CLNB 2025 Insights: Innovation Drives Future Landscape of C&I ESS

At the CLNB 2025 (10th) New Energy Industry ChainExpo - New Energy PV ESS Forum hosted by SMM Information & Technology Co., Ltd. (SMM), Liang Wang, R&D Director of Ganfeng LiEnergy (Dongguan) Technology Co., Ltd., shared insights on the topic "Current Status and Trends of Industrial and Commercial (C&I) ESS Development."

Current Status

Overall Growth Scale

Global Installations in 2024: Global new installations of industrial and commercial ESS are expected to reach 4.4 GW/10.9 GWh in 2024, indicating sustained growth in demand worldwide.

Domestic Market Installations in 2024: In the Chinese market, new installations were approximately 2.8 GW/7.5 GWh, up 53.06% YoY. The market demand is robust, supported by strong policies, with broad prospects for future development.

Global and Chinese Market Forecast for 2025: This year, global new installations are expected to reach 6.1 GW/15.26 GWh, while domestic new installations are projected at 4.8 GW/10.56 GWh. This also signals more investment and development opportunities in the coming years.

Accelerated Digital Transformation

1. Widespread Application of Technology

Technologies such as cloud computing, big data, and artificial intelligence are widely adopted in enterprises. Industrial and commercial ESS is transitioning from hardware integration to software AI-driven computing.

2. Enhanced Customization Quality

Through software-defined approaches, more flexible functional expansion and system optimization configurations are achieved, enabling smarter monitoring, diagnostics, and decision-making capabilities.

3. Optimized Customer Service

Digital transformation allows enterprises to better understand customer needs, provide personalized services, and enhance customer satisfaction and loyalty.

Strengthened Green Development Awareness

Development Trends

Differentiation in Application-Side Demand

1. Energy Storage Allocation for Traditional Industrial and Commercial Enterprises

Peak-valley arbitrage, virtual capacity management, backup power supply, etc.

2. Integrated PV ESS Charging

Using ESS to mitigate high-power load spikes at NEV charging stations, and distributed PV + ESS to reduce grid electricity purchases.

3. Microgrids and ESS

Industrial parks aggregate PV, wind power, and ESS to optimize internal energy distribution, achieving "self-generation + surplus storage" for local energy autonomy.

Deepening Service-Oriented Transformation

1. "Product Service" Model

Manufacturing enterprises no longer just provide products but shift to a "product service" model, offering comprehensive energy services, equipment financing, operation and maintenance, and system solutions.

2. Increased Customer Stickiness

By providing value-added services, enterprises enhance customer stickiness. The "ESS + energy efficiency management" solution, combined with AI algorithms to optimize electricity strategies, designs flexible "peak-valley arbitrage + demand-side response" models for electricity users, improving customer satisfaction and loyalty, thereby increasing enterprise value.

3. Innovation in Service Models

Equipment enterprises continuously innovate service models, embedding "finance + industry" scenarios, offering "ESS equipment leasing + carbon credit trading services," and enhancing project economics through data services and remote technical support.

Cross-Border Business Expansion

1. Going Global and Diversifying Scenarios

With the rapid development of domestic industrial and commercial sectors, overseas users of home ESS are gradually shifting to high-voltage ESS and industrial and commercial demands. The long certification cycle for going global requires enterprises to plan early, leveraging global resources to build a global production and sales network.

2. Risks of Cross-Border Operations

Cross-border business expansion also brings risks such as cultural differences and varying legal environments. Enterprises need to manage risks effectively, including post-sales operation and maintenance and local professional training.

3. Opportunities for Global Collaboration

Enterprises going global need to focus on "localization," combining digital tools, compliant operations, and resource integration, gradually expanding from single-point breakthroughs to regional in-depth development, ultimately achieving brand globalization.

Integrated Development of Virtual Power Plants

1. 5G + AI + IoT Collaboration

Using 5G technology to enable real-time control of distributed resources, combined with AI algorithms to optimize resource scheduling strategies, improving response speed and accuracy, and edge gateway technology for rapid data exchange.

2. Deep Coupling with Microgrids

Virtual power plants act as the "brain" of microgrids, coordinating distributed energy and local loads, promoting the construction of zero-carbon parks.

3. Integrated Generation-Grid-Load-Storage

Aggregating distributed PV, ESS, charging piles, air conditioning, and other loads in parks to form a "generation-storage-use" closed loop, achieving local green electricity consumption and peak shaving.

Challenges

Intensified Market Competition

1. Surge and Rapid Exit of Enterprises

Over 50,000 new industrial and commercial enterprises were added in 2023, with 40% exiting by the end of 2024. Rising technical barriers and financial pressures will accelerate industry consolidation, with top-tier enterprises gaining advantages through scale and intelligence.

2. Competition for Channel Resources

Industrial and commercial ESS projects are highly decentralized, relying on local deployment, with intermediaries becoming key players. Some project fees have risen to 0.2 yuan/Wh, with products accounting for 30%, indicating fierce market competition.

3. Escalating Price Wars

Low technical barriers in system integration lead to enterprises competing for market share through low prices, with some even offering loss-making quotes, severely compressing industry profit margins.

The "14th Five-Year Plan" New-Type Energy Storage Development Implementation Plan explicitly calls for the elimination of backward, low-efficiency capacity, focusing on supporting efficient, safe, and green technology enterprises.

Regional Policy Differences and Innovation

As policy-driven shifts to market-driven, enterprises need to compete on technology, cost control, and operational capabilities.

Business Model Innovation (Profit Compounding, Asset-Light Operations)

1. Energy Management Contract (EMC)

Energy service providers invest in construction and share revenue with owners at a certain ratio. The advantage lies in zero investment and low risk for owners, making it a mainstream model.

2. Leasing Model

Owners lease ESS equipment, paying fixed rents, with revenue going to the owners.

3. Owner Investment Model

Owners purchase equipment outright, with all revenue going to the owners, suitable for well-funded enterprises.

4. Financial Leasing + EMC

Introducing financial institutions to reduce initial investment pressure, suitable for large-scale projects.

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