a total scale of 60 GWh.

The mall handles procurement outside of these large project contracts. Prototype trial production, temporary restocking, and small commercial and industrial energy storage projects often require a small number of cells per order, but procurement timelines are frequently constrained by project delivery deadlines.

According to information provided by CATL, enterprises can complete model selection, inquiry, ordering, and payment within as little as 20 minutes, with shipment occurring 3 to 5 days after payment.

A representative from KuaiBu New Energy stated that previously, procurement "often took a month," whereas now, "you can place an order directly, making restocking and small-batch procurement much more convenient."

Such demand is increasing. Data from InfoLink shows that global shipments of small-scale energy storage cells reached 65.48 GWh in the first half of 2026, a year-on-year increase of 202.57%, significantly outpacing the large-scale energy storage market. CATL ranks first in large-scale energy storage cell shipments, while the top three players in the small-scale market are EVE Energy, Great Power Energy, and REPT Battero, with their combined market share exceeding 60%.

As residential energy storage, distributed energy storage, and small micro-commercial and industrial projects increase, the number of customers grows, procurement batches become more fragmented, and delivery times become less predictable. Long-term orders and direct supply to major clients struggle to cover all scattered demands, forcing battery manufacturers to engage with more small and medium-sized integrators.

This has also changed the nature of competition. While individual orders from these customers are not large, they are more sensitive to restocking speed, batch consistency, and after-sales liability. The customers and channels accumulated by EVE Energy, Great Power Energy, and REPT Battero in the small-scale storage market have become an important foundation for their leading positions. The launch of CATL's mall effectively incorporates scattered procurement, previously handled mostly through channels, into its own direct sales system.

For small and medium-sized integrators, the significance of direct sales from the original manufacturer lies in greater certainty. Which batch the cells come from and who is responsible for issues directly impact project acceptance and subsequent operation and maintenance. CATL states that products from the mall are fully traceable, small-batch purchases enjoy a five-year warranty, and come with one-on-one official after-sales support.

Currently, the mall only sells cells, but the display section already features 587Ah cells, 280Ah and 314Ah energy storage battery cabinets, as well as EnerD and EnerD+ energy storage containers, although the official sales launch date has not yet been determined. Once these products become available for purchase, the mall's offerings will expand from individual cells to battery cabinet and container systems.

Having secured a 60 GWh long-term energy storage agreement in the first half of the year, CATL is now willing to start doing business with orders as small as three crates of cells. SCUD and KuaiBu have already made purchases through the mall. CATL has begun handling scattered orders generated by prototypes, restocking, and small projects on its own.