800 GWh Is Just the Beginning: ESS Battery Orders Surge

Cooperation signings and order momentum in the energy storage sector continue to climb. In H1 this year alone, Chinese energy storage enterprises added more than 130 new signed orders, with cumulative contracted capacity exceeding 800 GWh. Entering Q3, multiple companies across the energy storage industry chain have successively disclosed major cooperation and performance progress.

Within just three days, EVE signed two important cooperation agreements. On September 9, EVE announced that it had recently signed a strategic cooperation agreement with China Railway Beijing Group, under which the two parties agreed on energy storage project cooperation of no less than 5 GWh over the next three years. On September 7, EVE reached a strategic cooperation with Zhongcheng Energy, covering cooperation intentions in energy storage equipment, sodium-ion battery energy storage, and other areas.

Since the beginning of this year, EVE has publicly disclosed more than 10 energy storage orders totaling over 230 GWh, making it one of the battery producers leading the energy storage sector in order volume this year.

Also in early September, Goldwind Science&Technology disclosed during its 2026 interim results roadshow that in H1 this year, its energy storage business shipments in the Chinese market grew 47% YoY, with successful bids for multiple gigawatt-scale energy storage projects. In international markets, new signed orders grew 66% YoY, and shipments grew 200% YoY.

Recently, Gotion High-tech also announced that it had secured a 6 GWh core energy storage order for Saudi Arabia's first batch of large-scale battery energy storage projects, and will provide full energy storage solutions for three major local energy storage sites. According to Sunwoda, its AIDC energy storage business orders grew nearly 30-fold YoY in H1, with its product portfolio fully adapted to SST, HVDC, and UPS application requirements in IDC/AIDC scenarios.

Market heat is intense

The global energy storage market is now entering a period of breakneck high-speed growth. Industry data shows that in H1 this year, global ESS battery shipments reached 467 GWh, up over 90% YoY. Of this, utility-scale battery cell shipments, including industrial and commercial ESS, were approximately 407 GWh, up about 92% YoY. Global residential ESS battery cell shipments exceeded 53 GWh, up about 113% YoY. Industry institutions expect total global ESS battery cell shipments to exceed 1,000 GWh for full-year 2026.

Frontline battery producers are feeling this wave of surging market heat most directly. Taking EVE as an example, in H1 this year, the company's total ESS battery shipments reached 44.46 GWh, up 54.88% YoY. EVE disclosed that its current energy storage orders on hand already exceed its existing capacity, and it expects energy storage shipments to grow significantly next year. According to J.P. Morgan forecasts, EVE's ESS shipments are expected to grow 40-50% in 2027, mainly driven by gradually increasing demand from top-tier clients outside China.

During the recent "Green Leadership, Integrated Innovation - 2026 New Energy Battery Industry Chain Survey" conducted by CBEA, multiple enterprises reported that energy storage, especially in markets outside China, is accelerating rapidly. Hu Ming, Deputy General Manager of YIFI Laser's Product Market Center, said that YIFI Laser's business outside China has grown very rapidly this year. "Robust demand in Europe's industrial and commercial ESS, residential ESS, and portable energy storage sectors is driving equipment demand for battery and module PACK expansion."

According to Chi Tongsheng, Chairman of Dejin New Energy, the company focuses on large-capacity, long-cycle-life, high-safety LFP prismatic aluminum-shell large-format cells, and its ESS battery orders are already scheduled into next year. "Our LFP energy storage products have seen very rapid export growth in recent years, and now cover more than 50 countries and regions worldwide, including Europe, North America, and Southeast Asia."

Growth in the European and US energy storage markets is particularly pronounced. The release of rigid demand for peak shaving and the full realization of residential ESS economics are the two core drivers of the current high-speed growth in European energy storage market demand. Surveyed enterprises analyzed to CBEA that the Middle East situation has impacted global energy markets. Since the outbreak of the conflict, natural gas and oil prices have risen, increasing Europe's additional spending on fossil fuel imports and further strengthening the rigid demand attributes of residential and industrial and commercial ESS.

The main driver of demand growth in the North American energy storage market is the increase in electricity consumption brought by the development of AI data centers (AIDC). According to industry institution analysis, the reshoring of US manufacturing and the batch grid connection of AIDC have created power shortages, amplifying the need for US power grid expansion. The passage of the OBBB bill has accelerated energy storage demand release through installation rushes, and giants such as Nvidia have clarified AIDC energy storage allocation plans, opening up long-term upside.

Utility-scale energy storage competition intensifies

Currently, many mainstream battery producers have significantly tilted their production lines toward the energy storage sector. According to industry institution statistics, based on plans as of August 2026, global ESS battery cell existing capacity by year-end is expected to reach 1.2 TWh to 1.5 TWh, and total planned industry capacity may exceed 2 TWh. ESS batteries have become the most active segment for capacity expansion in the entire lithium battery industry chain.

It is understood that since the beginning of this year, EVE has successively announced multiple capacity expansion projects in Jingmen, Hubei; Huizhou, Guangdong; Qidong, Jiangsu; Shanghang, Fujian; and other locations, with cumulative total investment exceeding 23 billion yuan and planned new energy storage and power battery capacity exceeding 230 GWh, of which about 60% is planned for ESS battery cell production.

In sharp contrast to the rapid expansion of capacity scale is the extreme structural divergence within the industry. According to industry statistics, premium capacity at top-tier ESS battery producers is nearly fully utilized, while utilization rates at low and mid-end production lines are below 50%, and the industry-wide weighted capacity utilization rate is only about 65%. Overall, the ESS battery market currently presents a supply-demand mismatch, but high-end capacity remains in undersupply.

"Premium ESS battery cells from top-tier producers are still extremely hard to secure. 314Ah is in short supply, 587Ah is in short supply, 628Ah is in short supply, and 790Ah is also in short supply." A Chinese battery producer said that 314Ah cell orders in the industry are now generally scheduled into 2027, 587Ah and 628Ah large cells are accelerating their entry into the utility-scale energy storage sector, and the larger-capacity 790Ah cells are currently very scarce, with only a few top-tier battery enterprises able to achieve mass production.

In the technology race for large-capacity ESS battery cells, innovation competition among Chinese producers continues to escalate.

For example, CATL's 587Ah large ESS battery cell has achieved large-scale delivery. EVE's 628Ah cell is one of the world's first 600Ah+ large-capacity ESS cells to achieve large-scale commercial deployment, and R&D on its next-generation 702Ah ESS cell is progressing steadily. REPT Battero's 392Ah Wending® large-capacity ESS cell has now achieved stable batch delivery worldwide. Sunwoda's 684Ah and 588Ah ESS cell products have both entered the batch supply stage.

CBEA also noted that in April this year, Goldwind Science&Technology's Changzhou energy storage assembly plant rolled out its first GoldStack3.0 L6000 system equipped with 628Ah cells, with a planned annual production line capacity of 7 GWh. Goldwind Science&Technology disclosed that orders based on this product total approximately 5 GWh, and the company's production schedule is already booked through year-end.

It is clear that the energy storage market is undergoing a profound dual transformation of capacity reshuffle and technological upgrading. Only enterprises with mass production capability for premium cells and the ability to meet delivery standards for high-end global projects can truly convert capacity advantages into tangible orders and performance, driving the entire industry toward higher-level competition in technology quality and global delivery capability.