News

Compressed air energy storage technology acts like an “energy compressor,” storing compressed air during off-peak hours and releasing high-pressure air to generate electricity during peak hours. This technology is not only environmentally friendly but also enables large-scale energy storage. Additionally, technologies such as flow batteries and gravity storage are also evolving, adding more possibilities to the energy storage industry.

1. Why Did the “Energy Bank” Emerge? Everyone knows that traditional energy supply methods, such as thermal power generation, are like a constantly running “money-printing machine”—as long as the machinery is operational, electricity flows endlessly. However, with the rise of renewable energy, the situation has changed dramatically. Solar power generation depends on the sun's cooperation; on cloudy or rainy days, it comes to a halt. Wind power generation relies on the wind; if the wind slows down, electricity output decreases. This is like having an unreliable “money-printing machine” that sometimes prints excessively and sometimes stops working, leaving the power grid, the “master of the house,” scrambling to keep up. The energy storage industry has emerged as a solution. It acts like a super “energy bank,” storing excess electricity when renewable energy generation is high and releasing it when generation is low, keeping the power grid's “balance sheet” in check and ensuring a stable energy supply.

First, why is the energy storage industry so important With the acceleration of the global energy transition, solar, wind and other renewable energy gradually become the main force of energy supply. But these energy sources have a ‘small drawback’, is that their power generation is intermittent and unstable, such as the sun goes down after the solar power generation stops, the wind stops the wind power generation is gone. This leads to the problem of imbalance between supply and demand of electricity, sometimes too much electricity can not be used up, and sometimes not enough. The energy storage technology is like a ‘super charging treasure’, it can be in the electricity when the power to store up, in the electricity less time to release, to ensure the stable operation of the power system.

1. High energy density: the energy density of lithium-ion batteries is much higher than that of lead-acid batteries, which means that lithium batteries are able to store more electricity under the same volume or weight. For example, for electric vehicles, the use of lithium batteries can significantly increase the vehicle's range.

Reducing peaks and filling valleys Many regions have a peak and valley pricing policy, which means that electricity prices are higher during peak periods and lower during trough periods. Domestic energy storage systems can store electricity during low tariffs and release it during peak hours, thus reducing electricity consumption during peak hours and effectively lowering electricity bills. For example, research in Germany shows that a 2kW photovoltaic system with a 2kWh storage battery can reduce grid electricity costs by 64%.

In 2024, the global energy storage market continued to maintain a high rate of development, with the installed capacity of newly commissioned power storage projects reaching 82.7 GW, a year-on-year increase of 59.0%. Among them, the new energy storage installed capacity accounted for nearly 90%, reaching 74.1 GW. China's performance in the field of new energy storage is particularly outstanding, the new installed capacity reached 43.7 GW, accounting for about 60% of the global new installed capacity. By the end of 2024, China's cumulative power storage installed capacity reached 137.9 GW, of which the installed capacity of new energy storage reached 78.3 GW, for the first time exceeding the installed capacity of traditional pumped storage.