New energy storage industry blooms in green part of China – Xinhua

BEIJING, May 24 (Xinhua) — U.S. automaker Tesla on Thursday broke ground on a massive factory in Shanghai to produce Megapack batteries for energy storage. The move coincides with the rapid development of China’s new energy storage industry, which is supported by the country’s commitment to developing a green economy and renewable energy.

As China strives to meet its dual carbon emissions targets, the country is vigorously developing a green economy with renewable energy as one of its engines, driving strong demand for its new energy storage industry.

This year’s government report indicates the development of new energy storage facilities as one of the measures promoting ecological and low-emission development.

New energy storage refers to energy storage technologies other than conventional pump storage. It offers benefits such as short construction time, flexible layout and quick response.

The energy storage system charges when wind or photovoltaic energy generates a large amount of electricity or when energy consumption is low, and discharges otherwise. It can smooth out the unstable power of photovoltaic or wind power, thereby increasing the share of renewable energy in the grid, playing a key role in the mass deployment of renewable energy.

HUGE MARKET

China’s renewable energy sector has maintained rapid growth in recent years. According to the latest data from China’s National Energy Administration, in the first quarter of 2024, the country’s newly installed renewable energy capacity was 63.67 million kW, up 34% year-on-year.

In the first quarter, renewable energy production reached 687.5 billion kWh, accounting for 30.7 percent of total energy production.

The rapid development of renewable energy generation has created great market demand for energy storage installations. By the end of the first quarter of 2024, the cumulative installed capacity of new energy storage projects in China reached 35.3 million kW. This represents an increase of over 12 percent compared to the end of 2023 and an increase of over 210 percent year-on-year.

According to a report recently published by the China Energy Storage Alliance, in 2023, the world’s newly installed energy storage capacity reached a record high of 45.6 million kW. China, Europe and the United States continue to lead the global market in this sector. Their newly installed capacity in 2023 represented 88 percent of total global capacity, with China accounting for almost 50 percent.

Commenting on China’s new energy market, Tesla vice president Tao Lin said China boasts huge market potential and complete industrial chains. Following Thursday’s groundbreaking ceremony, Tesla signed an agreement with Shanghai Lingang Economic Development (Group) Co., Ltd., securing the first batch of orders for its megapacks in China.

TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION

Tesla’s Megapack is an electrochemical energy storage device using lithium batteries, which is the dominant technical path in the new energy storage industry. In 2023, about 97 percent of new energy storage facilities in China used lithium batteries.

Recognizing the diverse scenarios and needs of power systems, China is encouraging technological innovation in new energy storage, achieving breakthroughs in various technical approaches.

At the beginning of 2024, the National Energy Administration published a list of 56 new pilot projects in the field of energy storage. About 30 percent of the projects are in lithium-ion batteries, with others in the areas of compressed air, flow batteries, sodium-ion batteries, gravity, flywheel, carbon dioxide, lead-carbon batteries and liquid air.

Some local projects across the country using innovative technologies have recently started test operations or have been put into operation.

Take this month for example. On May 4, a gravitational energy storage station completed test operations in Rudong County, eastern China’s Jiangsu Province. The station uses a 148-meter gravity storage tower to store electricity. The commune plans to build a total of six such stations.

On May 11, a sodium-ion battery energy storage station was launched in Nanning, southern China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, marking the initial phase of the energy storage project. After completion of the project, the total capacity of the project will reach 100 MWh, which will be able to cover the energy needs of approximately 35,000 households per year.

Southwest China’s Sichuan Province also announced in May that it will build a vanadium battery energy storage industry base and support the application of such energy storage facilities in renewable energy generation, power grid peak and frequency regulation, and communication base station energy storage. ■