In recent years, more and more countries have attracted more and more attention to the issue of sustainable development, and more and more countries have advocated the transition from traditional energy to renewable energy and the implementation of low-carbon development. Energy storage technology is playing an increasingly important role in sustainable development. With the growing global demand for clean energy, energy storage technology provides an effective solution to solve the problems of intermittent and fluctuating renewable energy, and promotes the transformation and sustainable development of energy structure. According to PwC's forecast, it is estimated that by 2030, the cumulative installed capacity of new energy storage will increase by more than 160%, and the new installed capacity of industrial and commercial storage will reach 100GWh, in line with the annual growth rate of up to 71%.
This time, based on PwC's analysis of the current domestic energy storage industry, we will discuss the development trend of the energy storage industry and the cutting-edge hot spots of the energy storage industry.
The development status of the energy storage industry
According to data from China's energy storage network, it is expected that during 2024~2026, the global installed energy storage capacity will reach 223GWh, 343GWh and 456GWh, a year-on-year increase of 48%, 54% and 33% respectively. The overseas energy storage market has broad growth space and higher revenues, and its average gross profit margin is greater than that of the domestic market, and there is a certain premium.
According to PwC, China played a major role in the world's new energy storage capacity in 2023, accounting for nearly 50% of the world's new energy storage capacity. China's cumulative installed capacity of electric energy storage is 86.5GW, accounting for 30% of the total global market, of which the cumulative installed capacity of new energy storage has reached 34.5GW, with a year-on-year increase of more than 150% in power scale and energy scale. In 2023, the installed capacity of new energy storage will exceed 20GW for the first time, three times the level of the same period in 2022.
Figure: China's energy storage industry is about to pass the early stage of commercialization under the guidance of policies
According to market research, by the first half of 2024, the cumulative installed capacity of new energy storage projects completed and put into operation in China reached 44.44 million lead watts/99.06 million kWh, an increase of more than 40% from the end of 2023. It is estimated that by 2030, the installed capacity of new energy storage in China will exceed 300 million kilowatts. China's energy storage market continues to grow at a rapid pace, and competition is becoming increasingly fierce. In addition, the state has issued a series of energy storage technical standards and specifications to ensure the safe, reliable and efficient operation of energy storage systems. These standards cover aspects such as the design, installation, commissioning, operation and maintenance of energy storage systems. For example, Zhejiang, Guangdong, Shandong and other places have provided construction subsidies or incentives for energy storage projects.
According to PwC, during the R&D demonstration period from 2016 to 2021, "energy storage and distributed energy" was included in the "13th Five-Year Plan" strategic emerging industries, and the functional positioning of energy storage has risen from "energy emergency support" to "building a modern energy storage and transportation network". In order to promote the development of new energy, many governments have introduced new energy distribution and storage policies. These policies require that new energy projects must be equipped with a certain proportion of energy storage facilities to improve the stability and reliability of the power system. For example, Inner Mongolia, Henan, Guangdong and other places have put forward specific requirements for the energy storage configuration of new energy projects.
In the process of energy storage growth, the main driving factors include the demand for flexible resources generated by the high proportion of wind power and photovoltaic power grid-connected, which drives the growth of energy storage installed capacity demand; The policy of compulsory distribution and storage + the construction of electricity marketization promotes the gradual improvement of the energy storage profit model; The peak-to-valley electricity price gap continues to expand, and some provinces have achieved "two charging and two discharging", making it more economical to use industrial and commercial energy storage. Users save electricity bills and ensure the needs of electricity consumption.
Under the guidance of policies, China's energy storage industry has achieved remarkable development. The installed capacity of energy storage is growing, the technical level is constantly improving, and the business model is constantly innovating. At the same time, the energy storage industry has also attracted a large amount of social capital investment, providing strong support for the sustainable development of the industry. With the rapid development of renewable energy and the transformation and upgrading of the power system, the energy storage industry will usher in a broader development prospect.
