Yang Shuai, General Manager of Business Storage at Sunshine Power, recently emphasized in an interview with China Energy News that “the future of energy storage must be driven by technology, and grid-based intelligent storage systems will become mainstream. By integrating AI energy management systems, we can not only achieve smart control of power stations but also construct electricity market price prediction models through data learning, enabling autonomous electricity trading that significantly enhances station revenue.”
In the context of a rapidly accelerating global energy transition, energy storage technology is becoming a crucial element in building new power systems. The China Photovoltaic Industry Association released the China Photovoltaic Industry Development Roadmap (2024-2025), indicating that approximately 42 GW of new energy storage capacity is expected to be added in China in 2024. Looking ahead, the deepening of the “dual carbon” goals will further stimulate the demand for new energy storage and other regulatory resources within the power system. Meanwhile, the gradual optimization of new energy storage technology costs will align it more closely with the actual needs of the generation side, grid side, and user side.
Yang further noted, “As the energy internet develops, Sunshine Power is continuously upgrading and iterating based on numerous practical grid case studies, enabling new energy power stations to achieve grid-level functionalities such as black start and inertia support. The combination with AI energy management systems not only allows for intelligent control of power stations but also facilitates the development of autonomous electricity trading, thereby greatly enhancing station revenue.”
New Growth in the Energy Storage Market
In February of this year, the National Development and Reform Commission and the National Energy Administration jointly issued a notice on deepening the market-oriented reform of renewable energy grid prices, promoting high-quality development of renewable energy. This notice clarified that the electricity from renewable energy projects (wind and solar) will generally enter the electricity market, and the grid price will be determined through market transactions. In January, the National Energy Administration issued the Management Measures for the Development and Construction of Distributed Photovoltaics, which aims to adapt to new circumstances and requirements, further standardizing the management of distributed photovoltaic development and promoting its healthy and sustainable growth. The release of these two policies has garnered close attention from the industry.
“After the implementation of the new policy, the pricing mechanism for photovoltaic grid access, determined through market transactions, may lead to lower prices compared to the previous government pricing model. This change directly results in a decrease in comprehensive returns for distributed photovoltaic and commercial photovoltaic projects, compounded by initial investment cost pressures, which may dampen industry investment enthusiasm,” Yang stated. However, for the energy storage industry, the widening price difference between peak and valley periods will also create new profit opportunities for commercial energy storage, driving the iterative development and large-scale application of storage technology.
“With the advancement of electricity market reforms, the proportion of renewable energy entering the market and the share of spot trading will increase, leading to price fluctuations on the generation side being passed on to the user side, thus continuously widening the peak-valley price difference. Part of the commercial photovoltaic grid-access electricity will need to participate in market transactions. Energy that is sold at a zero price or unsold energy can utilize storage to shift energy, selling it during peak periods to increase revenue. Without affecting the normal revenue of photovoltaic power stations, energy storage can also participate in grid demand response to obtain additional income, significantly improving station yield and competitive advantage in the electricity market,” Yang explained.
According to the China Photovoltaic Industry Association’s predictions, by 2025, the annual new installed capacity of new energy storage globally and in China may exceed 76 GW and 41 GW, respectively, and could reach 89 GW and 48 GW. Notably, with the arrival of the AI era, the deep integration of AI and energy storage is not only an inevitable choice for technological innovation but also a core path for the energy system’s transition towards low-carbon and intelligent solutions. Yang believes that the large-scale application and deep integration of AI in the future will provide users with an unparalleled experience.
For instance, at Sunshine Power, AI capabilities have permeated various aspects of the system. The liquid cooling intelligent temperature control system employs AI biomimetic thermal balance technology to precisely sense operating conditions and make real-time adjustments, reducing auxiliary energy consumption by 33% and significantly enhancing station efficiency. The AI health management system for battery cells can identify faulty cells seven days in advance, while AI direct current arc detection can achieve 100% recognition and shut down within milliseconds, ensuring comprehensive safety for the power station. The Sunshine Cloud Intelligent Management System can accurately predict real-time electricity prices and automatically analyze and provide intelligent decision-making support, effectively enhancing station revenue.
Technological Innovation to Break Through Challenges
In the current industry environment, the commercial energy storage (C-Energy Storage) market is gradually rising, though price wars continue. Since 2024, the price of commercial energy storage systems has fallen from 1.5 yuan/Wh to between 0.5 and 0.7 yuan/Wh. At the start of this year, some energy storage companies even introduced a wind-cooled storage product priced at just 0.499 yuan/Wh for 105 kW/215 kWh, setting a new low for energy storage system pricing.
Yang pointed out, “Some manufacturers in the market are blurring the concept of RTE and misrepresenting parameters. A typical method is to use the highest short-term efficiency tested under laboratory conditions as a performance parameter. However, in actual applications, due to limitations in heat dissipation and load loss, the actual efficiency in grid-connected cabinets is far below what is advertised, with significant fluctuations in all-weather efficiency, affecting station revenue.” He stressed that such deceptive practices are detrimental to the healthy development of the industry, as they not only create a trust crisis but also hinder technological advancement. Using inflated data to attract attention and misleading behaviors to polish performance metrics will lead the industry to overlook essential investment in core technologies such as battery management, liquid cooling, and AI intelligence.
To avoid “involution-style” competition, technology remains a fundamental strength. Recently, Sunshine Power launched a new generation of commercial liquid-cooled energy storage systems, PowerStack 255CS, which has been tested to achieve an all-weather average efficiency of ≥88%. “Before the product launch, PowerStack 255CS had already started shipping and connecting to the grid, with efficiency data verified across hundreds of power stations. The all-weather comprehensive operating efficiency, including auxiliary losses, standby losses, and other losses, exceeds the industry average by 2% to 5%, allowing for more discharges, less loss, and saving 5% to 10% in initial investment. For a 1 MWh power station, this can stabilize an additional revenue of 40,000 yuan annually, speeding up the return on investment,” Yang explained.
PowerStack 255CS also marks the first instance where all-weather support across four dimensions—efficiency, grid construction, safety, and operational maintenance—has been achieved, transitioning commercial energy storage into a stable and efficient era and pushing the industry from price competition to value competition.
Yang elaborated that PowerStack 255CS incorporates user-side customized grid construction technology, adopting a three-phase four-wire PCS design, allowing for off-grid functionality without the need for isolation transformers, and supporting black start functions for industrial parks, which ensures stable operation of factory equipment.
“All-Coverage” to Meet User Needs
Yang pointed out that the ongoing low-carbon transition across various industries faces three major challenges. “Firstly, the complexity and diversity of renewable energy application scenarios lead to difficulties in adapting photovoltaic technology and inadequate coordination with the grid, increasing users’ investment cost pressures. Secondly, the current energy storage systems often involve the mixed use of multi-brand equipment, where differences in protocols and control strategies between inverters and storage systems can lead to inefficient collaborative control and limited overall system performance. Additionally, mixed-brand equipment can also cause delays in service guarantees, with unclear responsibility for faults due to the lack of cross-brand collaborative maintenance mechanisms, leading to prolonged system downtime.”
“Sunshine Power offers a comprehensive self-developed solution covering solar storage, charging, and cloud management, achieving full coverage across various scenarios such as households, parks, and large industries,” Yang stated. Sunshine Power has conducted detailed studies on commercial energy storage for different application scenarios, providing customized technologies and functionalities tailored to the pain points of users in sectors like steel, metallurgy, textiles, and automotive industries. For large industrial scenarios of 10 kV, the PowerStack 835CS energy storage system has been specially introduced to precisely meet the needs of different segmented scenarios. Furthermore, the product power range has achieved full coverage.
“The customized capacity settings greatly simplify the on-site installation and maintenance processes for industrial users’ energy storage facilities, resulting in lower lifecycle costs. Sunshine Power’s energy storage products cover various power levels of 400V, 10-20kV, and 35kV, effectively addressing more diverse demand scenarios and complex electricity conditions,” Yang explained.
“Service is the guarantee of the product.” Yang mentioned that Sunshine Power provides professional integrated system design solutions before sales, ensures full process service for grid connection and debugging during the sales phase, and offers clear responsibilities and rapid responses for one-stop service post-sale, achieving comprehensive service coverage before, during, and after sales. “Currently, Sunshine Power has established over 120 service points across the country, five major maintenance centers, and over 30 after-sales spare parts warehouses, providing solid assurance for the efficient and stable operation of power stations.”
“In the future, the energy storage industry will not be a market characterized by severe homogenization and one-size-fits-all solutions. With the continuous development of more energy storage application scenarios, products need to closely align with specific scene demands and achieve customization. Energy storage systems will no longer simply be a patchwork of components but will require companies that truly understand technology, systems, and services to promote the healthy development of the energy storage industry,” Yang concluded.
