Energy Storage Industry Opens New Chapter of "Value Creation"

Securities Daily Two Sessions Reporting Team Li Wenshan Li Ting

The 2026 National Two Sessions were successfully held. This year’s government work report explicitly states, “Focus on building a new type of power system, accelerate smart grid construction, develop new energy storage, and expand green electricity applications.” This top-level design points the way for the energy storage industry, which is currently at a critical transformation juncture.

Based on this, multiple scenarios such as low-altitude economy, computing and energy collaboration, zero-carbon parks, low-carbon transformation of high-energy-consuming industries, smart grid upgrades, and large-scale green energy applications are accelerating implementation, providing essential conditions for the sustained rapid development of the energy storage industry.

Industry consensus has formed: as mandatory energy storage policies gradually weaken and phase out, the capacity electricity price mechanism will be fully implemented by 2026. Coupled with increasing electricity demand from AI computing centers, new industrial sectors, and others, the energy storage industry will completely shed its policy dependence and enter a new stage of high-quality development centered on “value creation,” becoming the core force supporting the safe and stable operation of the new power system.

Multiple revenue channels will be unlocked

According to data from the National Energy Administration, by the end of 2025, the nationwide installed capacity of new energy storage systems reached 136 million kW / 351 million kWh, more than 40 times the end of the 13th Five-Year Plan. Among them, independent energy storage added 35.43 million kW, accounting for 51.2% of the total installed capacity, an increase of about 5 percentage points compared to the end of 2024.

On January 30, the National Development and Reform Commission and the National Energy Administration officially issued the “Notice on Improving the Capacity Electricity Price Mechanism for Power Generation” (referred to as the “114 Document”), explicitly defining the capacity value of new energy storage at the national policy level for the first time. Under the core principle of “equal pay for equal work,” independent new energy storage on the grid side is formally incorporated into the capacity electricity price mechanism.

This marks the full integration of three major revenue channels for independent new energy storage: energy sales, ancillary services, and capacity payments. The policy solidifies the foundation for sustainable industry development, rewriting the previous reliance on peak-valley price differences for profits, making storage project revenues more stable and predictable, and opening a new chapter for high-quality development of new energy storage during the 14th Five-Year Plan.

“From actual data, the significant year-on-year growth in new energy storage capacity confirms industry demand resilience. The rapid growth of new demands from AI computing centers and new industrial sectors, combined with the phase-out of mandatory energy storage policies and new scenario needs, has driven the industry from ‘installation’ to ‘usage and profit-making,’ shifting focus from ‘capacity installation’ to ‘benefit-oriented’ development,” said Yu Qingjiao, Secretary-General of the Zhongguancun New Battery Technology Innovation Alliance, in an interview with Securities Daily.

At the regional level, rapid follow-up is evident. According to incomplete statistics, several provinces including Hubei, Gansu, Guangdong, and Zhejiang have introduced policies on independent energy storage capacity electricity prices or compensation. For example, Hubei specifies an annual capacity compensation standard of 165 yuan/kW·year for grid-side independent storage; Gansu fully incorporates grid-side independent storage into the reliable capacity compensation system for power generation, with a basic standard of 330 yuan/kW·year. More provinces are expected to follow this year, further promoting the development of independent energy storage.

During the Two Sessions, many representatives and committee members paid attention to the development of the energy storage industry. Zhang Tianren, a National People’s Congress deputy and chairman of Tianneng Battery Group, told Securities Daily that he hopes to establish time-of-use pricing and capacity compensation mechanisms, clarify the advance notice period for electricity price adjustments, and provide enterprises with a stable basis for revenue estimation. The key is to accelerate the formulation of a unified national independent energy storage capacity price policy, giving companies confidence and helping storage projects break free from reliance on peak-valley price differences. Establishing a full lifecycle responsibility system for storage projects and improving market-based pricing mechanisms will ensure long-term stable returns.

“Focus on integrated solar-storage development. We hope to promote deep integration of photovoltaic and storage, explore new business models for green electricity direct supply to AI computing centers, and expand storage application scenarios,” said Zhong Bao-shen, a National People’s Congress deputy and chairman and general manager of Longi Green Energy Technology Co., Ltd.

Storage demand may continue to grow

InfoLink predicts that in 2026, shipments of energy storage batteries will reach 801 GWh, system integration shipments will be 600 GWh, and installed capacity will be 353 GWh. Dongwu Securities expects global energy storage installed capacity to grow by over 60% in 2026; CITIC Securities believes domestic storage installations are expected to grow rapidly in 2026, with leading manufacturers in the industry chain favored. Based on data from CNESA (Zhongguancun Energy Storage Industry Technology Alliance), it is forecasted that domestic new energy storage installations could reach 203 GWh in 2026 and 591 GWh by 2030.

Industry experts generally believe that the 2025 “Notice on Deepening the Market-Oriented Reform of New Energy Grid Connection and Promoting High-Quality Development of New Energy” (referred to as the “136 Document”) issued by the National Development and Reform Commission and the National Energy Administration, which cancels mandatory energy storage requirements for new energy projects, marks the industry’s entry into a new stage of market-oriented development. The further refinement of the capacity electricity price mechanism nationwide in 2026 will also clarify profit models for the storage industry.

With the abolition of mandatory energy storage for new energy grid connection in the 136 Document, the industry has moved away from rough expansion and entered a rational development phase focused on effective capacity, usable ability, and economic benefits.

However, structural pain points remain. Zhang Zhen-tao, member of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference and researcher at the Institute of Physical and Chemical Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, pointed out that currently, large-scale long-duration storage providing critical “inertia” support to the grid accounts for less than 1%, which is insufficient to meet the needs of grid safety and stability during China’s energy transition.

To address the profitability issues of long-duration storage, Zhang proposed implementing a differentiated pricing model of “benchmark compensation + value premium” for long-duration storage projects, fully including them in provincial capacity compensation schemes. Precise policy design can help solve profitability problems and promote large-scale development.

Beyond policy, technological innovation and deep integration of scenarios are key drivers for high-quality industry development.

Zhang Jian-fan, a National People’s Congress deputy and chairman of Trina Solar, emphasized focusing on expanding storage technology scenarios and ecosystem construction. He suggested promoting deep integration of green electricity and intelligent computing, strengthening the network capability of storage across all scenarios, precisely matching the high power demand of AI industries, and achieving a two-way balance of “bits chasing watts.” Accelerating the deployment of demonstration projects such as green hydrogen, ammonia, zero-carbon parks, and green mining areas will also help unlock value in more energy infrastructure scenarios.

From a cross-industry integration perspective, Zhong Bao-shen proposed promoting coordinated development of storage, green hydrogen, and photovoltaic industries: on one hand, implementing “carbon control + subsidies” measures to strengthen green raw material substitution in industry and expand green fuel applications in transportation and power sectors; on the other hand, suggesting the removal of grid charges for renewable hydrogen projects and simplifying approval procedures to stabilize market expectations.

Major opportunities for industry development

As the energy storage industry continues to advance toward marketization and scale, the focus has shifted from scale expansion to high-quality upgrading. Leading companies are increasing R&D investments, driving industry chain upgrades, and steadily reducing the cost per kWh of storage, accelerating the transition from “quantity growth” to “quality improvement,” with clear technological innovation directions such as large batteries, liquid cooling, and long-duration storage.

According to CNESA Energy Storage Application Branch data, from January to February 2026, the domestic new energy storage market showed remarkable results: total new installed capacity of 9.51 GW / 24.18 GWh, with year-on-year growth of 182.07% / 472.06%; long-duration storage is accelerating its adoption.

Behind this surge in storage demand, AI computing infrastructure has become a key driver. Industry data shows that 1 GW of computing infrastructure consumes about 7,000 GWh annually, with supporting green energy and frequency regulation needs rising in tandem.

Xu Yanming, chairman and president of Zhuhai Ganyu Battery Co., Ltd., and a National People’s Congress deputy, said that the development of artificial intelligence presents a new opportunity for the energy storage industry. He noted that the government’s clear requirement to increase the share of green electricity in AI data centers further elevates the strategic importance of storage systems, transforming new energy storage facilities into critical support. This is both a challenge and a major opportunity to drive technological iteration and industry upgrading.

Yu Qingjiao believes that under the combined influence of policies, markets, and technology, independent storage has become the main market force, and long-duration storage is the core trend. This is no longer a “future possibility” but an ongoing, certain transformation. The rise of independent and long-duration storage signifies that the industry chain is maturing. In the coming years, the entire energy storage industry will become a core pillar of the new power system, ushering in a truly golden development period.

Additionally, some deputies and committee members are concerned about how to continuously promote the standardized development of the storage industry chain. Liu Hanyuan, vice chairman of the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce and chairman of Tongwei Group, emphasized the need to quickly clarify classification standards and dispatching responsibilities for storage, effectively safeguard the legitimate rights of investment entities, and establish the basic principle of “who invests, who benefits, who leads.” Under the premise of ensuring grid safety, respect and protect the autonomous control rights of investors for self-built storage.

Zhang Tianren suggested further raising industry entry thresholds, cracking down on malicious low-price competition, and standardizing market order. He also called for improving the recycling system for power batteries to promote green and circular development of the storage industry.

2026 is a crucial year for deepening electricity market reforms and for the market-oriented and standardized development of energy storage. Top-level policy design, expanding market demand, and breakthroughs in core technologies will work together to elevate storage from a supporting role to a core component of the new power system. From mandatory energy storage to capacity pricing, from policy-driven to market-driven, and from scale leadership to quality leadership.

Looking ahead, with the continuous expansion of diverse application scenarios, ongoing technological breakthroughs, and the gradual improvement of industry standards, energy storage will continue to play a vital role in energy regulation and green electricity support, providing a solid foundation for the construction of the new power system and the realization of “dual carbon” goals. A safe, efficient, and sustainable energy storage industry ecosystem is taking shape.