As we approach 2025, the energy storage sector, valued in the trillion-dollar range, continues to see incursions from major players in oil, telecommunications, and industrial sectors. Driven by a global energy revolution, the energy storage industry is undergoing unprecedented changes. In the highly competitive Chinese market, many newcomers have faced setbacks, with data indicating that the number of abnormal energy storage-related companies, such as those that have been deregistered or suspended, has doubled in 2024. Currently, the energy storage sector has gone through three distinct phases: the first phase, from 2020 to 2022, marked a period of initial exploration and gradual expansion of storage products. The second phase, from 2022 to 2024, saw rapid development as numerous companies entered the market. Looking ahead to 2026, the industry is set to enter a crucial period of refinement and innovative breakthroughs.
During the 2025 exhibitions, the energy storage landscape remains dynamic, with significant entries from oil giants, telecommunications leaders, and internet behemoths.
1. Telecommunications Giants Enter the System Market
At the end of December 2023, China Mobile Energy Technology (Beijing) Co., Ltd. was established, with a registered capital of 150 million yuan. This company is wholly owned by the China Mobile Communications Group Design Institute, a subsidiary of China Mobile Communications Corporation. At that time, numerous players were making headlines in the energy storage field, including companies like Black Sesame. During the 2025 exhibition, China Mobile Energy introduced a 100kW/215kWh energy storage cabinet that pioneered the “electric oil pre-installation + Lego connection” model. This cabinet features dynamic full-time immersion cooling (optional) that achieves 100% fire safety, with layered protections including gas fire extinguishing and water spraying. It also offers a dynamically reconfigurable battery network (optional), enhancing management granularity by two orders of magnitude, with advanced thermal management that reduces energy consumption by over 30%. It uses a three-tier BMS architecture that supports functions such as fault detection and analysis.
Additionally, China Mobile Energy launched a 20-foot container with a capacity of 2.5MW/5MWh, suitable for smart computing centers, industrial parks, high-energy-consuming enterprises, and independent energy storage stations. To address challenges in extremely cold environments, such as difficulties in accessing grid power and high operational costs, the company unveiled a zero-carbon energy system designed for such scenarios, featuring high safety and efficiency in immersion lithium batteries, ensuring a balanced supply and demand in zero-carbon systems using AI image recognition to automate snow melting.
2. Internet Giants Empowering with Algorithms
Tech companies like Tencent are leveraging AI and big data to enter the energy storage operations and scheduling space. In February 2022, Tencent announced its “Net Zero Action” plan, which included initiatives in the renewable energy sector such as building energy storage stations and exploring integrated source-network-load-storage projects. By June of the same year, Tencent Cloud launched its multi-technology integration products, Tencent EnerLink and Tencent EnerTwin, aimed at the energy and resource sectors. According to official Tencent data, Tencent Cloud currently serves over 20 state-owned enterprises and more than 300 industry companies in the energy sector.
In 2023, at the International Digital Energy Exhibition, Tencent Cloud unveiled its urban integrated energy digital operation platform, which utilizes big data, AI, and IoT technologies to provide comprehensive energy services including energy storage management, photovoltaic management, charging management, demand response, virtual power plants, energy efficiency analysis, and carbon asset management.
In November 2024, Tencent successfully implemented a wind, solar, and energy storage integrated data center microgrid project in China, marking a significant step in its carbon neutrality efforts. Tencent reported a revenue of 172.45 billion yuan in the fourth quarter of 2024, reflecting an 11% year-on-year increase.
3. Oil Giants in the Energy Storage Business
As the push for carbon neutrality compels fossil fuel giants to pivot, energy storage has emerged as a new battleground for sustaining energy dominance. Companies like Shell, BP, and TotalEnergies are reshaping the industry landscape through a dual focus on capital and technology. Shell, the world’s largest LNG trader, expanded its household energy storage business across 22 countries in Europe and North America after acquiring the German company Sonnen in 2019. In 2023, Shell developed a cooling solution that supports immersion cooling systems, collaborating with various manufacturers on multiple projects.
In energy storage, Shell created a single-phase immersion coolant to meet the growing thermal management needs of batteries. This coolant, made using Shell’s gas-to-liquid (GTL) technology, boasts superior heat capacity and thermal efficiency compared to competitors.
BP has taken a significant step by acquiring a majority stake in Lightsource BP, establishing Europe’s largest integrated solar and storage platform. Their partnership with Tesla in Texas for an 81MW/324MWh storage project exemplifies this integration.
TotalEnergies is also ramping up its energy storage efforts, planning to reach a total installed capacity of 35 GW in renewable energy and storage by 2025 and 100 GW by 2030. Since entering the storage market through the acquisition of Saft Group in 2016, TotalEnergies has deployed several battery storage systems in France, including one of the largest in Dunkirk.
Conclusion
The race for energy storage continues among oil giants betting on hydrogen, as well as internet and telecommunications leaders merging digital energy solutions. As we look toward 2025, the energy storage landscape is evolving beyond the initial blind rush of early entrants. This evolution is now characterized by clear business logic and strategic considerations. Companies like Midea and Gree are adapting their air conditioning technologies to energy storage thermal management, while internet firms aim to optimize storage scheduling using user electricity consumption data. Telecommunication companies are developing downstream storage technologies to mitigate supply chain vulnerabilities, and oil giants are embracing renewable energy ventures.
In this competitive environment, newcomers must be more astute than established players to carve out their niche. The energy storage sector is shifting from a “price war” to a “value war,” with ultimate goals extending beyond merely claiming market share to becoming key architects of ecosystem rules. Players combining technical expertise, capital capabilities, and strategic resolve are likely to emerge as the new forces capable of reshaping the industry landscape.
