Nanjing, China, January 2025 - A 35-story steel structure in Rudong, Jiangsu province, houses 1,000 25-metric-ton gravity blocks, designed to store surplus renewable energy and release it during peak demand. This project, when fully completed, will hold 12,000 blocks, generating 100,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity in four hours.
This is just one example of China's burgeoning energy storage economy. The country, already a leader in electric vehicles, lithium batteries, and solar panels, is now focusing on new-type energy storage.
China's installed capacity of new-type energy storage surpassed pumped storage for the first time in 2024, according to the China Energy Storage Alliance (CNESA). The CNESA has set a value target of over 3 trillion yuan ($412.2 billion) for the sector by 2025.
Foreign investors are also recognizing the market's potential. Tesla's Shanghai energy storage Megafactory began trial production of its Megapack batteries in late 2024. This facility, the first of its kind outside the US, is expected to start full-scale production in the first quarter of 2025.
Beyond gravitational energy storage, China is exploring various energy storage solutions:
Compressed Air Energy Storage: In Changzhou, Jiangsu, air compressed to 120 atmospheres in underground salt caverns is used for energy storage. The heat generated is transferred to thermal oil, and electricity is regenerated on demand. This facility, operational since May 2022, saves 40,000 tons of standard coal and reduces carbon dioxide emissions by over 150,000 tons annually.
Magnetic Flywheel: The world's largest single-unit magnetic levitation flywheel energy storage project was connected to the grid in Penglai, Shandong province, on January 2, 2025. This technology stores energy as kinetic energy by spinning a flywheel rotor.
Hydrogen: China's largest offshore photovoltaic-hydrogen-storage project in Rudong began generating electricity in January 2025. This project uses solar power for seawater electrolysis to produce hydrogen, which is utilized for electricity generation during peak demand.
Sodium-Ion: A 100-megawatt-hour sodium-ion energy storage project began operation in Hubei province in June 2024, marking the first large-scale commercial use of this technology globally. Sodium-ion batteries offer advantages over lithium-ion batteries, including lower raw material costs, higher safety, better low-temperature performance, and longer cycle life.
Flow Cell: China's first 100-megawatt all-vanadium redox flow battery energy storage station in a cold region began operation in Jilin province in December 2024. This station is expected to consume 300 million kWh of new energy annually.
Supercapacitor: A supercapacitor-lithium battery hybrid energy storage system began commercial operation in Shanxi province in December 2024, becoming the world's largest such system.
Chinese energy storage companies are expanding overseas, particularly in emerging markets. Sungrow Power Supply signed a large energy storage project with Saudi Arabian company Algihaz in July 2024, expected to be operational this year. Other Chinese companies like Huawei, Envision Energy, CORNEX, and Sunwoda have secured major energy storage contracts in the Philippines, South Africa, Italy, and Australia.