BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA — August 25, 2026 — Australia's largest battery storage system just got its final piece.
Quinbrook Infrastructure Partners has selected GE Vernova and CATL for Stage 3 of the Supernode BESS in Queensland — adding 260 MW / 1,216 MWh of four-hour storage to a development that, at full build-out, will reach 780 MW / 3,075 MWh on a single site: the largest battery energy storage system in Australia.
Stage 3 has already achieved financial close on A$469 million in debt financing, with GE Vernova supplying the power conversion technology and CATL TENER S batteries providing the storage core.
| Stage 1+2 | Stage 3 (new) | Supernode Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capacity | 520 MW / 1,859 MWh | 260 MW / 1,216 MWh | 780 MW / 3,075 MWh |
| Duration | 4-hour | 4-hour | 4-hour |
| Battery | CATL LFP platform | CATL TENER S | CATL LFP |
| Power conversion | GE Vernova | GE Vernova | GE Vernova |
| Status | Operational / under construction | Financial close; equipment order confirmed | Australia's largest BESS |
A mega-project like Supernode is news by size alone. But it carries three quieter signals the whole storage value chain should read:
1. The LFP large-format cell is now the industry's default core. CATL's TENER S — built on the 314Ah-class large-format LFP platform — is the storage core of Australia's largest project. The same cell architecture family that powers gigawatt-scale Supernode is the same family used in distributed systems like EXLIPORC's 16kWh platform (314Ah standard / 324Ah long-life). When the biggest projects and the smallest modular systems share a cell platform, buyers get supply-chain confidence at every scale.
2. Four hours is the new standard duration. Supernode's four-hour design reflects the market's shift from peak-shaving to grid-stability and energy-shifting roles. Longer duration means the battery is not just a fast-response tool — it is a capacity asset that competes with peaker plants. Buyers evaluating systems today should size for duration, not just power.
3. Australia is the Pacific anchor for storage build-out. Between Supernode and the other large projects tracked across Queensland and New South Wales, Australia is validating storage at a scale that de-risks the technology for the entire Asia-Pacific region — the same region where Vietnam, Thailand, and other emerging C&I markets are now deploying distributed storage.
For C&I and distributed-storage buyers, the Supernode model translates into practical procurement principles:
1. Platform provenance matters. Ask what cell platform a system is built on. If it's the same 314Ah/324Ah family the world's largest projects deploy, you inherit years of field validation and supply-chain maturity — not a niche chemistry.
2. Duration beats headline power. Four-hour capability at the project level mirrors what residential and C&I buyers should seek: a battery that shifts evening load, not just a power toy. EXLIPORC's 16.58kWh long-life model is designed for sustained discharge, not just surge.
3. Financial close = technology vote. A$469 million of debt financing closed on Stage 3 because lenders modeled the LFP platform's degradation and revenue over decades. Buyers should demand the same rigor: cycle-life data, warranty terms, and BMS architecture — not just a price.
Supernode proves the LFP large-format cell is the industry's foundation — at 3 GWh scale. EXLIPORC builds on the same foundation: 314Ah standard cells and 324Ah 8,000-cycle long-life cells, active-balancing BMS, and a modular 16kWh platform that brings "same-platform" confidence to distributed projects — from Poland-warehouse stock with 3-7 day EU delivery to IP65 outdoor installations across Southeast Asia.
The mega-project validates the chemistry. The modular market delivers it.
Sources: GE Vernova press release (August 21, 2026); Energy-Storage.News coverage (August 24, 2026); Renewables Now and Interesting Engineering coverage of Stage 3 financial close (A$469 million, August 2026).
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