Highlights from the New Energy Storage Sector (March 12-14, 2025)

Policy Developments

1. Yicheng New Energy Collaborates with CATL on Energy Storage
On March 12, 2025, Yicheng New Energy, a photovoltaic company listed on the A-share market, signed a framework cooperation agreement with Zhongzhou Times, a wholly-owned subsidiary of CATL. The plan is to reserve a 500MWh energy storage project in Henan Province for 2025. This project will include energy management for commercial and industrial users and the integrated development of wind and solar storage. Zhongzhou Times will provide core equipment and technical support, aiding regional energy transformation. Yicheng New Energy, part of the Pingmei Shenma Group’s new energy platform, has already implemented a 30MW/120MWh energy storage station and installed nearly 1GW of wind and solar power stations across Henan and Northwest China. This collaboration marks a shift in the energy storage industry’s competitive model towards full-chain synergy.

2. Philippines Launches 9.4GW Green Energy Auction
On March 13, 2025, the Philippines Department of Energy announced the fourth round of its Green Energy Auction (GEA-4), with a bidding scale of 9.4GW. This round includes 1.1GW of integrated solar and storage projects (IRESS), requiring solar plants to include a 4-hour energy storage system. The projects will be divided into three areas: Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao, and are expected to be operational between 2026 and 2029. Successful bidders will receive a 20-year power purchase agreement. This initiative aims to address instability in renewable energy grid integration and support the goal of having renewable energy account for 35% of the energy mix by 2030. Previous project delays led to the termination of over 100 solar projects in the Philippines, making this mandatory storage requirement a critical step towards energy resilience.

Technological Breakthroughs

3. Acceleration of Sodium Battery Commercialization
On March 13, 2025, Zhejiang Hunan Energy signed a 1GWh energy storage agreement with Beijing Huaxia Jiaye, including a 100MWh sodium-ion battery system. This marks the transition of sodium batteries from laboratory settings to large-scale applications. Sodium batteries are anticipated to meet expectations due to their abundant resources, low costs, and safety. In 2023, shipments reached only 0.7GWh, but are projected to exceed 1.5GWh in 2024, with planned production capacity of over 180GWh. Zhejiang Merchant Securities predicts that the demand for sodium batteries in energy storage will reach 88GWh by 2025 and 378GWh by 2030. The Hunan project will validate the performance and economic viability of sodium batteries in grid applications, while enterprises like CATL accelerate technological iterations, with plans for the second generation of sodium batteries to enter mass production by 2025.

4. Solid-State Batteries and Large Cylindrical Technologies Gain Attention
On March 14, 2025, a report from Jiaoyin International highlighted the increasing demand for battery energy density and safety in emerging fields like humanoid robotics and eVTOLs, accelerating the deployment of solid-state batteries and large cylindrical technologies. LG Energy, Samsung SDI, and SKOn showcased large cylindrical batteries such as the 4680 and 46120 at a battery exhibition in South Korea, with the 46120 battery providing a range of over 1000 km, ideal for high-end electric vehicles and energy storage. Chinese companies are rapidly expanding overseas, with EVE Energy’s cylindrical battery base in Malaysia commencing production, and Pruitt planning to establish a 2.5GWh production capacity. The U.S. 2026 energy storage tariff policy is pushing Chinese battery companies to expand production abroad, while large storage projects in the Middle East and recovering overseas demand are expected to boost energy storage production in March.

Project Progress

5. Trina Solar Delivers 49.9MW Solar-Storage Project in the UK
On March 12, 2025, Trina Solar provided a 49.9MW integrated solar-storage solution for the Sandon Brook project in Essex, UK. This solution includes 700W modules, mounting systems, and a 70MWh energy storage system, marking the first project to utilize its modules, mounting systems, and storage together. Once operational, the project will supply electricity to 16,500 households, reducing carbon emissions by 15,000 tons annually. Trina Solar is deepening its collaboration with the UK renewable energy company Low Carbon, having previously contracted 190MWh of storage orders. This delivery solidifies Trina Solar’s leadership in the global solar-storage integration market, with expectations to exceed 170GW of module shipments and 10GWh of storage deliveries in 2024, maintaining its status as a top-tier supplier according to BNEF in Q1.

6. Surge in Data Center Energy Storage Demand
On March 14, 2025, several departments, including the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, encouraged data centers and industrial parks to deploy new energy storage systems to enhance power supply reliability and efficiency. China Telecom’s Anhui Intelligent Computing Center has announced a 25MW/200MWh energy storage project, while Nandu Power has won a 1.2 billion yuan contract for lithium battery equipment from a software company and secured a 1.2GW framework order from GDS. The Gansu Qingyang data center cluster has integrated 200MW of storage, maintaining a 10% storage ratio. According to High Industry Research, global data center energy storage battery shipments are expected to increase from 15GWh in 2025 to 300GWh by 2030, driven by AI technology’s demand for computing power, making energy storage a key component in the greening of data centers.

Corporate Collaborations

7. Shunhang New Energy Set to Go Public, Raising 1.2 Billion for Energy Storage
On March 14, 2025, leading energy storage inverter company Shunhang New Energy received approval from the China Securities Regulatory Commission for its upcoming IPO, aiming to raise 1.211 billion yuan for energy storage system development and upgrades. The company’s revenue grew from 1.023 billion in 2020 to 4.457 billion in 2022, with over 80% of its income coming from overseas markets that span Europe, Asia-Pacific, and Latin America. Its energy storage inverters range from 3-20kW, transitioning from purchasing batteries to manufacturing high-voltage lithium battery packs in-house. The global energy transition is driving demand for energy storage, with BNEF predicting that global household energy storage will reach 100GWh by 2025. Shunhang New Energy plans to solidify its market position through expansion and research and development, increasing production capacity for distributed high-power inverters and energy storage batteries.

8. Global Energy Storage Conference to Focus on Innovation and Ecosystem Building
The 2025 China International Energy Storage Conference will take place in Hangzhou from March 23-26, 2025, themed “Building a Collaborative Energy Storage Ecosystem.” The conference will feature four major exhibition areas and 23 events covering energy storage system integration, battery technology, testing, and certification. The exhibition will span over 40,000 square meters, with more than 300 enterprises participating, including leading companies like CATL and BYD, and is expected to launch over 30 new products and 50 new technologies. Concurrently, forums on commercial energy storage, hydrogen energy, and other topics will address long-duration storage and safety technologies, facilitating collaboration along the energy storage value chain to support global energy transition.

Market Data

9. Significant Increase in Energy Storage Battery Exports in February
On March 14, 2025, the China Automotive Power Battery Industry Innovation Alliance reported that battery exports in February reached 21.1GWh, a year-on-year increase of 144.7%. Among these, exports of energy storage and other batteries amounted to 8.3GWh, making up 39.4% of total exports, driven by recovering overseas demand for household energy storage. The deployment of power batteries reached 34.9GWh, up 94.1% year-on-year, with lithium iron phosphate batteries accounting for 81.5% of the total.

10. Global Household Energy Storage Market Expected to Reach 100GWh by 2025
On March 12, 2025, BNEF predicted that the global household energy storage market would reach 100GWh by 2025, nearly quadrupling since 2022, with a compound annual growth rate of 62%. Europe, China, and the Americas are the primary markets, driven by policy incentives and fluctuations in electricity pricing, leading to increased adoption of household storage solutions as companies accelerate technological advancements and local deployments.

11. Shunhang New Energy Launches High-Voltage Lithium Battery Solutions for Data Centers
On March 12, 2025, Shunhang New Energy won a contract for high-voltage lithium battery equipment for GDS’s 2025 framework project, with a capacity allocation of not less than 1.2GW, enhancing its competitive edge in the data center energy storage sector. The company simultaneously launched a new generation of energy storage inverters and battery systems to support commercial and household applications, promoting the widespread integration of solar and storage solutions.

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