China's estimated energy storage market capacity

As of the end of 2014, the cumulative installed capacity of China's energy storage projects in the power system (excluding pumping, compressed air and heat storage) was 84,400 kilowatts, and new installed capacity was 31,000 kilowatts, an annual growth rate of 58%, compared with the previous year. It increased by 14 percentage points, showing an obvious increase. "Yu Zhenhua, chairman of the Zhongguancun Energy Storage Industry Technology Alliance, said.

On June 3, the Zhongguancun Energy Storage Industry Technology Alliance released the “White Paper 2015 on Energy Storage Industry Research” during the “2015 Energy Storage Summit”. This is also the most authoritative annual research report in China's energy storage industry.

Energy storage industry continues to surge in new models

“At present, the global energy storage industry revolution is deepening. The commanding heights of the energy storage industry represent the competitiveness of the future national energy industry. We are pleased to see that energy storage has received sufficient attention at the national level.” Yu Zhenhua said that although China's new energy industry is still faced with arduous challenges, the breeze has already begun. The next three years will usher in the "China's first year of energy storage."

It is understood that the government has introduced various types of policies to help the development of the energy storage market. The National Energy Development Strategic Plan (2014~2020), the Renewable Energy “Twelfth Five-Year Plan”, and the new round of electric reform programs have all assisted in different fields. The development of push-and-store energy in the short-term and mid-to-long term will also provide a good opportunity for the development of the energy storage industry in China.

Shi Dingyao, director of the China Renewable Energy Society, said that the relevant documents for the new electricity reform are being further elaborated. New energy and renewable energy related policies have been continuously adjusted and improved. The preparation of the “Thirteenth Five-Year Plan” has also started. How to increase the role of energy storage technology in the energy system, especially in the power system, is worth thinking and discussing in the industry.

The white paper believes that although the challenges facing the development of the energy storage industry are still daunting, four key areas related to new energy sources: distributed generation and microgrid, auxiliary services, user-side demand response, and electric vehicle electrical interconnection systems are beginning to emerge. Some market opportunities and innovation models, commercial demonstration projects have also appeared in individual fields. In 2014, energy storage for the first time as an independent industry, participated in the discussion of the service payment mechanism in China's power market. China's energy structure adjustment and environmental pressures are accelerating the formation of a policy environment and pricing mechanism that supports new energy and grid access. Top-level design and regional planning will bring opportunities for the development of energy storage industry.

Special attention should be paid to the fact that, driven by the new energy automotive industry, major battery manufacturers have increased their capacity expansion plans. At present, lithium-ion batteries have accounted for more than 85% of the domestic energy storage market, and electric vehicles will be in optical storage. The storage and replacement of power stations, rapid charging stations, and demand response charging will play a role in energy storage, and the use of power battery cascades will reduce the cost of energy storage batteries.

China's second largest increase in energy storage

According to the White Paper 2015 of Energy Storage Industry Research, the energy storage industry still maintains a steady development, while also presenting some new features.

From the geographical distribution point of view, the United States has the largest share in both the number of projects and the installed capacity. By the end of 2014, the United States had put into operation 95 energy storage projects with an installed capacity of more than 357,000 kilowatts. China has 63 projects following the number of projects following the United States. Japan ranks second in terms of installed capacity, close to 310,000 kilowatts. In 2014, the largest installed capacity in the United States was 34,400 kilowatts. China and Europe ranked second and third respectively with installed capacity of 31,000 kilowatts and 27,700 kilowatts respectively.

From the technical distribution point of view, the maximum installed capacity of sodium-sulfur batteries is 40%, followed by lithium-ion batteries and lead batteries, accounting for 33% and 11%. In 2014, among the newly installed energy storage technologies, the largest share of lithium-ion batteries was 71%, followed by flywheels, which accounted for 20%.

From the application distribution point of view, energy storage projects are mainly concentrated in the renewable energy grid, auxiliary services, power transmission and distribution and distributed micro-grid and other fields. Among them, the largest share of renewable energy grids is 45%, and the installed capacity is about 379,000 kilowatts. In 2014, in the field of newly installed applications, the user-side area accounted for a maximum of 43%, followed by auxiliary services and power transmission and distribution, which were 28% and 19%, respectively.

From the perspective of vendor structure, the top installed energy storage technology manufacturers include NGK, A123, Xtrem Power, BYD, BeaconPower, and CALMAC. The technologies include sodium-sulfur batteries, lithium-ion batteries, lead batteries, high-speed flywheels, and all-vanadium liquids. Flow battery and ice storage technology. Of these, NGK has the largest cumulative installed capacity in the world, exceeding 330,000 kilowatts. BYD is the largest domestic manufacturer with about 55,000 kilowatts of installed capacity.

From the perspective of market investment dynamics, in 2014, there were 12 companies including Stem, Aquion Energy, and Minolon. Through financing, stocks, loans, and other forms, the total funds obtained exceeded US$400 million. Technologically innovative and business model innovative companies are more favored by investors.

From the perspective of the new model of the project, three types of new project models have emerged in the past two years: financial leasing model, retail model, and electric vehicle charging model.

The Energy Storage Alliance is still optimistic about the scale of the Chinese market. According to forecasts, by 2020 China's energy storage market capacity will reach 67 million kilowatts (including 35 million kilowatts of pumped storage).