Recently, energy storage companies have frequently disclosed the signing of large overseas orders, and the scale has jumped from megawatts to gigawatts, and can provide "package" solutions for all scenarios such as the grid side, industrial and commercial side, and household side. Industry insiders believe that in the context of carbon neutrality, the global demand for energy storage is strong, especially in the European and American markets, the business model is mature and the profitability is considerable.
The industry expects that by 2025, the installed capacity of the global energy storage market will reach 6613 GWh;In 2030, energy storage battery shipments are expected to reach 2,300 GWh. Among them, China, the United States and Europe will be the main force of new energy storage installations in the world.
Driven by strong market demand, since the beginning of this year, companies including CATL, BYD Energy Storage, Haichen Energy Storage, Sungrow, Trina Solar, and EVE have accelerated the pace of "going global". On September 12, Ruipu Lanjun signed 84 GWh Indonesia Battery Procurement Project Agreement;On September 18, Nandu Power said on the investor interactive platform that the company is currently full of orders in hand, of which about half of the large storage orders are overseas orders.
Zheng Hua, a professor at North China Electric Power University, told China Energy News that China's energy storage enterprises "going out" show very obvious characteristics of a strong industrial chain, covering almost all kinds of products and services in the industrial chain. Regionally, it is dominated by mainstream markets such as the United States, Europe, and AustraliaIn terms of application, not only traditional household storage, but also began to accelerate the penetration of large-scale grid-side and power-side marketsIn terms of products, it has transitioned from a single product vendor to a multi-product collaboration and solution provider.
For enterprises, the domestic energy storage market is mainly policy-driven, and despite the strong development momentum, the industry as a whole is still in the early stage of commercialization, and there is a situation of increasing revenue but not increasing profits. In short, energy storage projects lack a profit model.
On the other hand, in foreign countries, Europe, the United States, Australia and other countries and regions have more mature energy storage policies and business models, the peak-to-valley electricity price difference is larger, and the economics of energy storage projects are also more considerable. Some countries have also introduced energy storage subsidy schemes, such as Spain**, which plans to provide 1600 million euros;The UK has made new gains in energy storage by introducing new power market services such as capacity markets and dynamic containment**.
Domestic enterprises have tasted the sweetness of "going out". Sungrow's financial report for the first half of 2023 shows that in the first half of the year, its energy storage system products achieved revenue of 852.3 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 25726%, of which overseas business accounts for more than 80%, and the gross profit margin of energy storage system products is 3066%, a year-on-year increase of 1229%。By accelerating the implementation of the strategy of "expanding energy storage" and "internationalization", Guoxuan Hi-Tech has established cooperation with a number of international enterprises to vigorously explore the foreign energy storage market. In the first half of the year, Gotion Hi-Tech's overseas business revenue increased by 296 percent year-on-year74%, accounting for 8. % of the company's total revenue in the first half of 202294% to the current 2009%；Energy storage revenue 414.7 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 22433%。
According to the data, from January to June this year, the output of energy storage batteries (excluding base station and data center backup batteries) of Chinese enterprises in the global market exceeded 75 GWh, more than twice that of the same period last year, and the proportion of exports exceeded 55%. The international market with better profits has become an inevitable choice for energy storage companies to expand revenue and enhance brand value.
However, like power batteries, energy storage companies "going global" also face risks and challenges such as geopolitics, industrial chain supporting capacity, and safety management. Liu Jincheng, chairman of EVE Lithium Energy, previously said that it is necessary to be vigilant against objective problems in the construction of overseas projects. For example, there are insufficient local spare parts processing and maintenance conditions, insufficient energy and power capacity, and differences in fire protection guidelines. "It is very important for Chinese companies to pay attention to the regulations, cultures and costs of different countries when investing abroad. ”
In August this year, the "EU Battery and Waste Battery Regulation" officially came into effect, and in the future, new electric vehicle batteries, LMT batteries and industrial batteries with a capacity of more than 2 kWh must have carbon footprint declarations and labels, as well as digital battery passports to enter the EU market, and make relevant requirements for the proportion of important raw materials for batteries. This means that the EU has raised the threshold for battery products to enter the EU market. This move will also force enterprises to upgrade their technology and accelerate the pace of low-carbon transformation.
There are differences in the development path, direction and application focus of energy storage technology in different countries. In Zheng Hua's view, the power system is more complex than the power battery, the power system needs of different countries, and the operating rules and regulations of the power market are also quite different. Energy storage companies need to accurately grasp the relevant market and need the support of professionals and local teams, which is more challenging than the power battery business.
Industry insiders further pointed out that energy storage companies should better participate in international competition, and must have outstanding industrial, technological and product advantages, and only continuous innovation and research and technological progress can promote the energy storage business to gain a firm foothold in overseas markets.