Enphase Energy has begun accepting pre-orders in the U.S. for the IQ Battery C80, marking the company’s entry into commercial battery energy storage. The AC-coupled system combines battery storage and power conversion in one enclosure, offering 80 kWh of usable capacity and up to 40 kVA of continuous output.
The C80 brings Enphase’s distributed, microinverter-based technology to commercial, industrial, and multifamily applications. It is compatible with Enphase three-phase commercial microinverters operating at both 277Y/480V and 120Y/208V. This allows solar-plus-storage projects to use an AC-coupled design without relying on central inverters or high-voltage DC connections.
Its modular design supports projects from 80 kWh to 2 MWh, giving customers the flexibility to match storage capacity to their needs and add more capacity as requirements grow. By distributing system components rather than depending on a single centralized unit, the architecture can also reduce potential single points of failure and help maintain system availability.
Enphase plans to offer two three-phase versions. The 120Y/208V model delivers 33 kVA and is aimed at multifamily properties and smaller commercial facilities, while the 277Y/480V model provides up to 40 kVA for larger commercial and industrial sites. Both models use lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries, achieve more than 90% AC round-trip efficiency, and are designed to operate in temperatures ranging from -22°F to 131°F.
he system supports applications including demand-charge management, time-of-use energy shifting, solar self-consumption, grid services, and virtual power plant (VPP) participation. Enphase Power Control software, certified to UL 3141, supports two-hour and four-hour system configurations. Busbar and feeder overload controls are intended to simplify wiring and potentially reduce balance-of-system costs and the need for electrical infrastructure upgrades.
The AC-coupled architecture also enables integration with third-party commercial three-phase solar inverters, supporting both new installations and retrofit projects.
For thermal management, the IQ Battery C80 uses active air cooling without liquid cooling or external HVAC. Battery-module-level heating is provided for cold-weather operation. Safety features include module-level smoke and gas detection, active pressure release, fire alarm control panel integration, and emergency-stop functionality. The system will be certified to UL 9540A and to large-scale fire-test protocols, and will be housed in an outdoor-rated NEMA 3R enclosure.
Enphase expects the IQ Battery C80 to be manufactured in the U.S. and to meet FEOC requirements. Pre-orders are open, with shipments expected to begin in the first half of 2027.
