Energy storage driving global green transition

China's booming energy storage sector, propelled by a more than twofold increase in storage battery output in the first half of the year, is helping drive the global green transition and improve the reliability of renewable energy on power grids worldwide, officials and experts said.

They made the remarks at the 2026 World Energy Storage Conference, a three-day event that concluded on Friday in Ningde, Fujian province, a major global hub for the advanced energy storage industry.

At the conference, Xiong Jijun, vice-minister of industry and information technology, said China's storage battery output rose 110 percent year-on-year to more than 420 gigawatt-hours in the first half of this year. By the end of June, the country's installed capacity of new type energy storage had exceeded 153 million kilowatts, about 50 times the level at the start of the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-25).

"China has built a complete industrial chain with over 90 percent of key equipment localized," Xiong said, noting that a diverse technological landscape has emerged, led by lithium batteries alongside sodium-ion and flow battery technologies.

He said China would step up efforts to develop new type energy storage during the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-30) and welcomed global partners to work together on aligning technologies and standards to advance the global green and low-carbon energy transition.

Ilina Stefanova, director of the Coalition for Action at the International Renewable Energy Agency, said China plays a central role in the global energy storage market, accounting for 56 percent of the world's new battery storage capacity additions in 2025.

"China's remarkable progress in storage deployment is also helping to change the economics of renewable electricity," Stefanova said.

Recent analysis showed that combining solar and wind power with battery storage can provide competitive renewable electricity around the clock, she said. In Hebei province, the cost was estimated at $54 per megawatt-hour in 2025 and could fall to $37 per MWh by 2030.

Zou Ciyong, deputy to the director general of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization, echoed that view, saying it is important to ensure that the growth of battery storage translates into better energy services, stronger industrial capabilities and lasting improvements in people's lives.

China's experience in areas such as electric vehicle batteries and energy storage offers a valuable basis for international exchange, he said. With its expertise in innovation and manufacturing, Ningde is becoming an important global hub for new energy industries, particularly batteries and energy storage.

Ningde is now home to more than 90 enterprises across the lithium battery supply chain. The output value of its lithium battery industry rose from 73.4 billion yuan ($10.98 billion) in 2020 to 303.3 billion yuan last year, according to data presented at the conference.

Zeng Yuqun, founder and chairman of CATL, a leading Chinese battery manufacturer based in Ningde, said, "The global energy storage market is experiencing explosive growth."

As renewable energy becomes a major source of power worldwide, storage is evolving from a supporting facility into essential infrastructure for power systems, Zeng said.

Citing industry data, he said global shipments of energy storage batteries rose 71 percent year-on-year in the first half of this year. For the first time, markets outside China accounted for more than half of the global total, with large-scale deployments expanding rapidly across Europe, the United States and emerging markets.

CATL has deployed more than 3,000 energy storage projects worldwide, using more than 500 billion pieces of research and development and testing data to significantly improve grid adaptability and operational reliability, Zeng said.