CATL inaugurates world's largest energy storage testing centre in China

Global battery giant CATL has officially launched operations at the Xiamen Energy Storage Validation Research Institute (ESVL), designated as the world’s largest and most comprehensive single-point testing and validation platform for the energy storage industry. The facility spans 10 hectares and is backed by an investment of approximately 3 billion yuan (around £330 million), designed as an open and shared infrastructure to serve global energy storage stakeholders. According to CATL, as global energy transition accelerates, the industry faces significant performance gaps, with nearly one in five large-scale energy storage stations not operating optimally and 46.5% of systems experiencing grid connection delays exceeding two months. The ESVL aims to address these challenges by shifting validation from component-level testing to rigorous station-level verification, ensuring safety, grid support capabilities, and long-term reliability before deployment. The institute features five core laboratories: - Grid Integration Laboratory: The world’s first station-level facility, equipped with a 35kV/100MVA network simulator. Capable of testing over 10 large-scale energy storage containers simultaneously and simulating network topologies of up to 1,000 nodes. - High-Voltage Safety Laboratory: Tests voltages from 1kV to 500kV and investigates fire and explosion mechanisms under extreme conditions. - Thermal and Combustion Safety Laboratory: Features a 20MW calorimeter and a 100,000 cubic metre indoor space, enabling simultaneous explosion testing on nine large containers. - Environment Resistance Laboratory: Tests performance in extreme climates from -50°C to 100°C and simulates altitudes up to 7,200 km. - Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC) Laboratory: The world’s only facility capable of conducting real-world EMC testing on 40-foot containers under high charging and discharging conditions. By providing independent and traceable data, the ESVL aims to help regulators, insurance companies, and financial institutions treat energy storage as a more credible and fundable asset. CATL holds the largest market share globally in both power batteries and energy storage. In power batteries, the company leads the market with a 47.0% share as of April 2026. For energy storage, in 2025 CATL’s battery sales reached 121 GWh, with a global market share of 30.4%, securing the top position for five consecutive years. CATL is also the world’s largest electric vehicle (EV) battery supplier, used by leading brands including Tesla, BMW, Hyundai, Toyota, Honda, Volvo, NIO, Li Auto, Zeekr, and many others.