New Energy Storage Policy Leads the Future of Intelligent Manufacturing
Published Date: March 20, 2025
Editor’s Note: The new energy storage manufacturing industry encompasses the production of energy storage, information processing, and safety control products essential for the effective utilization of new energy. It serves as a foundational support for accelerating the establishment of a strong manufacturing nation and promoting the efficient development and utilization of renewable energy. Recently, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, along with seven other departments, issued a notice regarding the High-Quality Development Action Plan for the New Energy Storage Manufacturing Industry (referred to as the Action Plan), attracting widespread attention. This edition of Market Guide features a special report inviting experts and scholars to delve into topics such as unlocking the potential for market development in new energy storage, improving the market-oriented operation system for intellectual property, expanding domestic and international markets, and maintaining a healthy and fair market environment.
Quickly Building a New Energy Storage Market Ecosystem
As a key area supporting the efficient use of renewable energy and the construction of a strong manufacturing nation, new energy storage has garnered significant attention. The Action Plan will have a profound impact on the market scale expansion, acceleration of development speed, and restructuring of the market landscape in the new energy storage manufacturing sector. At the same time, China Petroleum is also facing new development opportunities and challenges. A thorough analysis of the Action Plan is crucial for grasping industry development trends, formulating scientific and reasonable planning, and optimizing market strategic layouts.
Comprehensive Promotion of New Energy Storage Market Reform
The implementation of the Action Plan will further clarify the direction for market development in the new energy storage manufacturing industry. It will provide policy support in various areas, including market demand, development speed, competitive trends, industrial layout, and market environment improvement. The issuance of the Action Plan brings unprecedented development opportunities to the new energy storage manufacturing industry and has a far-reaching impact on market demand, development speed, competition trends, industrial structure, and market environment.
By the end of 2024, the cumulative installed capacity of new energy storage projects in China is expected to exceed a 130% increase compared to the end of 2023, making it 20 times that of the end of the 13th Five-Year Plan. The new energy storage market is showing rapid development, and the implementation of the Action Plan will further guide the market development of the new energy storage manufacturing industry.
From the perspective of market demand, the Action Plan will facilitate the continuous expansion of the market scale of the new energy storage manufacturing industry, significantly enhance the speed of development, and accelerate the completion of the industrial chain system. In the coming years, the new energy storage market will further optimize resource allocation under policy guidance, reduce low-level repeated construction, and improve resource allocation and utilization efficiency.
In terms of market development speed, the Action Plan encourages diversified storage technology innovations and supports breakthroughs in efficient integration and intelligent control technologies through initiatives promoting technological innovation and industrial collaborative development. These measures will inject strong momentum into the new energy storage manufacturing industry, enhance industry concentration, and optimize the market competition landscape.
Regarding market competition trends, the implementation of the Action Plan will steer market competition towards high-end, intelligent, and green directions. Competition will no longer be limited to the price of energy storage chain products but will increasingly reflect technological innovation, product quality, safety, reliability, and the expansion of application fields. The trend indicates an increase in technology-driven competition and intensified scale competition.
Concerning market industrial layout, the Action Plan proposes a scientific plan for industrial layout, guiding the new energy storage manufacturing industry to concentrate in resource-rich and application-diverse regions. This optimization will enhance industrial synergies, reduce production costs, promote the release of market demand, and continuously expand project scales in new energy storage across power generation, grid, and user sides, providing a clear development path for the high-quality development of the new energy storage manufacturing industry.
In terms of improving the market environment, the Action Plan aims to establish a cost guidance mechanism for new energy storage, fostering a positive market environment characterized by innovation-led, quality-prioritized, and fair competition. This will create more application scenarios and business models for the new energy storage market, facilitating the rapid establishment of a healthy ecological environment.
Optimizing the Energy Storage Industry Layout
The next five years will be a critical window for determining the hierarchy within the energy storage industry, where choices made will directly influence the survival space and development quality of enterprises in the new energy era. Traditional energy companies must master key materials and core technologies, possess grid-level dispatch capabilities, provide scene-specific solutions, and construct a circular economy model.
The essence of competition in the new energy storage manufacturing industry revolves around the contest for dominance in the reconstruction of the energy system. Driven by both policy and market forces, the energy storage industry will undergo a profound transition from scale expansion to value creation.
In the next five years, the Action Plan signifies that China’s energy storage industry is entering a new development phase centered on technological innovation, quality enhancement, and large-scale application. Traditional energy companies must break free from path dependence and implement systematic changes in new energy storage technology research and development, business models, and organizational structures to secure a strategic position in the multi-trillion-dollar renewable energy landscape.
Companies that excel in mastering key materials and core technologies will possess a competitive edge in the market. Key materials represent strategic resources in the energy storage industry, while core technologies serve as the primary drivers of differentiation. Mastery of these elements will optimize production processes, enhance efficiency, and reduce costs, becoming a significant manifestation of competitive advantage.
Industries with grid-level dispatch capabilities will hold greater significance in leading the sector. In the future, energy storage companies equipped with a “hardware standardization + software platformization + service ecology” system and grid-level energy dispatch capabilities will play a critical role in the energy system transformation, dominating the market and demonstrating multifaceted value through technical integration, commercial closure, and ecological construction measures.
Industries offering scene-specific solutions will be better positioned to meet market demands. The Action Plan emphasizes supporting new energy storage applications in high-technical-threshold scenarios such as grid frequency modulation and integrated solar-storage solutions for commercial and industrial sectors, compelling companies to transition from merely “battery assembly” to providing “system-level solutions,” accurately matching market demands and addressing industry pain points.
Industries that adopt a circular economy model will have sustainable development advantages. In the future, companies that achieve over 95% recycling rates for new energy storage products will enjoy significant cost benefits, focusing on efficient resource utilization, closed-loop waste management, and optimizing the entire lifecycle to reduce environmental burdens and enhance economic benefits.
Accelerating the Development of the New Energy Storage Industry
China Petroleum enterprises need to accelerate their transformation and upgrading, optimize their business structures, and widely expand diversified new energy storage businesses. They must continuously enhance competitiveness in technology innovation, product performance, and market expansion. There is a need to intensify efforts in formulating development strategies for new energy storage businesses, increasing investment in technology innovation, optimizing business structures, and strengthening market promotion and expansion of new energy storage businesses.
With the rapid advancement of energy transition and the quick development of new energy storage, the traditional fossil energy market will face certain shocks. China Petroleum enterprises must expedite their transformation and upgrading, optimize their business structures, leverage their technical foundation and resource advantages in the energy sector, and align with the demands of practical application scenarios. They should widely expand diversified new energy storage businesses while continuously enhancing competitiveness in technology innovation, product performance, and market expansion to adapt to the new trends in energy structure reform.
Enterprises should develop strategies for new energy storage business development. They should conduct in-depth research on the demand characteristics and development trends of the new energy storage market, clarifying their position based on their advantages and market needs. This includes setting investment scales, technology directions, and market goals in the new energy storage sector to ensure alignment with the overall development strategy.
Increase investment in technology innovation. Focusing on technological innovation as the core driving force for market competition, enterprises should invest more in research and development of new energy storage technologies, establish dedicated R&D teams, or enhance collaborations with universities and research institutions to achieve resource sharing and complementary advantages, exploring frontier technologies in new energy storage.
Optimize business structures. Companies should gradually optimize their business structures, reducing reliance on traditional fossil energy and increasing the proportion of new energy storage businesses. Through innovative business models, they can create energy storage industry clusters, reduce production costs, and enhance market influence and competitiveness, achieving synergistic development and mutual benefits across the industrial chain.
Strengthen market promotion and expansion of new energy storage businesses. China Petroleum should leverage its technological, resource, and market advantages to enhance brand building in the new energy storage market, actively participate in domestic and international new energy storage project developments, and collaborate widely with energy storage equipment manufacturers to gain project experience and technical strength, thereby boosting brand influence and market recognition.
Roundtable Discussion
Q1: What challenges do oil and gas fields face in integrating into the new energy storage system? How can they optimize their layout?
Meng Lingjun, Deputy Manager and Chief Engineer of the New Energy Division, Xinjiang Oilfield: The energy demand forms produced in oil fields are diverse, with different load characteristics at each stage. This multi-energy coupling scenario requires storage systems to possess high adaptability. However, existing technologies struggle to meet comprehensive coverage demands. Remote oil fields heavily rely on distributed energy and storage systems for stable power supply, yet there is a significant contradiction between the intermittency of new energy generation and the continuity of oil field production. Storage systems must be capable of high-frequency charging and discharging and quick responses. Currently, short-term storage technology falls short in long-duration peak shaving, while long-duration storage technologies face high costs and poor economic viability. To address these issues, a series of innovative measures are necessary: First, focus on developing multi-temperature storage heat technologies, advancing high-temperature molten salt storage and medium-low temperature phase change heat storage technologies. Design a staged storage heat system to achieve on-demand distribution of thermal energy, considering the residual heat characteristics of oil fields. Second, build a multi-energy complementary system that effectively integrates storage with wind and solar generation, gas turbines, and waste heat recovery to create a collaborative energy supply model of “electricity – heat – storage,” enhancing energy utilization efficiency. Third, advocate for the implementation of a two-part online electricity pricing mechanism for new energy storage, combining “electric quantity price + capacity price” to promote the widespread application and sustainable development of new energy storage technologies.
Wang Xianbin, Executive Deputy Manager of the New Energy Division, Yumen Oilfield: Located in the arid and rain-scarce Jiuquan Basin in the northwest, Yumen Oilfield faces significant challenges in developing mechanical storage technologies due to the lack of natural water storage terrains and low permeability reservoirs. Therefore, integrating into the new energy storage system primarily requires adapting to local conditions and employing alternative storage methods through technological advancements. Electrochemical energy storage technology is currently the mainstream in commercial applications, while hydrogen storage technology represents a potentially significant future storage method. Yumen Oilfield is adjacent to a large chemical industry cluster and has established two large-scale electrochemical energy storage stations utilizing lithium iron phosphate battery technology, characterized by its short construction cycle, high energy efficiency, and flexibility in power and storage duration configurations. This technology is advantageous for enhancing the efficiency of new energy generation projects. Moving forward, Yumen Oilfield will continue to focus on technological advancements in the storage field, aiming to elevate new energy grid access through storage, transforming its renewable energy business from a “vanguard” of green transition to an “engine” of high-quality development.
Q2: In the context of the energy storage market transformation, what areas should equipment manufacturing companies focus on? How can they drive product innovation?
Zhang Yi, Expert at the New Energy Division of Baoshi Machinery: Amid the global acceleration of energy transition, oil equipment manufacturing companies should focus on three key areas: First, the hydrogen storage equipment industrial chain, leveraging oil and gas transportation technology to expand into hydrogen production, storage, liquefaction equipment, and hydrogen transportation pipelines. Second, electrochemical energy storage system integration, relying on existing design and manufacturing advantages to develop highly safe flow battery storage systems. Third, the mechanical storage field, developing core compressor units and expansion power generation devices for compressed air energy storage systems based on traditional drilling and extraction equipment R&D experience. Driving product innovation requires a three-dimensional driving model: First, strengthen technological integration and innovation by establishing joint laboratories with new energy companies and research institutions, transferring corrosion resistance and high-pressure endurance technologies from oil and gas equipment to the storage field. Second, accelerate intelligent upgrades by utilizing digital twin technology to optimize storage equipment designs, integrating IoT sensors for real-time monitoring of equipment conditions, and developing AI-driven control software for energy storage systems. Third, innovate business models, shifting from single equipment supply to “equipment + services,” offering comprehensive energy storage station EPC contracting, smart operation and maintenance, and exploring new business formats like equipment leasing and energy storage capacity trading. Enterprises should seize the window of opportunity presented by various countries’ energy storage subsidy policies, strategically layout large-scale storage on the grid side and distributed storage on the industrial user side, while simultaneously promoting the localization of core materials to reduce manufacturing costs. By constructing a dual-driven system of “traditional oil and gas + new energy storage,” they can achieve a strategic upgrade of the industrial structure.
Li Chunsheng, Party Secretary and Executive Director of the New Energy Technology Division at Jichai Power Company: In the context of global energy transition, energy storage technology has become crucial for achieving carbon neutrality goals and ensuring energy security. In 2025, China’s energy storage industry will face a significant turning point, propelled by policies, technologies, and market demands driving the industry from pilot projects to large-scale development. In this transformation, Jichai Power will focus on several areas to promote product innovation: First, explore the commercial potential of frontier technologies such as flow batteries and sodium-ion batteries, and investigate the integration of hydrogen storage with traditional technologies. Utilize the Kunhong version of the EMS for intelligent energy management, optimizing system design and operation through big data and AI. Second, enhance safety and reliability by developing advanced thermal management and fire warning systems to improve system resilience and optimize design and operational frameworks. Third, expand application scenarios by developing energy storage products suitable for oil and gas fields and refining, and exploring innovative application models that integrate energy storage with renewable energy and electric heavy-duty vehicles. Fourth, focus on circular economy and environmental protection by developing recycling technologies for batteries and using eco-friendly materials and processes to minimize pollution. Fifth, increase R&D investment, align with market demands, enhance industry collaboration, and emphasize intellectual property protection and nurturing innovative talent. Sixth, remain attentive to policy changes, strengthen brand building, and expand into international markets. Jichai Power will closely follow national strategies, seizing market opportunities through technological innovation and product upgrades to achieve sustainable energy development.
