On March 23, 2025, the 15th China International Energy Storage Conference and Exhibition (referred to as “CIES2025”) was grandly inaugurated at the Hangzhou International Expo Center. Organized by the China Chemical and Physical Power Industry Association and supported by over 800 institutions, the conference was themed “Green, Intelligent, Integrated, and Innovative.” It focused on discussing the opportunities and challenges facing the energy storage industry, sharing sustainable development policies, capital markets, international markets, cost mitigation, intelligent system integration technologies, supply chain systems, business models, technical standards, demonstration project applications, new products, and solutions.
This year’s conference prominently released four significant research findings: the “2025 China New Energy Storage Industry Development White Paper,” the “2025 Industrial Green Microgrid Development White Paper,” the “2025 China New Energy Storage Industry Project Bidding and Price Analysis Report,” and the “2025 Analysis Report on Typical Applications and Development Trends of New Energy Storage.” For 14 consecutive years, the conference has highlighted a series of research outcomes closely aligned with the latest technological advancements and applications in the industry, as well as policy support and market development trends. These contributions have been widely recognized and referenced in the sector.
The “2025 Analysis Report on Typical Applications and Development Trends of New Energy Storage” (hereinafter referred to as the “Report”) was edited by the China Chemical and Physical Power Industry Association, with contributions from the Energy Storage Application Subcommittee’s research group and academic support from its expert committee. The Report analyzes the development trends of the new energy storage industry in 2024 based on six aspects: industrial policies, standard formulation, market development, technological advancements, market and pricing mechanisms, and future outlook and suggestions.
In the section on industrial policies, the Report indicates that in 2024, various significant policies were introduced by national ministries and local governments covering power markets, standard construction, industrial development, technological innovation, operational control, and demonstration applications. The new energy storage industry policies focus on five main areas: guiding the high-quality development of the industrial chain, improving the market mechanism for new energy storage, enhancing the management of energy storage operations, establishing a comprehensive management process for storage projects, and strengthening distributed energy storage support for distribution networks.
Regarding standard formulation, the Report reveals that in 2024, significant progress was made in the standard system for new energy storage, with 35 national and industrial standards being published or implemented. Notably, standards for core equipment in energy storage systems, such as lithium-ion batteries, sodium-ion batteries, lead-carbon batteries, storage inverters, battery management systems, and integrated devices, have been newly developed or revised. Furthermore, new local standards for energy storage were introduced in regions like Jiangsu, further refining the standard system.
On the market development front, the Report discloses that domestic new energy storage maintained a rapid growth trend in 2024. According to the statistics from the CESA Energy Storage Application Subcommittee’s industry database, by the end of 2024, the cumulative installed capacity of new energy storage nationwide reached 74.66 GW/176.45 GWh, with an additional installed capacity of 42.46 GW/109.58 GWh in 2024, marking a year-on-year increase of 99.17%. The top five provinces in terms of newly installed storage capacity were Xinjiang (5.82 GW/20.92 GWh), Inner Mongolia (6.49 GW/17.82 GWh), Jiangsu (6.41 GW/13.12 GWh), Shandong (3.64 GW/8.57 GWh), and Qinghai (2 GW/8.15 GWh).
In terms of application scenarios, in 2024, there were 249 new projects for independent/shared storage on the grid side, with an installed capacity of 26.32 GW/64.82 GWh, accounting for 59.15% of the total, primarily concentrated in Jiangsu, Inner Mongolia, and Shandong. Power-side storage, mainly for renewable energy, had a smaller share from thermal power, with 224 new projects, adding 13.47 GW/38.41 GWh, representing 35.05% of the total, mainly distributed across Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia, and Gansu. On the user side, nearly 900 new storage projects were established, totaling 2.67 GW/6.35 GWh, which is 5.80% of the total, mainly focusing on Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Guangdong, and Anhui.
As for technological routes, the Report notes that lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4) battery storage continues to dominate the new energy storage landscape. In 2024, LiFePO4 battery storage projects added 39.38 GW/96.14 GWh, accounting for 92.64% of the total. Other technologies included flow batteries (0.81 GW/3.23 GWh, 1.90%), compressed air storage (0.72 GW/4.10 GWh, 1.70%), and other technologies (3.76%). The Report emphasizes the clear advantages of LiFePO4 batteries in performance, cost, and safety, solidifying their leading position in the near term.
The Report also highlights that since 2024, breakthroughs in diversified technical routes for new energy storage have been achieved, with projects utilizing compressed air, all-vanadium flow batteries, sodium-ion batteries, flywheels, and supercapacitors being successively integrated into the grid. These developments are essential for promoting a diverse technological landscape within the industry and exploring the technical performance of different storage options.
Regarding bidding prices for storage projects, the Report states that by the end of 2024, the winning bid prices for conventional centralized storage devices with durations of 1 hour, 2 hours, and 4 hours were approximately 0.94 CNY/Wh, 0.52 CNY/Wh, and 0.48 CNY/Wh, respectively. For example, the winning bid price for a 2-hour charge and discharge LiFePO4 storage system dropped to around 0.82 CNY/Wh at the beginning of 2024, reflecting a year-on-year decrease of approximately 36%.
The Report predicts that as the energy storage market becomes increasingly crowded, with overcapacity and growing homogeneity, competition will intensify. Although device prices have reached new lows, the current prices of battery raw materials and storage equipment are approaching or even below production costs, limiting further price reductions. The industry is currently experiencing a phase of capacity clearing, which is expected to continue for some time, with storage equipment remaining at low levels.
In terms of technological advancements, the Report indicates that LiFePO4 batteries remain the most widely used type of battery. Energy storage devices utilizing a 1500V DC side and liquid cooling management have been extensively implemented across various application scenarios. Centralized storage topology continues to be preferred due to its low cost and mature technology. Meanwhile, string and cascade topologies are gaining traction due to their advantages in addressing parallel current circulation in battery clusters, high efficiency, and good lifecycle performance.
In 2024, industry leaders introduced several new technologies, including networked storage, large-capacity cells exceeding 500Ah, next-generation integrated devices, and new battery management systems (BMS), all aimed at enhancing the reliability and inherent safety of energy storage systems while reducing their total lifecycle costs and enabling efficient interaction with the grid.
Regarding market and pricing mechanisms, the Report reveals that the market mechanisms and pricing structures for new energy storage’s participation in electricity markets are continuously improving. By engaging in the electricity spot market, ancillary services market, and capacity market, energy storage can generate multiple revenue streams. With the acceleration of the establishment of a unified national electricity market, the business model for energy storage is shifting from “policy-dependent” to “market-driven,” resulting in diversified, variable, and complex revenue characteristics for storage projects. These projects will need to adapt to a pricing mechanism that fluctuates with market dynamics.
Finally, the Report presents seven outlooks and recommendations for the high-quality development of the energy storage industry: accelerating the establishment of profit mechanisms for new energy storage projects, driving innovation in the energy storage industry chain, strengthening research on new energy storage technologies that support the grid, promoting the orderly development of long-duration storage, establishing a lithium-ion battery recycling mechanism, guiding the standardized manufacturing of storage equipment, and paying attention to the environmental adaptability of energy storage devices.
