The Integrated Battle of Solar Energy Storage and Charging: Huawei Digital Energy and BYD Enter the Arena
On March 26, 2025, Huawei held the China Digital Energy Partner Conference, unveiling three core strategies. The integration of solar energy storage and charging has been identified as an inevitable trend, leading to the introduction of native solar energy storage and charging solutions. Additionally, Huawei announced the launch of liquid-cooled charging for commercial vehicles and the establishment of a supercharging alliance to seize opportunities within the national supercharging network.
Many may not know that Huawei Digital Energy, a key business segment of Huawei, generates over 50 billion yuan in revenue annually, with numerous projects both domestically and internationally featuring Huawei’s involvement. Currently, Huawei’s primary focus in the energy sector is on the integration of solar energy storage and charging as outlined in its three strategic goals.
According to the China Industrial Research Institute, the global solar energy storage market surpassed 65 billion yuan in 2023, with China holding a dominant 51.09% share. By 2025, the market size in China is expected to reach 113.424 billion yuan, marking rapid growth. This industry, encompassing solar photovoltaics, batteries, and energy storage, has attracted major players such as Huawei, BYD, and CATL, along with numerous photovoltaic giants, paving the way for companies like Shihang New Energy to approach their initial public offerings.
This market is on the verge of significant expansion.
What is the Emerging Trend of Solar Energy Storage and Charging Integration?
The term “solar energy storage and charging integration” refers to the construction of combined facilities that include photovoltaic power generation, energy storage systems, and charging stations, effectively transforming them into large charging stations. For instance, in the context of electric vehicle charging, solar panels installed on charging station rooftops convert solar energy into electricity, powering the charging piles and energy storage facilities while facilitating commercial operations.
This concept was highlighted in the New Energy Vehicle Industry Development Plan (2021-2035) released by the State Council in 2020, which called for integrated energy utilization of new energy vehicles alongside coordinated operations of wind and solar power. It encouraged the establishment of multifunctional integrated stations for “solar energy storage and charging.” However, it is only in recent years that major players like Huawei have made headlines with their strategic moves in this sector.
One reason for this delay is that while top-level planning has been in place for some time, the relevant industries heavily rely on specific policy support, which has only recently begun to align with the development of solar energy storage and charging projects. For example, Shanghai just released the Innovation Development Work Plan for New Energy Storage Demonstration (2025-2030) earlier this year. It is well-known that subsidies are a key driving force behind the growth of the energy industry.
Moreover, the achievements of major companies often stem from years of cultivation within the industry chain before they can integrate their business models for new developments. A solar energy storage and charging station involves advanced technologies in charging, battery systems, photovoltaics, and intelligent management.
The Key Players in Solar Energy Storage and Charging Integration
The primary players in this sector predominantly include vertical energy enterprises, such as Trina Solar, Sungrow Power Supply, JinkoSolar, and LONGi Green Energy, as well as battery leader CATL. Emerging companies like Shihang New Energy, which specializes in solar energy storage solutions and is expected to go public, also play a significant role. In February of this year, LONGi Green Energy emphasized the need to integrate solar energy storage and charging to surpass traditional combinations of photovoltaics and energy storage.
It is clear that one of the endpoints for solar energy storage and charging is profitability through electricity fees. By incorporating the “charging” aspect, the business model becomes more comprehensive. Notably, companies like Huawei, which represent cross-industry enterprises and service-oriented business models, are creating significant shifts in the landscape.
The New Forces Shaping the Market
The second wave of players consists of “ecosystem” companies that not only supply solar energy storage and charging products but also provide operational services. This includes Huawei and BYD as major cross-industry players, as well as service companies like Star Charging and Aulton. Among these, Huawei stands out as a significant representative with over a decade of presence in the solar energy storage and charging sector.
Huawei Digital Energy’s three strategic goals are clearly aimed at positioning itself in the best ecological niche of solar energy storage and charging integration. This may come as a surprise, as Huawei emphasizes its decision not to manufacture vehicles, instead opting to empower the sector through its intelligent technology. However, it is noteworthy that Huawei is involved in everything from infrastructure development to supercharging station construction.
Since its inception, Huawei recognized the high power demands of numerous communication devices, which existing suppliers could not meet. Consequently, it chose to manufacture its own power solutions and became the largest domestic producer of communication power supplies by 2000. However, following the internet bubble burst, Huawei divested its electrical business to survive.
By around 2010, as the global solar energy industry rapidly developed, Huawei realized that its accumulated expertise in power management and equipment aligned perfectly with the photovoltaic and inverter markets. This prompted its re-entry into the energy market, starting with photovoltaic inverters and expanding into the charging market as the era of electric vehicles began, ultimately completing its solar energy storage and charging integration strategy.
For Huawei, energy has always been a high-priority business, which is evident from its continuous engagement in the sector over the years. According to Huawei’s annual report, the digital energy business achieved a revenue of 52.6 billion yuan in 2023, nearly on par with its cloud computing division.
In comparison, BYD, which focuses on electric vehicles, has also emerged as a significant player in the solar energy storage and charging sector. In its annual report released on March 24, BYD announced significant growth in its clean energy business, including storage, photovoltaics, and secondary charging batteries for 2024. Although the scale of its solar energy storage and charging business is relatively smaller compared to its automotive sector, which accounts for 79.45% of revenue, BYD’s foundational presence in the automotive market provides a clear advantage for expanding its energy business.
Both Huawei and BYD share common traits that explain why these seemingly “outsider” giants are able to shake up the solar energy storage and charging landscape. Firstly, they have tapped into the enormous demand pool of the automotive industry, positioning themselves closer to applications such as charging stations. Successful development of supercharging technology would enable them to establish relevant standards, enhancing the competitiveness of solar energy storage and charging integration.
This is also why specialized operators like Star Charging and Aulton play a crucial role among the core providers of solar energy storage and charging integration. While they may not possess manufacturing technology like traditional energy companies, their expertise in operational scenarios and expansion strategies gives them a competitive edge in business models.
Secondly, the solar energy storage and charging industry relies on a well-established supply chain, and the domestic market for solar energy storage is currently experiencing oversupply and low costs. Any traditional energy company with an established supply chain can easily enter the solar energy storage and charging integration market, let alone well-funded companies like Huawei. Lastly, these companies have strong research and development capabilities rooted in their manufacturing backgrounds. For instance, Huawei leveraged its early research in communication power supplies to directly enter the photovoltaic inverter market, rapidly developing a “string inverter + intelligent management” model that has achieved the largest global market share.
Huawei Digital Energy has constructed the world’s largest solar energy storage microgrid in Saudi Arabia, utilizing its intelligent string inverters, intelligent string storage units, and proprietary electrochemical storage systems.
The Solar Energy Storage and Charging Market is Approaching a Competitive Phase
Undoubtedly, companies like Huawei and BYD have the potential to reshape the future trajectory of solar energy storage and charging integration and the overall energy market landscape. The current environment in China, which is highly supportive of new energy initiatives, further enables their success.
Previously, many may not have been familiar with the term solar energy storage and charging integration, as early market demand largely did not involve personal users. Although the focus remains primarily on corporate and governmental projects, the burgeoning electric vehicle market is creating significant opportunities for solar energy storage and charging integration.
Last year, Huawei Digital Energy revealed that by the end of 2023, over 3.3 million households globally had chosen Huawei’s residential solutions. At the recent conference, Huawei Digital Energy clearly stated, “By coordinating solar energy storage and charging, we aim to reduce electricity costs by 30%, achieving 100% on-site consumption of solar energy, enabling high-quality charging wherever there is a road.”
This backdrop conceals two critical development trends within the industry, indicating an impending wave of competition. The competition in solar energy storage and charging may rival that of the electric vehicle market.
The first trend is the shift in market focus. Both traditional energy enterprises and players like Huawei have historically engaged more in overseas markets. For example, JinkoSolar recently secured the position of preferred supplier for the world’s largest solar energy storage project in the UAE, while BYD set a record for Chinese companies with its recent contract for a Saudi electricity project. Now, they intend to create market phenomena akin to blade batteries and Han models, striving for the largest global share in the energy storage market.
This shift is primarily due to the previous lack of a concentrated construction phase for solar energy storage and charging in China, while overseas markets had robust household storage demand and less intense competition, thus offering better profit margins. However, as the penetration rate of new energy vehicles in China increases and policies encouraging solar energy storage and charging integration become clearer, companies are redirecting their focus back home to seize opportunities. In May of last year, the first “solar energy storage and charging” integrated low-carbon service area in Hainan made its debut in Sanya, with Huawei providing the behind-the-scenes solutions. Huawei’s intelligent solar energy storage solutions and fully liquid-cooled supercharging technology are currently being rolled out nationwide.
The second trend is that as the scale of solar energy storage and charging expands, effective energy management will increasingly rely on intelligent capabilities. Huawei’s strength lies in its intelligent technology that encompasses the entire chain from power generation sites to terminal charging facilities. For instance, Huawei’s intelligent solar-wind-storage generators can achieve highly automated and stable operations at power plants, while its first-of-its-kind intelligent string-based energy storage platform can reduce costs per kilowatt-hour and enhance safety monitoring capabilities using sensors.
Moreover, as this sector grows, the entry strategies of companies are becoming more diversified. In terms of capital investments, Xiaomi and its founder Lei Jun have extensively entered areas like energy storage, batteries, materials, and solar energy storage through various investment firms. According to incomplete statistics, there have been over 20 investments since 2022. Last year, Xiaomi also became a new shareholder in Keda Intelligent, which is laying out modular energy storage and microgrid control technologies to achieve an integrated energy storage and charging strategy.
Clearly, the number of players entering the market is increasing, and solar energy storage and charging can be confidently anticipated as the next market hotspot. As competition intensifies, we are likely to witness a resurgence of scenarios previously seen in the fields of photovoltaics, energy storage, and electric vehicles, now converging on the intersecting and evolving track of solar energy storage and charging integration.
