In early June, China Energy Storage Network reported that PetroChina Jichai Power had initiated a new round of framework procurement for energy storage equipment, purchasing 1.2 GWh of DC-side energy storage systems. It explicitly required the systems to have a 0.25P grid-forming capability and use LFP battery cells with a capacity of no less than 314Ah. The tender's price ceiling was as low as 0.363 yuan/Wh.
Recently, the project announced the winning bid result, with Ganfeng LiEnergy securing the bid at a unit price of 0.345 yuan/Wh. From the scope of the tender, in addition to containers, EMS, and fire protection systems, the main equipment on the DC side was included in this procurement. The first batch of 0.8 GWh products was to be delivered by June 30, and the remaining 0.4 GWh products were to be delivered according to the bid inviter's schedule.
Shortly thereafter, the tender opening results for the 25 GWh LFP battery energy storage system centralised procurement project by China Energy Engineering Group were also announced. The average quotes for 1C (1-hour system), 0.5C (2-hour system), and 0.25C (4-hour system) were 0.786 yuan/Wh, 0.465 yuan/Wh, and 0.425 yuan/Wh, respectively. Notably, the lowest quote for the 4-hour energy storage system was 0.37 yuan/Wh.
Prices continue to decline, but energy storage demand surges
From a pricing perspective, institutional statistics show that the quote for 0.5C energy storage battery cells in May was approximately 0.276 yuan, while the average quotes for 2-hour and 4-hour energy storage systems were 0.55 yuan/Wh and 0.48 yuan/Wh, respectively. Considering the tender opening results of PetroChina Jichai Power and the 25 GWh energy storage system by China Energy Engineering Group, current energy storage prices are still on a downward trend.
On the other hand, "Document No. 136" explicitly removes the mandatory energy storage allocation requirement for new energy, meaning energy storage products must earn their place in the market based on their own value. Against this backdrop, the energy storage industry is undergoing "growing pains," and practitioners are not having an easy time.
However, recent shipments of ESS batteries have surged, with the energy storage demand released by the global energy transition showing a rapid growth trend.
In May this year, Chinese energy storage companies secured a large number of overseas orders. BYD, Sungrow, Sineng Electric, CMST Technology, CORNEX New Energy, Trina Solar, Sigrag New Energy, SVOLT Energy Technology, and Yingke Digital Energy, among others, successively won large energy storage orders totaling over 13 GWh. Additional data shows that in the first quarter of this year, the scale of overseas energy storage orders for Chinese companies was close to 100 GWh, representing a YoY increase of over 7.5 times.
Meanwhile, several leading battery producers have informed China Energy Storage Network that their battery production lines are currently operating at full capacity to ensure delivery. Institutional statistics indicate that global ESS battery shipments exceeded 196 GWh in the first five months of this year, achieving a YoY doubling in growth. The main demand regions are concentrated in China, Europe, the Middle East, Southeast Asia, Chile, Australia, and other countries and regions.
Global ESS Orders Continue to Surge in June
As June arrived, the global ESS order boom continued, with domestic and overseas ESS enterprises successively reporting positive news of order signing.
Among them, Envision Energy secured a 120MW/240MWh ESS project in France; Sungrow sold 100 units of ESS PowerStack to Italy, with delivery expected within the year; EVE reached a project cooperation intention with Sanjing Electric for 2GWh of ESS battery cells, and stated that both parties would further deepen international market cooperation, jointly promote the localization adaptation of ESS and battery technologies, and provide smart energy solutions for global customers.
Gotion High-tech's recently launched Qianyuanzhichu 20MWh ESS battery system received intention orders from multiple customers with a cumulative capacity exceeding 3GWh; Far East Energy Storage won a nearly 300 million yuan industrial and commercial ESS project in China; Jinko Solar continuously secured ESS project orders totaling 260MWh in Germany, Greece, and Southeast Asia; Linyang Energy Storage announced winning a 40MW/120MWh BESS order in Mauritius; Jingkong Energy will supply and deploy 160MW/430MWh and 50MWh BESS in North America and Italy, respectively...
In fact, not only domestic ESS enterprises, but also several overseas enterprises have been frequently updating ESS-related order news recently. Among them, the most notable to industry insiders is Tesla's recent acquisition of China's first GWh-level standalone ESS power station project. It is reported that the total investment of this project is 4 billion yuan, and a GWh-level grid-side standalone ESS power station demonstration project will be built using Tesla's ESS product Megapack in the Lingang New Area of Shanghai.
In addition, Samsung SDI signed an agreement with Germany's Tesvolt to supply batteries for the latter's ESS, providing proprietary ESS solutions for European customers; Finland's energy group Wartsila announced the expansion of its long-term partnership with EDF Renewables UK and Ireland to accelerate the UK's goal of achieving clean energy by 2030. It is reported that Wartsila will deliver eight ESS project sites for EDF Renewables, providing 404.5MW/709MWh of ESS capacity across the UK; Saft, an ESS company under French energy giant TotalEnergies, will provide a fully integrated lithium-ion battery ESS for the first phase of a 500MW/2000MWh project in Japan...
"ESS Will Ignite the Next Growth Cycle"
"BESS is becoming the core growth point of the global battery market," stated Goldman Sachs Group, a foreign-funded institution, in a report released at the beginning of the year. It also pointed out that over the past five years, the market share of ESS batteries has grown from 5% of the battery market to 25% in 2024, but the market still underestimates its growth potential, and industry profitability will also see significant improvement.
According to Goldman Sachs' forecast, the demand for battery energy storage systems (BESS) will surge, with cumulative installed capacity expected to reach 3.2 TWh by 2030, ten times the market's previous expectation (300 GWh), and a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) as high as 70%. In terms of profitability, Goldman Sachs projects that the gross profit per unit of ESS batteries will rise from 193 yuan/kWh in 2025 to 203 yuan/kWh in 2030, approaching the level of power batteries.
Although the report has been dubbed "exceptionally optimistic" by industry insiders, the current global ESS market indeed demonstrates robust growth demand.
Domestically, the shift from mandatory energy storage allocation to a market-based trading mechanism has opened up diverse profit channels for ESS projects, such as peak-valley price spread arbitrage, capacity leasing, power compensation, and income from ancillary services, stimulating the market's endogenous driving force.
In Europe, Germany, Spain, the UK, Poland, and other countries introduced ESS subsidy policies at the beginning of this year, coupled with a major power outage in Spain in April, further stimulating ESS demand in Europe. In the US, mainly due to changes in tariff policies, there has been a phenomenon of early commencement and installation rush of ESS projects, with increased stockpiling demand. Additionally, large-scale orders from regions such as Asia-Pacific, the Middle East, and Chile are being shipped in large quantities.
Industry experts point out that while policy is a significant variable in the unexpected demand for ESS, the underlying cause still lies in the rapid growth of new energy and the increasingly prominent issue of power grid instability, necessitating ESS to optimize the power output structure of the entire electricity market.
