Energy Storage Opportunities: China’s Global Share of Energy Storage Batteries Exceeds 93%, What Challenges Lie Ahead?
Energy storage technology is a key driver for the large-scale application of renewable energy and the establishment of a new power system, presenting unprecedented development opportunities. China is a major player in the energy storage industry, but its further growth is hindered by challenges such as technological breakthroughs, cost optimization, and innovative business models.
On March 20, the CESC2025 Third International Energy Storage Conference and Smart Energy Storage Technology and Application Exhibition opened in Nanjing. The conference featured a summit forum, an exhibition, and numerous parallel activities centered on themes such as the new energy shipping industry, hydrogen energy sector, and the role of powder coating in enabling safe, efficient, and green development of the energy storage industry. It brought together experts, scholars, corporate representatives, and financial institutions from the energy storage field.
During a roundtable discussion themed “Diverse Collaboration to Build the Energy Storage Ecosystem, Supporting Dual Carbon Goals, Driving a Green Future,” hosted by Professor Wu Yuping from Southeast University, key participants included Liu Xiaoyan, Chairwoman of the Australia-China Free Trade Association Forum, Liu Daqian, Deputy Director of the New Energy Engineering Institute at Shanghai Electric Power Design Institute, Hans Funk, General Manager of HENN, Lian Zhanwei, General Manager of Xinyuan Zhichu Energy Development (Beijing) Co., Ltd., and Wang Hongwei, General Manager of Lixinghang Energy.
In 2024, global energy storage battery shipments are expected to reach 369.8 GWh, marking a year-on-year growth of 64.9%. Chinese companies will account for 345.8 GWh of this total, representing over 93% of the global market share. Wang Hongwei emphasizes that energy storage is a crucial component of microgrid systems, and for Chinese energy storage technologies and solutions to penetrate global markets, it is essential to focus on several issues, including understanding their own positioning and that of their clients, enhancing the safety and performance of storage products, and personalizing solutions.
The increasing share of renewable energy generation has made the application of energy storage technologies widespread in power systems. From an operational perspective, energy storage is primarily applied in three scenarios: power generation, the grid, and end-users. In recent years, the development of commercial and industrial energy storage has accelerated, with expectations that by 2025, the growth rate of new installations in this sector will exceed the average growth rate of the overall energy storage market, pushing the domestic market beyond 10 billion yuan.
Chinese energy storage companies are rapidly expanding into global markets as the energy sector undergoes transformation. With the continuous maturation of energy storage technology, the market for energy storage cells is projected to maintain robust growth. InfoLink forecasts that by 2025, global shipments of energy storage cells will reach 392 GWh, representing a 25% year-on-year increase.
According to data from the National Energy Administration, by the end of 2024, the cumulative installed capacity of new energy storage projects in the country will reach 73.76 million kilowatts (168 million kilowatt-hours), approximately 20 times that of the end of the 13th Five-Year Plan period, and over 130% more than at the end of 2023. The average energy storage duration has also increased to 2.3 hours, up by about 0.2 hours from the previous year.
Chinese energy storage companies are demonstrating strong competitiveness in international markets. A white paper titled “China Energy Storage Battery Industry Development White Paper (2025)”, jointly released by EVTank, the Institute of Economic Research, and the China Battery Industry Research Institute, indicates that in 2024, global energy storage battery shipments will reach 369.8 GWh, with Chinese companies accounting for 345.8 GWh, a 93.5% global market share, reflecting an increase of 2.6 percentage points from the previous year. Notably, overseas markets are experiencing rapid growth, with significant increases in energy storage tendering and installations across Europe, the Middle East, and the Asia-Pacific regions.
According to statistics from the High-Tech Industry Research Institute, in 2024, Chinese energy storage lithium battery export orders exceeded 120 GWh, primarily to Europe, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and the United States, with demand from Europe and North America accounting for 73% of the total. Wang Hongwei reiterates that energy storage is an indispensable element in microgrid systems.
Lixinghang Energy specializes in integrated microgrid system solutions for distributed energy systems, focusing on the development of distributed energy and microgrid systems, with products including solar power, energy storage, gas turbine generation, and energy management platforms. Wang emphasizes the importance of understanding their own and clients’ positioning and improving the safety and performance of energy storage products and solutions.
Many Chinese energy companies are accelerating their international expansion, with Australia emerging as a significant destination. The collaboration between China and Australia in renewable energy is based on solid foundations and mutual advantages. Australia is rich in wind and solar resources, accounting for about 65% of total electricity generation from photovoltaic and wind energy by the end of 2022. China possesses significant technological advantages and rich construction experience in wind power, solar energy, and energy storage technologies. In recent years, numerous Chinese companies have actively participated in developing renewable energy projects in Australia, deepening cooperation in this sector.
Liu Xiaoyan believes that renewable energy is a key focus for future cooperation between China and Australia, with opportunities in various areas. “Australia has abundant renewable energy resources and significant tidal energy potential, which holds great development value,” she notes, advocating for domestic enterprises to invest in establishing facilities in Australia. Chinese companies can also explore local applications of electric vehicles and energy storage.
Energy storage has a wide range of applications. Compared to traditional fossil fuel power generation, renewable energy generation is characterized by its green, clean, and low-carbon advantages. However, some clean energy technologies face challenges related to fluctuations and intermittency, making it difficult to ensure overall grid stability. Effectively utilizing energy storage technology can mitigate these issues and enhance safety during the integration of renewable energy into the grid.
For example, in Xinjiang, the region’s climate features “extreme heat with no wind, extreme cold with no wind, extreme cold with little sunlight, and no sunlight during evening peaks,” leading to a unique generation pattern where output is high in spring and autumn but low in winter and summer, posing challenges for power supply stability. Xinjiang’s new energy storage development is characterized by scalability, marketization, and diversification, well-suited to the evolving needs of its new power system. Data from the State Grid Xinjiang Electric Power Company indicates that by the end of February this year, Xinjiang had built over 200 new energy storage stations, with a total installed capacity of 9.777 million kilowatts (32.663 million kilowatt-hours), effectively facilitating the consumption of renewable energy. In 2024, Xinjiang’s new energy storage will charge 4.48 billion kilowatt-hours, significantly enhancing renewable energy utilization by 3.6%.
Liu Daqian explains, “The application of energy storage technology in power systems is widespread, with the increasing penetration rate of renewable energy. The inherent variability that cannot be adjusted necessitates a greater role for energy storage.” He notes that energy storage is primarily applied in three scenarios: power generation, the grid, and end-users.
“The design integration of energy storage systems encompasses similarities across power generation, grid, and end-user sides,” adds Lian Zhanwei. On the generation side, the focus is on challenges during the grid connection of renewable energy generation. On the grid side, energy storage currently addresses issues such as peak shaving, frequency regulation, and supporting power and voltage, while the end-user side primarily involves commercial and industrial energy storage, which is relatively rare in the domestic market.
Xinyuan Zhichu, a subsidiary of the State Power Investment Corporation, is a platform-based company specializing in the research and development of core technology and system integration of main energy systems. Established in 2021, it ranked among the top three in national shipment volume by 2023. The company focuses on research and development of key components for energy storage systems, including commercial and industrial energy storage solutions and energy storage stations. Their all-in-one commercial energy storage product, launched in collaboration with the Ministry of Emergency Management, aims to completely address safety concerns associated with energy storage. In 2023, commercial energy storage accounted for about 3% of newly installed energy storage capacity in China, rising to approximately 6% in 2024, with expectations for this figure to reach 10% this year, pushing the domestic market scale beyond 10 billion yuan.
In terms of application scenarios, the overall overseas commercial energy storage market in 2024 is expected to be broad and diverse, with the primary project implementation scenarios including: direct matching of commercial users with energy storage, integrated solar and energy storage systems, microgrid plus energy storage, and new application scenarios (data centers, 5G base stations, battery swapping for heavy trucks, port shore power, etc.).
