More than 800 exhibitors and six themed exhibition halls will feature cutting-edge technologies and products such as solid-state batteries, AI large models, and large-capacity batteries. At the recently held 14th Energy Storage International Summit and Exhibition (ESIE 2026), the core forces of the global energy storage industry chain gathered together, becoming an important window for observing the development of my country's new energy storage industry.
At present, my country's new energy storage industry, driven by the improvement of policy mechanisms, technological innovation breakthroughs and the explosion of market demand, is deeply integrated into the construction of new power systems, becoming an important support for new energy consumption and green and low-carbon development.
The "Energy Storage Industry Research White Paper 2026" released by the Zhongguancun Energy Storage Industry Technology Alliance (CNESA) at the conference pointed out that by the end of 2025, China's cumulative installed capacity of new energy storage reached 144.7GW, accounting for more than half of the global market for the first time, accounting for 51.9%, indicating that China's energy storage industry has grown from a "follower" to a "leader" in the global market.
From the perspective of installed capacity structure, new energy storage accounts for more than two-thirds of the total scale of domestic power energy storage, an increase of 45 times compared with the end of the “13th Five-Year Plan”. The new operational scale in 2025 will reach 66.4GW/189.5GWh, with power scale and energy scale increasing by approximately 52% and 73% year-on-year respectively, ranking first in the world for four consecutive years.
It is worth noting that this growth rate was achieved in the context of the policy orientation shifting from "mandatory allocation of reserves" to "market-based use of reserves", indicating that the endogenous power of the industry is increasing and the market mechanism is beginning to play a leading role.
At the beginning of 2025, the National Development and Reform Commission and the National Energy Administration issued the "Notice on Deepening the Market-Based Reform of New Energy On-grid Prices to Promote the High-Quality Development of New Energy" which canceled the mandatory allocation and storage requirements for new energy projects and pushed energy storage from a "cost item" under administrative orders to a "value item" in market competition.
Since the beginning of this year, the policy baton has continued to work. In January 2026, the National Development and Reform Commission and the National Energy Administration jointly issued the "Notice on Improving the Power Generation Side Capacity Price Mechanism", which for the first time clearly established a grid-side independent new energy storage capacity price mechanism at the national level. This policy is called "reassurance" in the industry, giving energy storage power stations stable income expectations and effectively stimulating the investment enthusiasm of social capital.
The performance of listed companies confirms this trend. According to statistics from the Securities Times, as of early April 2026, based on the lower limit of net profit attributable to parent companies in 2025 annual reports, performance reports, and forecasts, there are 23 energy storage concept stocks with year-on-year growth in net profit attributable to parent companies in 2025 (including turning losses into profits), and the overall profitability of the energy storage industry chain is improving.
With the gradual implementation of the multiple revenue model of "electric energy + capacity compensation + auxiliary services", the profit model of energy storage projects has become increasingly clear. Liu Deshun, chief engineer of the National Energy Administration, said at the "ESIE 2026" conference that he will speed up the improvement of the market mechanism for new energy storage, improve the electricity price mechanism for new energy storage capacity, establish a reliable capacity compensation mechanism in an orderly manner, and guide the rational development of new energy storage.
Looking to the next stage, many research institutions have a positive attitude towards the development of the energy storage industry in 2026.
A research report released by Industrial Securities believes that the energy storage segment will be booming in 2026. With the implementation of the energy storage capacity electricity price policy, the industry will accelerate growth based on the triple dividends of policy, rigid demand, and economics. What deserves particular attention is that in the context of the large-scale development of AI data centers, energy storage is becoming a key support to ensure their stable operation.
KPMG pointed out in "Global Technology Report 2026: Energy Industry Insights" that the fields of new energy storage and all-solid-state batteries will usher in an explosion, regulating resources will transform from auxiliary means to key elements supporting new power systems, and the energy consumption structure will jump to the main body of green energy.
The Zhongguancun Energy Storage Industry Technology Alliance predicts that after experiencing explosive growth in the early stage, the industry will enter a growth rate shift period, but the huge base will still generate considerable absolute increments.
Facing the "15th Five-Year Plan", with the deepening of power market reform and continuous breakthroughs in diversified technological routes, new energy storage is expected to play an increasingly important role in ensuring energy security and promoting green and low-carbon transformation.
