Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited (CATL), the world’s leading battery manufacturer, has secured a pivotal contract to deliver battery energy storage systems (BESS) for a large-scale renewable project located in Queensland, Australia.
Under the official agreement, CATL will offer comprehensive energy storage solutions to Edify Energy’s Smoky Creek and Guthrie’s Gap solar and energy storage complex. The integrated project features 720 MW of solar power generation capacity, paired with a 600MW/2.4 GWh BESS unit. To optimize grid adaptability and operational efficiency, the energy storage systems delivered by CATL will be equipped with grid-forming inverters and adopt an advanced reverse DC-coupled hybrid configuration.
Edify Energy completed the financial closing of the landmark solar-storage project in May 2026. The enterprise has authorized DT Infrastructure, a subsidiary of Gamuda Group, to undertake the overall engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) work. The whole project is scheduled to be completed and officially put into commercial operation in 2028.
Beyond its continuous expansion in the global energy storage market with multiple gigawatt-scale BESS orders, CATL is actively diversifying its business footprint into the artificial intelligence industry. The company has announced a $1 billion strategic investment in DeepSeek, a prominent Chinese AI enterprise.
This financing round marks DeepSeek’s debut funding initiative, with total expected proceeds reaching approximately CNY 50 billion (equivalent to $7.3 billion). Besides CATL, Tencent Holdings, a top-tier Chinese multinational technology company, also participated in the fundraising.
DeepSeek rose to global fame in January 2025, as its self-developed large language model (LLM) delivered competitive performance against leading American counterparts while requiring only a small portion of traditional R&D costs.
The investment in DeepSeek follows CATL’s $600 million capital injection into Hangzhou Zhongheng Technology Investment in April 2026. As a core shareholder of Zhongheng Electric—a professional supplier of high-voltage direct current (HVDC) devices and customized power solutions—the investment helps CATL seize emerging industry opportunities.
Leading chipmaker Nvidia and other industry frontrunners have recently advocated transforming traditional alternating current (AC) power frameworks into DC-based architectures, an essential upgrade to accommodate the surging power consumption driven by AI development.
CATL’s series of targeted investments enable the firm to gain access to two high-growth sectors: AI data center developers and operators, and manufacturers specializing in high-end HVDC equipment.
Both resources are indispensable for constructing high-power-density data centers that meet the stringent requirements of global technology giants, empowering CATL to build long-term competitive edges in the new energy and digital economy eras.
