# Octopus, CATL and Ampace Explore New Home Batteries [![David Coleman](/uploads_resolved/images/261/320.webp) Author profile for David Coleman](/authors/david-coleman/ "Author profile for David Coleman")[LinkedIn profile for David Coleman](https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-martyn-coleman/ "LinkedIn profile for David Coleman")[David Coleman](/authors/david-coleman/ "Author profile for David Coleman") Founder & Renewable Energy Author, kilowatts.uk Article # Octopus, CATL and Ampace home battery agreement: what is confirmed and what is still a plan Published 2026-11-05 19:50:13 Updated 2026-11-05 11:50:23 Octopus, CATL and Ampace are exploring smart home batteries, including sodium-ion technology. The agreement has no confirmed product price or UK launch date. [ Preferred on Google ](https://www.google.com/preferences/source) ![Illustration of a UK home with rooftop solar panels and a home battery.](/uploads_resolved/images/604/320.webp) ## Home energy decisions and the latest developments Illustration of a home energy system; it does not depict a product or installation announced in this article. *Published 5 November 2026. This article covers the collaboration announced on 3 November, rather than a newly available battery product.* Octopus Energy, CATL and Ampace are exploring a new generation of connected home batteries. Sodium-ion technology is among the possibilities, alongside battery hardware designed to work with energy software and tariffs. For a UK household, the announcement is a development to watch. It does not yet provide a model, installed price or delivery date that can be compared with a current battery quote. ## What the companies have agreed The [Octopus announcement of 3 November 2026](https://octopus.energy/octopus-energy-battery-giant-catl-and-ampace-team-up-to-develop-the-next-generation-of-smart-home-batteries/) describes a Memorandum of Understanding to explore collaboration on home storage. It combines battery chemistry and engineering with software, tariff and flexibility services, initially looking at European markets. Sodium-ion is named as an area of research and development. The announcement does not confirm the chemistry of a particular future retail model, or establish that an existing Octopus battery range will use sodium-ion cells. ## Why software matters as well as chemistry A home battery needs decisions about when to charge, when to discharge and how much reserve to keep. Those decisions depend on the home's consumption, solar output, prices and equipment limits. Better coordination can be useful even when the physical battery chemistry is familiar. For an owner, the control arrangements deserve the same attention as the capacity figure. Ask which settings remain under household control, what happens if the internet is unavailable, and which services depend on a particular energy supplier or subscription. ## What sodium-ion would still need to prove The name of a chemistry is not a warranty, an installed-cost calculation or a safety assessment for a complete system. A useful comparison needs a defined product and its certification, usable capacity, power rating, operating conditions and support terms. Claims about cheaper batteries or longer life should be assessed against the final supplied system. Until a model has published specifications and commercial terms, it is not possible to calculate whether this collaboration would improve the payback period for a particular UK home. ## What is missing from the announcement? No model-specific usable capacity, continuous power rating, installed price, warranty or UK delivery timetable is given. There is also no named product specification that would let an installer confirm compatibility with an existing inverter at a particular property. That makes this an agreement to explore opportunities, rather than a reason to assume a new battery can be ordered now. A future product launch should be checked separately, with its own specification sheet and UK installation requirements. ## Should you wait before buying a battery? There is no universal answer. If a household needs storage now, compare systems with written prices, installation designs and support available today. If the purchase is optional, keep the announcement on a watch list and review it when the companies publish an actual product. In either case, ask for a calculation using the household's own consumption and tariffs. Include usable storage, charging and discharging power, losses, warranty limits and any subscription costs. A larger headline capacity does not, by itself, establish a better financial outcome. Installation location also needs attention regardless of brand. Our [home battery rules guide](https://kilowatts.uk/resources/pas-63100-bs-7671-home-battery-rules-uk/) explains the enclosure and placement questions to discuss with an installer. A promising chemistry cannot remove the need for a suitable site design. Tags: [Home battery](/tags/home-battery/ "Home battery")[Sodium ion](/tags/sodium-ion/ "Sodium ion")[Smart energy](/tags/smart-energy/ "Smart energy")[Battery storage](/tags/battery-storage/ "Battery storage") [ Preferred on Google ](https://www.google.com/preferences/source) Solar comparison ## Compare solar for your property Enter your postcode to assess your roof, compare solar options and get quotes from UK installers. - Free postcode start - Home, business and industrial - RoboMo™ maps your roof ## See which panels fit your roof Choose home, business or industrial, then enter your postcode. RoboMo maps the roof and ranks panel brands by fit. - Home - Business - Industrial UK postcode Fast, free and no obligation to proceed. **1. Postcode** Start the assessment for your property. **2. Pin the roof** Mark the array on the map. **3. 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[ **Home** Houses and flats ](/services/residential/renewable-energy/residential-solar-panel-installation/batteries/)[ **Business** Offices and small sites ](/services/commercial/renewable-energy/commercial-solar-panel-installation/batteries/)[ **Industrial** Factories and warehouses](/services/industrial/renewable-energy/industrial-solar-battery-storage/#get-quote-now) [Shop batteries](/shop/kilowatts-uk/range/solar-batteries/) ## Related services - [fitting an EV charger at home](/services/residential/electric-vehicle-infrastructure/residential-ev-charger-installation/) - [home LED retrofit](/services/residential/lighting/residential-led-lighting-upgrades/) - [home arc fault protection](/services/residential/general-electrical-work/residential-afdd-installation/) - [smart video doorbell installers](/services/residential/smart-home-security/residential-doorbell-camera/) - [heating and ventilation for homes](/services/residential/heating-cooling-ventilation/) - [electric underfloor heating for homes](/services/residential/heating-cooling-ventilation/residential-underfloor-heating/) Reading ## Sources & further reading [![Plug-in sodium-ion battery being developed for homes without solar](/uploads_resolved/images/874/320.webp)Plug-in sodium-ion battery being developed for homes without solar A plug-in sodium-ion battery for homes without solar is in development, not on sale. UK grid rules may still block a simple wall-socket connection. Read article](/resources/plug-in-sodium-ion-battery-being-developed-for-homes-without-solar/ "Plug-in sodium-ion battery being developed for homes without solar")[![Is a home battery worth it without solar in the UK](/uploads_resolved/images/198/320.webp)Is a home battery worth it without solar in the UK A battery without solar buys cheap overnight units for peak use. Payback depends on your tariff spread, not on generation. Read article](/resources/is-a-home-battery-worth-it-without-solar-in-the-uk/ "Is a home battery worth it without solar in the UK")[![Is there an Octopus energy battery storage tariff?](/uploads_resolved/images/990/320.webp)Is there an Octopus energy battery storage tariff? Octopus Flux and Intelligent Octopus Flux are domestic battery storage tariffs that price import and export by time of day, not a free battery. Read article](/resources/octopus-energy-battery-storage-tariff/ "Is there an Octopus energy battery storage tariff?")[![Building AI Brain For Clean Energy](/uploads_resolved/images/1018/320.webp)Building AI Brain For Clean Energy Discover how SolarMind uses AI to optimise solar panels, home batteries and EV charging, and whether it could help reduce your energy bills. 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Free authors can put one followed link to their own site in articles each month. [Write for us](/write-for-us/) [Register or sign in](/login/) ## Frequently Asked Questions ### Have Octopus, CATL and Ampace launched a new sodium-ion home battery? The 3 November 2026 announcement describes an agreement to explore home storage, including sodium-ion technology. It does not announce a specified sodium-ion retail product. ### Is there a confirmed UK price or delivery date? The announcement does not provide a model-specific installed price, warranty or UK delivery timetable. Check a future product announcement separately. ### Does the agreement confirm sodium-ion cells for an existing Octopus battery range? No selected chemistry for an existing range is established by this collaboration announcement. Sodium-ion is one technology under consideration.