Market data Li carbonate (GFEX)104,740 CNY/t▼ 11.8% d/d12 Oct Grid-scale BESS installed, Sep20.4 GWh▲ 61% y/y15 Oct Germany storage added, Jan–Sep8.2 GWh▲ 91% y/y30 Sep Lithium144,779 $/t▼ 2.6% m/mSep 2026 avg Nickel16,324 $/t▼ 2.5% m/mSep 2026 avg Cobalt42,213 $/t▼ 24.4% m/mSep 2026 avg Manganese2,782 $/t▼ 3.9% m/mSep 2026 avg Latest published figures · click for source
Weekly brief

CEE Battery Brief #4: Polish e-bus surge, Baltic storage talks, German spreads widen

Poland's electric bus registrations jump more than sixfold, LG Energy Solution eyes Baltic storage with Energix and German battery spreads hit a post-2022 high.

CellsDesk Editorial · · 4 min read

Unbranded electric city buses charging under pantographs in a snowy depot at dawn
Illustration: AI-generated for CellsDesk

New ACEA registration data put Poland and Romania at the front of Europe's shift to electric buses this week. In storage, LG Energy Solution discussed a Baltic project with a developer active in Poland, and German batteries saw their widest price spreads since the 2022 energy crisis.

E-mobility: Poland's bus market goes electric

Poland registered 999 electrically chargeable buses and coaches in January–September, up 557% from 152 a year earlier, while its total bus market grew 68.6% to 3,107 units, the fourth largest in the EU.1 Across the EU, such registrations rose 37.6% to 8,633, taking 26.4% of the market; Italy led with 1,970.1 The category includes plug-in hybrids as well as battery-electric vehicles.1

Romania now has the highest electric share of new bus registrations in the EU, at 82%.2 Trucks are moving more slowly: plug-in models took 5.3% of the EU market, and Poland registered 135 medium-duty electric trucks, up 90%.2 For CEE pack and charger suppliers, city buses rather than trucks remain the volume segment for now.

Storage: Baltic and Nordic pipelines

LG Energy Solution and Israeli developer Energix signed a non-binding MoU covering about 2 GWh of storage over the next 24 months, around 1.5 GWh of it in Europe, with potential expansion to 4.5 GWh.3 The partners are discussing Energix's Jonava hybrid project in Lithuania, which includes a 320 MWh battery and targets operation in 2027; LG Energy Solution previously supplied the 24 MW / 56 MWh Nowe Czarnowo battery in Poland that Energix developed.3

Further north, Delta Capacity reached financial close on two Finnish projects totalling 250 MW / 600 MWh, with Société Générale as sole senior lender, Sungrow equipment and partial tolling agreements with Centrica Energy. Operation is targeted for the fourth quarter of 2027.4

Markets: German spreads widen

In Germany, the two-hour top-bottom price spread reached about €220/MWh in September, the widest since 2022, as low-wind periods produced sharp evening peaks.5 Simulations by suena energy for a 10 MW / 20 MWh battery put stacked wholesale revenues at €20.9k per MW for the month, up from €15.4k in August, while negative aFRR revenues fell.5 For CEE operators, the German figures offer a useful benchmark of what evening scarcity can be worth to a battery.

What to watch: whether October data confirm September's rebound in German wholesale battery revenues.5

Technology: sodium-ion heads to the DACH region

CATL and German integrator Intilion signed an MoU to deploy 3 GWh of Tener Sodium storage in Europe over five years, naming Germany, Switzerland and Austria among the target markets.6 CATL quotes more than 15,000 cycles, 25 years of stable operation and high discharge power at -20°C, in a format dimensionally compatible with lithium-ion systems.6

Raw materials: lithium eases month on month

The IMF's lithium price averaged $144,779/t in September, 2.6% lower than in August but still 71% higher than a year earlier.7 The monthly decline was the fourth in a row after May's peak.7

Dates for your diary

  • 2–3 Nov · Li-ion Battery Europe, Barcelona
  • 4–5 Nov · Hungarian Battery Days, Debrecen
  • 11–12 Nov · Battery Innovation Days, Stockholm
  • 24–25 Nov · Future Battery Forum, Berlin
  • All upcoming events →

Sources

  1. EU electric bus registrations rise 38% in January -September 2026, with Italy and Poland leading volumes – Sustainable Bus, 29 Oct 2026 ↩↩↩

  2. Battery-electric trucks gain ground in key markets; electric buses near-ubiquitous – electrive, 29 Oct 2026 ↩↩

  3. LG Energy Solution, Energix sign MoU to explore up to 4.5 GWh of BESS deployments – ESS News, 28 Oct 2026 ↩↩

  4. Delta Capacity secures financing for 600 MWh Finnish BESS portfolio – ESS News, 29 Oct 2026 ↩

  5. Wholesale Markets Rebound: Battery Revenues in September – ESS News, 29 Oct 2026 ↩↩↩

  6. CATL signs deal with Germany's Intilion to deploy 3 GWh of sodium-ion storage over 5 years – CnEVPost, 28 Oct 2026 ↩↩

  7. IMF Primary Commodity Prices: battery metals – IMF Primary Commodity Prices, Sep 2026 ↩↩