The energy storage industry is entering a new stage of value growth.

Currently, the global energy transition is entering a deep-water zone. As a core infrastructure for balancing the volatility of new energy and strengthening the security of the energy system, the development logic of energy storage has undergone a fundamental change. The explosive growth of AI computing power and the transformation of the energy structure are driving the development of the energy storage industry to a critical turning point of value growth. From policy-driven to a dual-wheel drive of marketization and globalization, the energy storage industry is entering a key stage of technological diversity, demand expansion, and intensified competition, with the outline of a trillion-yuan-scale market becoming increasingly clear.

From the large-scale production of 587Ah (ampere-hour) battery cells by Ningde Times New Energy Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Ningde Times"), to the promotion of the cost per kilowatt-hour towards the "1 yuan per kilowatt-hour" era by Xiamen Haidun Energy Storage Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Haidun Energy Storage"), the industrial competition is shifting from capacity expansion to scenario-based solutions and the construction of a global ecosystem. 

In this context, in 2025, China's energy storage industry will initiate a new cycle of high-quality transformation. In 2026, China's energy storage industry will further embrace structural growth opportunities, accelerating its departure from the extensive development stage of scale expansion and entering a new cycle of high-quality growth centered on value creation.

Technological Foundation: Three Key Features Lay a Solid Foundation for Industrial Upgrading

Technological innovation is the core driving force for the high-quality development of the energy storage industry. In the second half of 2025, the technical routes of energy storage cells have shown three main characteristics: cells with a capacity of 500Ah or more have become the mainstream configuration in the industry, the laminated process is accelerating the replacement of the winding process, and specialized technologies for long-duration energy storage are continuously breaking through. Leading enterprises are leading this technological iteration wave, laying a technical foundation for the enhancement of industrial value. 

"In 2026, the industry will exhibit the development characteristics of 'large battery cells, liquid cooling, long duration, and coexistence of multiple technology routes'. This is an inevitable trend as agreed upon by the industry consensus," said Yu Qingjiao, the secretary-general of the Zhongguancun New Battery Technology Innovation Alliance, in an interview with Securities Daily. 

Yu Qingjiao believes that the current technological evolution presents three distinct characteristics: The large-scale application of battery cells has reduced the complexity of BMS (Battery Management System) and the cost of connection components, perfectly meeting the requirements for long-term energy storage; The laminated process has comprehensively surpassed the winding process in terms of energy density and cycle life; The specialized technology for long-term energy storage has effectively broken through the thermal management, lifespan and cost bottlenecks in scenarios lasting more than 8 hours, achieving a breakthrough. These three characteristics respectively solve the core problems of cost, performance and reliability, precisely aligning with the evolution logic of the industry. 

In the field of battery cells, high-capacity and high-safety large battery cells have become the mainstream development direction for leading enterprises. The Ningde Time Company's 587Ah battery cell has shipped 2GWh, and the application of the next-generation energy storage large battery cells is accelerating; BYD Company Limited has even launched a 2710Ah energy storage-specific blade battery, with the capacity of a single cell increasing by over 300% compared to conventional products. 

Xinhuaanda Electronic Co., Ltd. released a 684Ah laminated battery cell in September 2025. In December of the same year, the 1 millionth unit was rolled off the production line, marking the official crossing of the production threshold for the laminated process. 

In December 2025, Haichen Energy Storage released a 1300Ah (8-hour long-term energy storage) dedicated battery cell. The goal is to reduce system components by over 30% and lower the cost of power components by over 50%. Delivery is expected in the fourth quarter of 2026. 

Wang Pengcheng, the co-founder and president of Haichen Energy Storage, told Securities Daily: "The concept of long-term energy storage has been proposed for some time, but it has not yet achieved large-scale implementation. The core issue is to solve the economic problem throughout the entire life cycle. These two aspects are mutually reinforcing. We will continue to promote technological progress and aim to push the cost of energy storage per kilowatt-hour (LCOS) to enter the '1-yuan era' within the next five years. Once this goal is achieved, photovoltaic, wind power and energy storage will achieve parity, and new energy can truly compete with traditional energy on the same stage."

Demand-driven: Activating the development potential of the global market

If technological breakthroughs provide the possibility for industry development, then market demand injects the core driving force for value release. In 2026, the global energy storage market demand is expected to maintain a strong growth trend. 

A research report from CITIC Securities indicates that, based on data from organizations such as CNESA (Zhongguancun Energy Storage Industry Technology Alliance), it is estimated that the domestic new installed capacity of energy storage will reach 150 GWh (gigawatt-hours) and 203 GWh in 2025 and 2026 respectively; it is projected that the new installed capacity of energy storage globally will be approximately 290 GWh in 2025 and is expected to reach 1.17 TWh (terawatt-hours) in 2030, with huge growth potential. 

"In 2026, the new electricity demand generated by AI computing infrastructure, the long-term energy storage necessity driven by the transformation of the energy structure, and the demand for energy storage deployment imposed by the grid congestion problem will resonate with each other. It is expected that the global energy storage market space will continue to expand," said Xing Xing, the chief economist of Jin Donghui Enterprise Management Development (Beijing) Co., Ltd., to Securities Daily. 

It is worth noting that behind the significant increase in energy storage demand in this round, the AI computing infrastructure has become a new growth engine. Industry data shows that the annual electricity consumption of 1GW of computing infrastructure is approximately 7,000 GWh, and the demand for green power supply and energy storage frequency regulation is also rising simultaneously. 

With the implementation of the "Artificial Intelligence +" national strategy, the demand for electricity by AIDC (Artificial Intelligence Data Center) has doubled, and the safety and reliability requirements for the supporting energy storage have become even higher, forming a typical "high entry threshold and high customer loyalty" market. The chairman of energy storage company Dongeng Group Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Dongeng Shares"), Yang Rui, said in an interview with Securities Daily. 

The installed capacity of wind power and photovoltaic power in China has been continuously increasing. The demand for cross-day and cross-season regulation is prominent. The installed capacity of long-duration energy storage (≥ 4 hours) will significantly increase by 2025, and is expected to continue to rise steadily in 2026. Currently, 4-hour energy storage systems have become the mainstream. 

Wang Pengcheng said, "Currently, the prices of storage raw materials are on the rise. We still insist on promoting the continuous reduction of storage costs because only when the storage costs can directly compete with traditional energy sources can the industry truly enter the stage of full marketization. From the industry trend, the sector is moving from explosive growth to returning to value-driven development."

Value Surge: Establishing a Sustainable Growth Pattern for the Industry

Under the dual support of technological foundation and demand-driven approach, the energy storage industry is shifting from "scale expansion" to "value growth". The optimization of business models, the improvement of supply and demand patterns, and the acceleration of global layout are driving the continuous rise in industry value, and ecological collaboration has become the key for enterprises to achieve sustainable growth. 

Currently, the mainstream business model of "spot arbitrage + capacity compensation + ancillary services" has formed a replicable model in provinces such as Guangdong and Shandong. By 2025, the average internal rate of return of some independent energy storage projects in certain regions of China will increase to 8% to 12%, significantly enhancing the investment return capability and providing a solid economic guarantee for the sustainable growth of the industry. 

Overall, in 2026, the energy storage market will enter a new stage of large-scale development characterized by "increased quantity and price, as well as quality being the top priority". Firstly, the focus of competition shifts from "capacity expansion" to "intelligent overall solutions suitable for different application scenarios" and "resource sharing and win-win ecological chains"; secondly, the business models become more diverse. Besides peak-valley arbitrage, capacity compensation, virtual power plants, and auxiliary service markets can all generate profits. Industrial and commercial energy storage will become one of the most active sectors; thirdly, the global market becomes more prominent, with industry concentration significantly increasing. Leading enterprises, leveraging their innovation capabilities across the entire value chain and cost optimization capabilities, will gradually occupy a larger share of the market. Liu Yong, the secretary-general of the Energy Storage Application Branch of the China Chemical and Physical Power Sources Industry Association, told Securities Daily. 

Wang Pengcheng predicts that in 2026, the global scale of energy storage is expected to maintain an explosive growth trend. However, the underlying competitive logic will shift from a simple price war to a value competition. This value is multi-dimensional, including long-term energy storage solutions, specific scenario solutions such as AIDC, global service capabilities, and the construction of supply chain resilience. 

Meanwhile, in the face of global structural opportunities, the overseas energy storage market is experiencing an explosive growth period. According to the prediction of the GII Industry Research Institute, the global data center energy storage lithium battery shipment volume will exceed 69 GWh in 2027, and will increase to 300 GWh in 2030. The compound annual growth rate from 2024 to 2030 will be over 80%. 

Many energy storage enterprises such as Ningde Time, Haiden Energy Storage, Sunergy Power Co., Ltd., and Shuang Deng Co., Ltd. have keenly perceived this trend and accelerated their internationalization strategies. The overseas market has become the core engine for the growth of these enterprises' revenues. 

"Haichen Energy Storage's European shipments will increase by 10 times in 2025, and its overseas market strategy in 2026 will primarily focus on developed regions," Wang Pengcheng explained. 

Yang Rui disclosed that the "going global" strategy of Dongeng Co., Ltd. goes beyond simple product exports. It emphasizes localization, and based on the actual needs and policy environment of different markets, builds local R&D, production and service capabilities. This model not only can enhance the response speed and stickiness of customers, but also can effectively achieve the leap from "manufacturing for export in China" to "global localized operation". 

Looking ahead to 2026, a new cycle of high-quality development for the energy storage industry has already begun. Enterprises can only focus on scenario-based technological innovation, deeply explore high-value application scenarios, build a global production capacity network, and deepen ecological collaboration. Only in this critical stage of diverse technologies, expanding demand, and deepening competition can they seize the initiative, support value growth with real technological capabilities, and provide a solid guarantee for global energy transformation.