Central/state-owned enterprises "accelerate" the manufacturing process of energy storage batteries

　　Entering the third quarter, the activity of domestic large-scale energy storage bidding has increased significantly, and the demand for larger-scale energy storage bidding is accelerating. With the continuous expansion of energy storage installed capacity and the gradual maturity of the energy storage industry, the owners of large-scale energy storage bidding have increased their requirements for battery cell capacity and the qualifications of bidding companies.

　　At the same time, central and state-owned enterprises, which mainly played the role of energy storage project investors and builders in the early stage, are also accelerating their layout in the energy storage industry chain. Judging from recent market trends, central and state-owned enterprises have not only become a strong competitive force in the energy storage market in the system integration link, but are also speeding up the manufacturing process of large-capacity energy storage cells.

01

Central/state-owned enterprises' large-capacity energy storage cells have been "launched"

　　Judging from the current development status of the energy storage industry, the prices of energy storage cells and systems continue to fall, and the industry reshuffle is intensifying. However, the leading battery manufacturers are increasing their market share by relying on their comprehensive strength in products, technology, capital, channels, brand influence, etc., and the continuous iteration and upgrading of technology will push the cell capacity to a higher level.

　　Energy storage cells are the core components of energy storage systems, accounting for more than 30% of the cost. For owners of large-scale energy storage projects such as central/state-owned enterprises, if they have the independent research and development and manufacturing capabilities of large-capacity energy storage cells and systems, they will be able to save costs to a greater extent and improve the project's rate of return.

　　At present, central/state-owned enterprises mainly achieve the manufacturing of large-capacity energy storage cells and energy storage systems by establishing group subsidiaries or deeply cooperating with energy storage cell companies.

　　Recently, a news that China Energy Engineering Corporation's subsidiary, China Energy Ruixin, which mainly engages in the research and development of lithium iron phosphate energy storage batteries and systems , officially started the battery cell manufacturing project at its Xiamen production base and released a number of large-capacity energy storage batteries has attracted attention.

　　It is reported that Zhongneng Ruixin has simultaneously released five battery cell products, namely 420Ah, 375Ah, 314Ah and 280Ah, which are compatible with various application scenarios of energy storage and power . The focus of the launch is the new generation of energy storage-specific product 420Ah battery cell.

　　In terms of technical parameters , it is introduced that the 420Ah battery cell uses lithium sustained-release technology and the fourth-generation ultra-low active lithium consumption technology, with an energy density of 430Wh/L , a battery cycle life of over 15,000 times , and an energy efficiency of over 96% .

　　From the perspective of battery cell capacity and specifications, it can be said that it is "taking a different approach". The large-capacity energy storage batteries currently launched by mainstream battery manufacturers have reached 500Ah+, or even 600Ah or more. In comparison, although the choice of Zhongneng Ruixin 420Ah is slightly "conservative", it may be more realistic and feasible in market application, and is expected to gain customer recognition and acceptance earlier. In addition, in terms of battery cell size , Zhongneng Ruixin has not announced the specific size of the 420Ah battery cell, while the size of the 375Ah battery cell it released at the same time is 58*362*163mm. Based on this, it is speculated that the 420Ah battery cell may be the same size as the 375Ah battery cell, both of which are 58*362*163mm. Some industry insiders also analyzed that the "innovative" 420Ah battery cell launched by Zhongneng Ruixin may be due to the need to adapt to its independently developed energy storage system.

　　In fact, Zhongneng Ruixin's road to developing energy storage cells can be described as "fast". Public information shows that Zhongneng Ruixin was established in July 2022, and it has been just over two years since its establishment. As early as March 2023, it signed a contract with Xiamen, planning to invest 8.1 billion yuan to build an energy storage battery research and development and production project with an annual production capacity of 30GWh; in November of the same year, it signed a square aluminum shell lithium iron phosphate energy storage battery industry project with Wuxi, with a total investment of 13 billion yuan and a planned annual production capacity of 40GWh.

　　In May this year, China Energy Construction announced that the energy storage battery cells newly developed by its subsidiary Zhongneng Ruixin have been identified by experts as being at the leading level in the industry, with a cycle life of more than 12,000 times, and safety performance that meets the stringent needle puncture test and "full life cycle" thermal runaway requirements, and are promoting the iterative upgrade of 306Ah and 314Ah products . In just over three months, China Energy Construction has made significant progress in its energy storage battery construction projects.

　　In addition, data shows that in 2023, China Energy Construction's subsidiaries carried out centralized procurement of 4.6GWh of energy storage cells, and the scale of the energy storage projects they won in the first half of this year exceeded 7GWh. Now, with the advent of its Zhongneng Ruixin large-capacity energy storage cell, China Energy Construction is expected to continue to lead the bidding trend for large-scale energy storage, and will also have the opportunity to win the initiative in the bidding for the large-scale energy storage market as an important participant.

02

System integration manufacturers under central/state-owned enterprises work closely with battery companies

　　In addition to deepening their efforts in developing their own battery cells, enterprises under central and state-owned enterprises have achieved outstanding results in the fiercely competitive energy storage system integration sector. For example, in 2023, CRRC Zhuzhou Institute, Ronghe Yuanchu, Electric Times, Yunda Shares, and NARI Reinforcement Technology Co., Ltd. all ranked among the top in terms of domestic energy storage system shipments.

　　Recently, CRRC Zhuzhou Institute, a subsidiary of CRRC Corporation Limited, jointly launched a 688Ah large battery cell dedicated to energy storage with Lanjun New Energy, Guoxuan High-tech, Xinwanda Power, China New Energy, and Honeycomb Energy .

　　It is reported that the volume energy density of the relevant battery cell reaches 435Wh/L+ , which is 6% higher than the new mainstream 314Ah battery cell, achieving "2.2 kWh of electricity per cell" , a cycle life of more than 10,000 times , and a calendar life of more than 20 years . The matching 20-foot standard cabin will have a system capacity of 6.9MWh+ and is expected to be delivered globally in 2025.

　　Although CRRC Zhuzhou Institute was established less than three years ago, according to the rankings published by the organization, in the first half of this year, CRRC Zhuzhou Institute ranked among the top three in terms of shipments in China and the Asia-Pacific region. Even though it is known as a "leading" system integration manufacturer, in the face of the extremely inward-looking reality in China, it is clear that it has long been aware that the energy storage industry has entered a stage of rapid market development driven by "products", and it is particularly important to have the ability to manufacture battery cells.

　　At the current stage, CRRC Zhuzhou Institute has teamed up with leading battery manufacturers to take the lead in launching 600Ah+ large-capacity energy storage cells. This is undoubtedly a consideration of combining its own advantages in installation, market share and energy storage application expansion with the advantages of leading battery cell companies in large-scale manufacturing and cost reduction, and deeply binding to achieve cooperation, adding weight to the next round of competition in the larger capacity energy storage system market.

　　The relevant person in charge of CRRC Zhuzhou Institute once said, "Competition in the energy storage industry is becoming increasingly fierce, and establishing an industry-leading supply chain system is a key strategic control point for CRRC Zhuzhou Institute." From this point of view, this "strong alliance" with battery companies in large-capacity battery cells will be more conducive to the construction and strengthening of its supply chain system.

　　Whether it is the "coming out" of China Energy Construction's large-capacity energy storage battery cells, or CRRC Zhuzhou Institute and battery companies jointly launching a new generation of large-capacity energy storage batteries, they all show the current central/state-owned enterprises' determination and "ambition" to deploy the next generation of large-capacity energy storage batteries. In the future, with the further in-depth participation of central/state-owned enterprises in the energy storage market, the market reshuffle may be further accelerated.