CATL Delivers First 8-Hour EnerQB Systems for Quinbrook's 24GWh Australian Pipeline
On October 28, Quinbrook Infrastructure Partners and CATL marked the delivery of the first EnerQB long-duration energy storage systems at a ceremony in Xiamen, China.
Each unit provides 5.64MWh of storage and was developed from CATL's TENER long-duration storage platform. The system is intended for Quinbrook's planned Australian project pipeline of approximately 3GW/24GWh.
The first units will be shipped to Stanwell Power Station, near Rockhampton in central Queensland, for a 12-month field trial. The programme will assess the system's performance, scalability and commercial viability under real operating conditions.
Eight-Hour Storage Changes More Than System Capacity
Most utility-scale battery projects currently use two- to four-hour configurations, primarily for frequency response, short-duration energy arbitrage and peak management. As the share of wind and solar generation increases, some markets are beginning to require storage capable of covering longer periods of electricity shortfall.
Stanwell CEO Michael O'Rourke said EnerQB could store daytime solar generation when electricity prices are low and discharge for eight continuous hours during periods of peak demand. The trial will examine the system's technical and economic performance under this operating model.
Extending storage duration from four to eight hours, however, involves more than adding battery capacity. Longer operating cycles can amplify auxiliary consumption, thermal-management losses, cell degradation and maintenance costs. Simply scaling up a short-duration system could increase capital expenditure and lifetime costs to a point that weakens the project's commercial case.
EnerQB Adapts Cell and Thermal Design for Long-Duration Operation
CATL said EnerQB was not created by simply expanding a short-duration product. Its materials, cells and system architecture have instead been adapted specifically for eight-hour operation.
The cells use a high-temperature-resistant design intended to slow long-term degradation by optimising material activity and limiting side reactions. At system level, EnerQB uses a Free Cooling architecture that replaces conventional refrigerants and compressors with a compressor-free circulation system.
The design is intended to reduce auxiliary consumption, mechanical failure points, maintenance requirements and operating noise. For systems expected to charge and discharge over extended periods every day, these factors could materially affect lifetime project costs.
CATL has disclosed the following performance targets:
- 25-year design life
- System round-trip efficiency above 96%
- Annual availability above 98%
- Auxiliary consumption below 1% over 24 hours at 25°C, based on one full charge-discharge cycle per day
- These figures are currently based on supplier disclosures. Whether EnerQB can maintain this performance under real operating conditions will be a central focus of the Stanwell trial.
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