After Securing the 206GWh Entry Pass, the Joys and Sorrows of EVE Energy, the "Number Two"

When the 206GWh halo fades, EVE Energy's real battlefield has only just begun.

On September 18, EVE Energy made a splash in the entire energy storage circle with an announcement: Subsidiary EVE Dynamics signed a 2027—2031 206GWh battery supply framework agreement with US energy storage system integrator Fluence. According to the company's announcement benchmarks, this is equivalent to about 1.7 times its 2025 power and storage battery shipment of 121.2GWh.

The certainty of orders does not hold up to scrutiny. Breaking down the agreement's wording, only 16GWh in 2027 carries real commercial constraints, accounting for less than 8% of the total.

Between the grand narrative and the thin baseline lies the most true profile of EVE Energy's energy storage strategy: It has already stood at global second place, but hasn't yet learned to turn scale into profit like CATL does.

Trading Volume for Price

Revenue Doubled While Gross Margin Hit the Floor

EVE Energy's starting point was a low-profile winner in consumer batteries.

Early on, the company stood firm in lithium primary batteries and small lithium-ion battery fields, not grabbing the spotlight of power batteries, but accumulated a foundation in cell consistency and process iteration.

As the wave of new energy vehicles receded and returned, energy storage grew from an "appendage business of power batteries" into an independent species, and its focus shifted subtly.

According to the 2026 Semi-Annual Report, the company's energy storage battery shipments were 44.46GWh, revenue 15.094 billion yuan, increasing 69.15% year-on-year; energy storage shipments exceeded power batteries' 35.76GWh for the first time, becoming the company's top shipment category. According to SNE Research, the global energy storage cell market share was 10.4% during the same period, second only to CATL.

Scale leap and profit stagnation happened almost synchronously. In the first half of the year, the company's energy storage gross margin was only 12.51%, a slight increase of 0.23 percentage points compared to 12.28% for the full year 2025, Q2 single quarter rebounded to 13.11%, still far below CATL's (23.96%) and Sungrow Power Supply's (32.43%) energy storage business gross margin benchmarks.

The root of low margins lies in the customer structure. Price war is raging in the domestic grid-side sector. According to data from central enterprise centralized procurement, the winning bid price for 314Ah cells has dropped to about 0.365 yuan/Wh.

Under the triple pressure of inventory holding, capacity expansion, and accounts receivable, EVE Energy's operating cash flow in the first half of the year was -388 million yuan, while the same period last year was +2.373 billion yuan; the "trading volume for price" model has not yet emerged from the bottom of the cycle.

The order book also shows a mix of hot and cold. Since 2026, EVE Energy has successively secured cooperation with Beijing State Grid Technology 10GWh, CITIC Solar two years 12GWh, India GNEPL 8GWh formal plus five years potential 60GWh, Sweden Vimab 1.48GWh, etc.

The most symbolic one is still Fluence's 206GWh framework. This is the future ballast stone and an unexercised "option".

According to company announcements, 16GWh committed for delivery in 2027, 190GWh for 2028—2031 is reserved capacity, specifications, prices, and delivery rhythm to be confirmed by subsequent procurement orders.

It is reported that Fluence originated from Siemens and AES, has bound North American AIDC and hyper-scale cloud vendors; EVE Energy uses it to get the ticket to overseas computing power energy storage.

But a ticket does not equal a seat. Whether the 190GWh is exercised depends on the pace of North American AIDC construction and when the Malaysia capacity is released.

628Ah, Sodium-Ion, and Solid-State

Three-Lane Parallel Technology Stack

Supporting this long-term order is not just scale, but a three-lane parallel technology stack.

According to public disclosures, EVE Energy has achieved mass production of the world's first above-600Ah large prismatic lithium-iron phosphate cell - 628Ah "Mr.Big" became the core supply category for new orders in 2026.

In January this year, the world's first 200MW/400MWh power station scaled with this cell went into operation formally in Lingshou. The scale cost reduction of large cells will be the core variable for improving gross margins.

Regarding NFPP sodium-ion batteries, according to EVE Sodium Energy project materials, NF155L cell cycle life is 30,000+ times, -40°C to 60°C wide temperature range, combustion and explosion risk significantly lower than lithium batteries, first set of systems grid-connected in Jingmen; Huizhou 2GWh sodium battery base to move forward to production in 2026.

Sodium batteries are viewed as a differentiated option for long-duration energy storage and AIDC backup power, 2026 shipment target only 2GWh, costs not yet catching up with iron-phosphate.

Regarding solid-state batteries, the "Longquan No.3/No.4" in the Chengdu Longquan base has come off the line, 60Ah manufacturing capacity phase one completed, but according to company communication benchmarks, the earliest landing of solid-state batteries might be consumer electronics and humanoid robots, not gigawatt-level energy storage. It is technical insurance, not current ammunition.

At the capacity end, it revolves around "overseas delivery rights". Domestic Jingmen 60GWh super factory at full capacity; Malaysia Phase 1, 2, 3 total planned energy storage capacity about 48GWh, Phase 3 38GWh started in August 2026, key piece to bypass US Section 301 tariffs and FEOC origin rules; Hungary 30GWh large cylindrical factory targeting BMW and European automakers.

EVE Energy's approach is very clear: not rushing to be a "global energy system vendor", but first precisely welding cell scale, overseas production location, and large customer channels.

The Gap Between No1 and No2

Separated by a Business Model Chasm

At the table of energy storage cells, EVE Energy is second, but the gap between second and first is not one step, but a business model chasm.

According to SNE Research 2026 H1 benchmarks, CATL energy storage cell shipments about 125GWh, share 27.1%; EVE 48GWh, share 10.4%. The gap expanded from approximately 2.4 times in 2025 to approximately 2.6 times in 2026 H1.

More glaring is the profit-making method: CATL follows "Cells + Systems + Ecosystem", Tianheng system self-developed PCS/BMS/EMS, directly binding overseas terminal projects and AIDC assets; EVE follows "Global Second Cell Scale + Fluence Channel + Large Cylindrical Power Synergy", delivery forms are mostly cells and Packs, system premium not yet grown.

The gross margin gap is a direct reflection of the two's position in the industry chain. According to financial report benchmarks, CATL energy storage gross margin 23.96%, overseas gross margin about 30%; EVE energy storage gross margin 12.51%, overseas revenue gross margin 15.48%.

CATL sells "Energy System Capability", EVE sells "High-Performance Cell Capacity"; the former eats project and ecosystem premiums, the latter eats money from scale and yield.

Prospects are not smooth sailing either. Hithium Energy Storage 2026 H1 shipments 46.2GWh, share 10.0%, August single month once approached EVE; Chuneng, BYD, REPT Battery chasing from the second-tier echelon never stops.

For EVE, the 206GWh long-term order is that ticket to North America, 12.51% gross margin is its bottom line at this moment; whether to let "Global Second" from shipment volume ranking become profit quality ranking, the answer is not in the 206GWh number, but in the fulfillment of every quarterly report.