Chinese enterprises' shipments of energy storage batteries exceeded 200 GWh in the first three quarters!

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According to incomplete statistics from the industrial database of the CESA Energy Storage Application Branch, up to now, 22 Chinese enterprises including CATL, EVE Energy, Ruipu Lanjun, Hithium, CALB, Gotion High-Tech and Sunwoda have invested in and built a total of 61 lithium battery and energy storage system integrated manufacturing projects overseas. The combined production capacity of projects in operation, under construction and in the planning stage reaches 726 GWh, with a total planned investment exceeding 400 billion yuan. These projects are mainly located in countries such as Germany, Morocco, Mexico, Hungary, Indonesia, Vietnam and Malaysia.

In the summit declaration jointly signed by all parties after this year's G20 Summit, clear new goals have been set for the global development of new energy over the next six years. The declaration states that the world will add 7,740 gigawatts of installed renewable energy capacity by 2030.

latest company news about Chinese enterprises' shipments of energy storage batteries exceeded 200 GWh in the first three quarters! 0

The "triple growth" target set by the G20 Summit means that over the next six years, the global renewable energy capacity will need to increase by more than about 1,200 GW annually, presenting enormous market growth potential. However, Donald Trump's return to power has cast a shadow over the achievement of this goal.

Europe and America remain the largest market

In 2024, amid intensifying competition in the domestic market, accelerating expansion into overseas markets has become an inevitable choice for Chinese energy storage enterprises to survive and thrive. Meanwhile, driven by the historical trend of industrial upgrading, Chinese companies need to accumulate capital, boost innovation and move up to high-value-added segments in the global value chain. This has further motivated them to actively venture into international markets. Their product lineup has evolved from focusing on components such as batteries in the early stage to offering full-industry-chain products nowadays, and their market reach has expanded from Europe and America to the Middle East, Australia, Southeast Asia, North Africa and other regions.

For instance, Sungrow signed a deal for the world's largest energy storage project (7.8 GWh) with ALGIHAZ in Saudi Arabia. Sunwoda Energy Storage supplied its NoahX 5MWh liquid-cooled energy storage systems for a 1.6 GWh energy storage project in Queensland, Australia. Chn Energy New Energy also sealed a 1.6 GWh energy storage cooperation agreement with YN Energy. It is evident that Chinese energy storage enterprises are securing overseas orders at an increasingly rapid pace and on a growing scale.

According to incomplete statistics from the industrial database of the Energy Storage Application Branch of CESA, between January and October 2024, Chinese energy storage-related enterprises secured over 120 overseas orders with a total capacity exceeding 115 GWh. Energy storage batteries topped the list with a capacity of 68.51 GWh. Energy storage systems (including DC-side systems) recorded the largest number of orders, more than 80 in total, with a capacity of 46.02 GWh. The overseas orders for PCS reached 10.87 GW.

By region, Chinese companies obtained the largest number and scale of energy storage orders in the United States, namely 21 orders with a total capacity of over 65 GWh, accounting for 56.5% of the overall volume. Saudi Arabia had 5 orders totaling 16.36 GWh, taking up 14.15%. Australia saw 14 orders with a capacity of 9.573 GWh, accounting for 8.28%. In addition, Chinese enterprises also obtained orders in Japan (6.1 GWh), Spain (4.1 GWh), Chile (3.976 GWh), the United Kingdom (3.226 GWh), France (1.223 GWh) and Turkey (1.015 GWh).

From January to October 2024, Chinese energy storage enterprises secured the largest volume of orders in North America, with 26 orders totaling 66.043 GWh, accounting for 57.11% of the overall capacity. Europe received the highest number of orders, at 37 orders which took up 30.18% of the total count and reached a capacity of 9.878 GWh. The Middle East, an emerging market, saw robust growth, with order volume hitting 16.388 GWh and a capacity share of 14.17%. In addition, Chinese enterprises obtained orders exceeding 9 GWh in Australia, over 6 GWh in East Asia and nearly 4 GWh in South America respectively.

Deal signings remain robust in November

Entering November 2024, the energy storage market maintained a vigorous momentum in contract signings, with numerous enterprises securing large orders one after another. Among them, Sungrow signed a 4.4GWh cooperation agreement with Britain's Fidra Energy to build two standalone energy storage power stations, Thorpe Marsh and West Burton C, with capacities of 3.3GWh and 1.1GWh respectively. It is reported that the two projects will kick off in 2025 and be equipped with 880 sets of Sungrow PowerTitan 2.0 systems. Upon completion, they will become the largest energy storage power stations in Europe.

On November 6, Ruipu Lanjun Energy Co., Ltd. and JUNGWOO Group Co., Ltd. held a strategic cooperation signing ceremony at the board of directors of Tsingshan Industrial in Shanghai. During the term of cooperation, the former committed to purchasing no less than 5GWh of energy storage system products and 2GWh of energy storage cell products from the latter in 2025, and reserved the right to place additional orders.

Ruipu Lanjun also landed a host of major orders throughout 2024. On April 29, it officially signed a framework agreement for the supply of 12GWh Wending 320Ah energy storage cells with POWIN, a world-renowned energy storage integrator. Prior to this deal, the two parties had already collaborated on energy storage battery projects with a total capacity of 11.4GWh.

On November 13, Chunion New Energy signed a strategic cooperation agreement with Italy's Cestari in Wuhan, Hubei Province. The two sides will launch a pilot project of photovoltaic coupled energy storage in Italy in the near future, adopting CORNEX M5, the self-developed and self-produced 20-foot 5MWh battery prefabricated cabin of Chunion. They aim to carry out energy storage project cooperation with a total capacity ranging from 20GWh to 30GWh within 3 to 5 years.

In 2024, Chunion New Energy also inked a 1.5GWh power energy storage system supply agreement with Bison Energy, providing the latter with its independently developed and manufactured CORNEX M5, the 20-foot 5MWh battery prefabricated cabin.

Chinese enterprises' shipments of energy storage batteries exceeded 200 GWh in the first three quarters.

According to incomplete statistics from the industry database of the Energy Storage Application Branch of CESA, global shipments of energy storage batteries exceeded 215 GWh in the first three quarters of 2024. Among this total, Chinese enterprises shipped over 200 GWh of energy storage batteries, holding a global market share of more than 93%.

As an industry leader, CATL recorded energy storage battery shipments of approximately 75 GWh, accounting for 34.80% of the global market share and ranking first worldwide. Its full-year energy storage battery shipments are projected to reach 105 GWh. EVE Energy ranked second globally with energy storage battery shipments of 35.73 GWh and a global market share of 16.58%, with its full-year shipment forecast standing at 50 GWh.

According to CATL's financial reports, the company's energy storage shipments hit an estimated 30 GWh in the third quarter of 2024, a year-on-year increase of 65% and a month-on-month increase of 20%. The shipments were mostly for large-scale energy storage projects overseas. This was mainly driven by the booming large-scale energy storage market in the United States in 2024, as CATL established in-depth partnerships with U.S. energy storage clients including Tesla, Fluence, NextEra and Flexgen. Notably, CATL serves as the exclusive supplier of energy storage cells for Tesla. For the whole year, CATL expects its energy storage shipments to range from 105 GWh to 110 GWh, representing a year-on-year growth of over 55%.

EVE Energy also delivered an outstanding performance. In June this year, the company secured a 15 GWh major order from POWIN. In September, it expanded its order from AESI from 13.389 GWh to 19.5 GWh. Its financial data showed that the company's energy storage battery shipments reached 35.73 GWh in the first three quarters of 2024, surging 115.57% year on year. Energy storage business has overtaken power batteries to become its biggest growth driver. In addition, EVE Energy launched the CLS global cooperative operation model, making remarkable progress in the U.S. market and setting up Amplify Cell Technologies LLC (ACT) locally.

22 Chinese enterprises have an overseas production capacity of 726 GWh

In 2023, investment related to China's electric vehicle and lithium battery industrial chains reached 4.7 billion euros, accounting for approximately 70% of China's total direct investment in the European Union. Among these investments, the large-scale projects for building battery factories undertaken by CATL and Huayou Cobalt stand out the most.

According to incomplete statistics from the industry database of the Energy Storage Application Branch of CESA, to date, 22 Chinese enterprises including CATL, EVE Energy, Ruipu Lanjun, Hithium, CALB, Gotion High-Tech, Sunwoda and others have launched a total of 61 overseas production and manufacturing projects for lithium batteries and energy storage system integration. The combined production capacity of projects in operation, under construction and in the planning phase has hit 726 GWh, with the total planned investment exceeding 400 billion yuan. These projects are mainly located in Germany, Morocco, Mexico, Hungary, Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia and other countries.

According to incomplete statistics from the Industry Database of the Energy Storage Application Branch of China Industrial Association of Power Sources (CESA), Chinese enterprises have planned a total investment of 137 billion yuan in lithium battery and energy storage system manufacturing plants in Europe, with a planned annual production capacity of over 420 GWh, mainly concentrated in Central European countries. The planned total investment in battery plants in North America is 118.3 billion yuan, with a planned annual production capacity of 142 GWh. The planned total investment in battery plants in Southeast Asia is 99.146 billion yuan, with a planned annual production capacity of 61.6 GWh.

Although the EU has recently intended to impose tariffs on Chinese electric vehicle exports, it has warmly welcomed investments from Chinese enterprises. In addition to economic factors, the main reason is that investments from Chinese enterprises have brought a large number of local employment opportunities to the EU. It is understood that as of 2023, Chinese employees accounted for 40% of the workforce at CATL's German plant. Although this proportion is already relatively high, most employees are still Europeans. For example, CATL's Hungarian plant project, which produces battery cells and modules, is expected to create 9,000 new jobs.

This key factor also applies to the Trump administration in the United States. Trump has long sought to block imports of Chinese electric vehicles and lithium batteries, but has remained open to Chinese enterprises investing in the United States and hiring American workers. Robin Zeng, the founder of CATL, also recently stated that if Trump opens the door for Chinese enterprises to invest in the electric vehicle supply chain in the United States, CATL will consider building a plant there.

Emerging markets are a key variable

Industry experts analyze that over the next four years, the Trump administration in the United States will likely slow down the energy transition. Therefore, in the global renewable energy capacity growth targets set at this year’s G20 Summit, emerging economies will become the most critical variable. For instance, emerging economies in Latin America, Africa, South Asia, and Southeast Asia are witnessing a rapid release of demand for renewable energy. These countries not only boast abundant resource endowments (accounting for approximately 70% of the world’s solar and wind energy potential) but also their energy demand is growing far faster than that of developed nations.

However, the development of renewable energy in these regions has long been constrained by a lack of financing channels, inadequate infrastructure, and an unstable policy environment. Since 2024, for example, multiple countries including Ukraine, New Zealand, Pakistan, North Africa, and Nigeria have experienced power outages, electricity shortages, or hikes in electricity prices, with numerous causes behind these issues. Among them, Ukraine’s power outages in August stemmed from high temperatures widening the electricity supply gap; New Zealand’s electricity price surge was due to drought lowering reservoir water levels and sharply reducing hydropower generation; the frequent collapse of Nigeria’s power grid resulted from factors such as lagging local power infrastructure construction, an imperfect grid network, and inefficient operation of some power stations.

According to data from the International Energy Agency (IEA), emerging economies will contribute more than 60% of new renewable energy capacity additions by 2030. Achieving this target, however, requires large-scale financial support from the international community. The international community has clearly recognized this. The climate finance initiative proposed by the G20 emphasizes scaling up funding to the trillion-dollar level, providing tangible guarantees for the development of new energy industries in emerging economies. At the same time, policy measures such as lowering financing costs, reducing or eliminating tariffs, and removing fossil fuel subsidies will help these countries break financial and market barriers, converting resource advantages into actual installed capacity.

Nevertheless, addressing financial and policy challenges is only the first step. Technological cooperation and project implementation are key to further unlocking the potential of new energy industries in emerging economies. In terms of technological cooperation, technology sharing and localized production capacity building between developed and emerging economies will effectively enhance the industrial chain resilience of the latter. Chinese enterprises that take the lead in deploying across emerging markets and provide tailored new energy storage solutions for diverse application scenarios—including utility-scale energy storage, commercial and industrial energy storage, residential energy storage, emergency power supplies, portable power stations, and green microgrids—will naturally gain significant first-mover advantages and greater room for performance growth by then.

Lithium battery industry chain enterprises set off an overseas expansion boom

In 2024, while battery giants accelerated their global expansion, Chinese lithium battery industry chain enterprises witnessed an increasingly robust "overseas expansion wave."

On one hand, multiple major and emerging overseas markets are eager to introduce advanced technologies and production capacity from China's lithium battery and materials sectors to bridge local supply gaps. On the other hand, the vast potential of overseas markets and higher profit margins compared to the domestic market have attracted a growing number of Chinese lithium battery supply chain enterprises to follow downstream battery giants in "capacity globalization" and accelerate the construction of localized production capacity overseas.

Since July this year, numerous listed companies in the lithium battery industry chain have successively disclosed capacity layout plans. For example, Hunan Yuneng New Energy Battery Material Co., Ltd. revealed in its investor relations activity records that lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries have gained increasing recognition in overseas markets due to their outstanding cost-performance and safety advantages. The company is advancing a project in Spain with an annual output of 50,000 tons of lithium battery cathode materials.

Lithium battery material manufacturer Shangtai Technology announced plans to invest approximately USD 154 million in Malaysia to build a lithium-ion battery anode material project. Shenzhen Kedali Industry Co., Ltd. intends to invest up to RMB 600 million in Malaysia for a lithium battery precision structural components project. Additionally, material enterprises including Shanshan Corporation, New Zhubang, Tianci Materials, GEM, and Nord Co., Ltd. have already established overseas production facilities, which will ensure raw material supply for midstream battery enterprises in the future.

Behind this series of overseas investments and collaborations lies not only the recognition of Chinese enterprises by global markets but also the profound impact of China's lithium battery industry chain on the development of new energy worldwide.

Conclusion

Over a century ago, when electricity began powering factories, the reorganization of machinery layouts revolutionized industrial efficiency. More than five decades ago, with the rise of multinational giants, the geographical dispersion of production significantly reduced costs and mitigated risks, establishing global supply chains as a critical competitive advantage.

Factories relying on centralized power sources cannot create the "modern industry" envisioned by Ford. Forcing supply chain concentration through policy and tariff measures only exacerbates supply chain vulnerability and uncertainty. Disruptions in any single link can trigger severe breakdowns—consequences clearly observed during Trump’s first term, especially amid the global pandemic.