[SMM Analysis] 2.5GW/12.5GWh! BYD Successfully Wins the Bid for Saudi SEC Phase III ESS Project, Securing the World's Largest Order!

In January 2025, BYD successfully secured the world's largest energy storage order to date, with a scale of 2.5GW/12.5GWh. The project is distributed across five key locations in Saudi Arabia: Riyadh, Qaisumah, Dawadmi, Jouf, and Rabigh, with each site having an installed capacity of 500MW/2500MWh. BYD Auto Industry Co., Ltd., leveraging its strong technical expertise and extensive project experience, won the bid and will be responsible for the design, supply, installation guidance, testing, commissioning, and subsequent long-term maintenance of these battery systems.

This awarded project is a key component of the Saudi Electricity Company (SEC) energy storage procurement plan. Previously, BYD successfully won the bid for SEC's first-phase 2GWh energy storage project. With this new order, BYD's total order volume in SEC projects in Saudi Arabia has reached 14.5GWh, surpassing Sungrow's 7.8GWh order in the second phase, temporarily making BYD the biggest winner in the Middle East renewable energy storage market.

As Saudi Arabia's most important power enterprise, SEC's energy storage project aims to enhance grid stability and responsiveness, improve energy efficiency, and integrate renewable energy. SEC has set stringent performance requirements for energy storage systems, including black start capability to restore power during outages, frequency regulation to manage grid stability, and voltage support to optimize grid output, ensuring efficient and stable grid operation.

The Middle East region has an urgent demand for energy transition and energy storage, making it one of the world's key energy centers. Against this backdrop, a large number of Chinese energy storage companies, including CATL, BYD, Sungrow, Huawei, and Envision Group, have entered the Middle East market. As the most important country for green energy development in the Middle East, Saudi Arabia has announced plans to tender 20GW of renewable energy projects annually, aiming to achieve a renewable energy installed capacity of 100-130GW by 2030. This provides vast opportunities for the development of the energy storage market.

The Middle East energy storage market exhibits the following characteristics: First, high market concentration, dominated by a few companies, with Chinese enterprises such as Sungrow, BYD, and Huawei taking the lead; second, high technical requirements, as energy storage systems must adapt to extreme local climate conditions such as high temperatures, high humidity, and high salinity; third, strong demand for energy transition, with energy storage systems regarded as key technologies to support renewable energy development and reduce reliance on fossil fuels; fourth, weak power grid infrastructure, with urgent energy storage needs to improve grid stability and reliability.

BYD's acquisition of this globally largest energy storage order not only highlights its leading position in the energy storage technology field but also demonstrates its strong competitiveness in the global new energy market among Chinese enterprises. As global demand for renewable energy and energy storage continues to grow, Chinese companies are expected to maintain their leadership in this field, contributing more to global energy transition and sustainable development. Meanwhile, as a key player in the global energy storage market, the Middle East's market development and demand will profoundly impact the global energy storage industry landscape, providing significant opportunities and challenges for energy storage enterprises worldwide.

SMM New Energy Industry Research Department

Cong Wang 021-51666838

Xiaodan Yu 021-20707870

Rui Ma 021-51595780

Ying Xu 021-51666707

Disheng Feng 021-51666714

Yujun Liu 021-20707895

Yanlin Lü 021-20707875

Zhicheng Zhou 021-51666711

Haohan Zhang 021-51666752

Zihan Wang 021-51666914

Xiaoxuan Ren 021-20707866

Yushuo Liang 021-20707892

Jie Wang 021-51595902

Yang Xu 021-51666760

Boling Chen 021-51666836