China boasting of World’s largest Energy Storage eyes to double capacity by 2027.

Sept 2025 : China, which already boasts the world’s largest energy-storage capacity, is set to nearly double that level by 2027, with an anticipated investment of 250 billion yuan (US$35 billion), according to Beijing’s latest action plan. As outlined in the action plan, China’s “new-energy storage system” capacity – primarily based on lithium-ion batteries is set to exceed 180 gigawatts within two years, up from 95GW as of June.

Released jointly by the National Development and Reform Commission and the National Energy Administration (NEA) on Friday, the plan also aims to expand energy storage applications, encouraging projects in desert areas and retired coal-fired power plant sites. Additionally, it pledged to develop alternative energy-storage technologies, including hydrogen storage, compressed-air energy storage, and sodium-ion battery storage.

“As China progresses towards carbon-peak and carbon-neutrality goals, new energy is growing rapidly, making energy storage essential for building a modern power system as a key tool for flexible power adjustment amid pressure for power supply in peak times”, the NEA said in a statement on Friday. The latest action plan came as China’s energy-storage sector experiences growing demand from both domestic and international buyers.

In the first half of 2025, global shipments of energy-storage battery cells reached 240.21 GWh, marking a year-on-year increase of 106.1%, according to InfoLink Consulting. The top 10 battery-cell sellers are all Chinese companies, collectively accounting for 91.2% of the total capacity sold.

Listed companies in the sector are also seeing a rally in their share prices, with lithium-ion battery giants CATL and Sungrow reaching record-high stock prices on Monday morning. On Sunday, J.P. Morgan upgraded CATL’s Hong Kong stock to overweight, while naming the company’s stock in the mainland China market as their top pick, according to an analyst note led by Rebecca Wen. According to analysts at Citic Securities, the growing demand is due to an increased adoption of renewable energy, declining lithium battery costs, and a consequent enhancement in the economic competitiveness of energy storage.

Meanwhile, since February, Beijing has officially liberalised the electricity-selling system for wind and solar power, making energy storage a more economic option. “With the full market integration of new energy, the peak-valley price gap for electricity may widen”, according to the Citic note on Tuesday. “Deploying energy-storage systems to shift electricity use to higher-priced night periods could enhance economic viability”.

With demand and policy support increasing, analysts at another securities company have expressed a positive outlook on the development of the energy-storage sector, in a note on Monday. “The action plan provides a clear road map for expanding energy-storage capacity and makes the profit model for independent storage clear, paving the way for the long-term, healthy growth of the domestic energy-storage industry”, the note said.

China has built the world’s largest battery-storage system, with its capacity accounting for more than 40% of the global total as of late 2024, according to the state-run Xinhua. The capacity is now 20 times greater than that in 2021.

Team Maverick