According to statistics from the China Energy Storage Lithium Battery Shipments in 2023 by the GGII , the shipment volume of lithium batteries for power storage in China reached 167GWh, an 81.5% year-on-year increase.
There’s a clear trend towards the large-scaleization of power storage battery cells. In 2023, the penetration rate of 280Ah square batteries in power storage projects exceeded 80%, with over 30 models of large-capacity cells exceeding 300Ah being released. Battery companies like EVE Energy and Haisun Energy further introduced 500Ah+ cells, set to enter mass production between 2024 and 2025. The iteration speed from R&D design to mass production of large battery cells is expected to accelerate compared to the 280Ah cells. （CATL 280Ah – Solargytech）
With the successive mass production of 300Ah+ cells, large-capacity cells will be primarily applied in power storage and industrial energy storage. Overseas penetration rates will lag behind domestic ones due to fewer certifications and project applications. Because of maturity in technology and capacity construction, the 280Ah cells will still dominate the large storage market in 2024.
According to market research data from GGII, the “Top 10 China Power Storage Lithium Battery Enterprises Shipment Volume in 2023” has been officially released.
Among the companies listed in 2023, the rankings of the top 5 companies remained relatively stable. Companies like Future Power and Zhong Chuang Xin Hang saw further rise in rankings, with Lan Jun New Energy entering the top 10 list for the first time. The concentration of the lithium battery industry for power storage continued to increase in 2023, with the top 10 companies accounting for over 95% of the market share.
Additionally, the power storage market in 2023 exhibited a dual-driving feature of “domestic + overseas.”
Domestically, the shipment volume, bidding volume, and grid-connected installed capacity for power storage in 2023 all reached record highs. According to GGII statistics, from January to December 2023, the cumulative bidding volume for source-grid-side energy storage systems and EPC reached 88.01GWh, with the bidding scale in November hitting a new high for the year at 16.67GWh.
Looking at the bidding requirements from terminal owners in 2023, integrated enterprises with independent manufacturing capabilities for battery cells or 3S (BMS/PCS/EMS) had a more obvious competitive advantage. Some owners explicitly preferred top brands like CATL and EVE Energy for battery cells.
Due to the rapid decrease in battery cell prices in 2023, downstream integrators shifted from mainly contract price delivery in the first half of the year to market price delivery in the second half.
In the domestic bidding market, downstream customers focused more on channels and price factors, while overseas markets placed greater emphasis on enterprise technology, brand, and long-term operation and maintenance capabilities. Leading companies made frequent moves to expand overseas in 2023. For example, CATL, EVE Energy, and BYD all secured overseas orders exceeding 16GWh+. Additionally, BYD’s overseas battery cell shipments were driven by the global shipments of its energy storage system products.
GGII predicts that after 2025, new lithium battery capacity in the United States will gradually reach over 350GWh, which may become a factor limiting the long-term development of the supply chain, particularly concerning critical raw material extraction and refining. In the short term, due to the inability of domestic US capacity to meet the rapidly growing demand for batteries, Chinese lithium battery companies will remain the primary suppliers.