In the workshop of the Huizhou energy storage battery factory in the summer of 2026, the automated production line is running at full speed 24 hours a day. For the first time, 15 year old employees have witnessed a 30 fold increase in order volume. Even the R&D chief engineer admitted that production is so busy that it is smoking. The dual wave of AI computing power explosion and energy transformation is pushing the domestic energy storage battery industry onto an unprecedented growth lane.

The industry's growth rate has reached a historic high

According to the latest data from the National Energy Administration, investment in new energy storage in China increased by 74.3% year-on-year in the first half of 2026. As of the end of June, the installed capacity has reached 153 million kilowatts/396 million kilowatt hours, a year-on-year increase of 61%. In the first half of the year, the cumulative sales of energy storage batteries in China were 318.1 GWh, accounting for 32.5% of the total sales of power batteries, a year-on-year increase of 83.4%. The global shipment of energy storage cells surged by 93% year-on-year, and the large storage scenario firmly occupied the absolute mainstay of the shipment structure.

Chinese battery companies dominate the top 10 global energy storage shipments, with the combined market share of CATL, EVE Energy, and Haichen Energy Storage rising to 47.5%. Chinese enterprises continue to strengthen their voice in the global energy storage market.

Collaborative computing opens up long-term growth opportunities

The explosive expansion of AI computing infrastructure is the core driving force behind the unexpected growth in energy storage demand in this round. The proportion of electricity consumption in data centers will continue to increase with the penetration of AI. Based on a 20% -50% energy storage ratio, the demand for AIDC energy storage batteries is expected to exceed 600GWh by 2030, and computing power energy storage will become the second growth curve for lithium battery energy storage.

The "15th Five Year Plan" for the construction of a new type of power system clearly states that the country will add about 80 million kilowatts of independent new energy storage on the grid side, with an equivalent peak duration of 4 hours. By 2030, the grid side independent energy storage that can undertake the peak supply guarantee role will reach 140 million kilowatts, and the policy will lay a solid foundation for the long-term growth of the industry.

The industry has entered a stage of structural reshaping

There are currently 146200 domestic enterprises related to energy storage batteries, with over 60% established in the past three years. By 2026, the number of newly registered enterprises has reached 24400. The overseas layout of top enterprises continues to accelerate, CATL has partnered with European new energy integrators to deploy 5GWh sodium electric energy storage systems, BYD has successively won over 23GWh overseas orders in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, and the pace of industry globalization continues to accelerate.

The energy storage industry chain is undergoing a structural price reshaping due to the full demand, coupled with upstream material price increases and the implementation of consumption tax policies. From lithium iron phosphate materials to energy storage PCS products and then to battery cells, the entire chain of price transmission is unfolding in an orderly manner. The industry is bidding farewell to the previous low price competition stage and shifting towards a new development cycle of high-quality profitability.

Standing before the historic threshold of breaking through 1TWh in annual shipments, the energy storage battery industry has become a new growth pole after power batteries. With the landing of the collaborative industrialization of computing and electronics, and the continuous penetration of overseas markets, the entire industry is ushering in a new round of development golden window, providing solid Chinese industrial support for the global energy transformation.Editor/Cheng Liting