In 2026, the beginning of the 15th Five Year Plan, China's new energy storage industry is accelerating into a new stage driven by marketization.

This new stage of development is mainly reflected in three transformations.

Firstly, there is a shift in market size and structure. Data shows that as of the end of June 2026, the cumulative installed capacity of new energy storage has exceeded 153 million kilowatts, an increase of 50 times compared to the early stage of the 14th Five Year Plan. From the perspective of market structure, independent energy storage has become the absolute mainstay of the new energy storage incremental market, and the proportion of large-scale and long-term projects continues to increase.

In addition, the identity positioning of new energy storage is also undergoing a transformation. New energy storage has changed from a supporting role attached to new energy projects to an independent power market entity, which can participate in power energy transactions independently. Since 2026, multiple provinces have accelerated the research and development of supporting implementation rules based on local conditions, laying a solid institutional foundation for the market-oriented operation of new energy storage.

Moreover, industrial competition is also undergoing changes. Industrial competition is shifting from price wars to value wars, and the overseas model is shifting from simply exporting products to a deep operational model of localized manufacturing, compliant operations, and building green supply chains.

This article is reprinted from: China Industry and Information Technology News Network       Editor/Gao Xue