In 2025, the energy storage industry stands at the crossroads of history. This year is not only the closing year of the ‘14th Five-Year Plan’, but also a critical watershed for the development of the energy storage industry - from policy support to market-led, from technology exploration to large-scale application. Breakthroughs in technological innovation, intensified market competition, reshaping of the policy environment, expansion of application scenarios and accelerated layout of the global market together constitute the core proposition of this industry test. The energy storage industry is ushering in an unprecedented Armageddon, and the outcome of this Armageddon will have a profound impact on the future direction of the global energy landscape.
Technological innovation is the core driving force of the energy storage industry.
Technological innovation is the core driving force for the development of the energy storage industry. 2025 energy storage technology presents a ‘lithium-ion dominated, multi-line parallel’ pattern:
Lithium-ion battery: as the most widely used energy storage technology, lithium-ion battery has made significant progress in material innovation and system integration. For example, the application of high nickel ternary materials can increase the energy density to more than 300Wh/kg.
Solid-state batteries:CATL, BYD and other companies plan to launch automotive-grade solid-state battery products, energy density is expected to exceed 400Wh/kg, but the mass production process still needs to be optimised.
Sodium-ion batteries: With cost advantages, the penetration rate of sodium-ion batteries in the fields of base station energy storage and low-speed electric vehicles is expected to reach 15%. Datang, CATL and other companies have launched GW-scale projects.
Liquid current battery: all-vanadium liquid current battery system price is expected to drop to 2 yuan / Wh, hybrid energy storage (liquid current + lithium) project accounted for an increase in the proportion of grid-level energy storage.
Compressed air energy storage: the technology continues to mature, and 300MW-class host equipment has been localised.
The blossoming of these technologies not only promotes the continuous decline of energy storage costs, but also brings new development opportunities for the industry.
Competitive landscape of the global market is white-hot
The energy storage market is becoming more competitive by 2025, with traditional energy giants, technology companies, and startups entering the market:
Chinese companies: dominate the global energy storage market. Ningde Times alone has a 38% market share of power and energy storage batteries, holding the top spot globally. Meanwhile, small and medium-sized manufacturers are on the rise, further intensifying market competition.
International competition: Europe, the United States, Japan and South Korea companies to step up technology to catch up, the global energy storage market pattern to accelerate the reconstruction.
Domestic market: the trend of concentration of energy storage manufacturers is obvious, and large-scale orders are tilted to the head enterprises. 500Ah or more high-capacity batteries may become the mainstream of energy storage products in 2025.
In terms of globalisation layout: CATL, BYD and other companies are accelerating their capture of the international market through overseas plant construction and standard output.
From policy-driven to market-driven
In 2025, the energy storage industry from ‘policy-driven’ to ‘market-driven’, policy support continues to increase:
National policy: National Development and Reform Commission, the National Energy Board clear ‘shall not be configured as a new new new energy project approval, grid connection, access to the Internet and other prerequisites,’ to promote the energy storage industry to the market transformation.
Local policies: localities have introduced favourable policies, such as Guangdong to give investment and operation support for new energy storage power station, Jiangsu to encourage enterprises to build user-side energy storage power station.
International policy: The US Inflation Reduction Act provides tax credits for energy storage projects, and the EU has included energy storage as a key area of support in the Green New Deal.
These policies have created a favourable environment for the development of the energy storage industry, and at the same time promoted the reshuffling of the industry.
Application scenarios range from large-scale power grids to home users
With technological advances and cost reductions, energy storage application scenarios continue to expand, from large-scale power grids to home users, energy storage technology is reshaping the way energy is produced and consumed:
1.Grid side: energy storage system as a ‘stabiliser’ and ‘regulator’, effectively solving the intermittency and volatility of wind and solar power generation, and enhancing the grid's ability to accept renewable energy.
2.User Side: Commercial and industrial energy storage is booming, and users can arbitrage peaks and valleys through the energy storage system to reduce the cost of electricity.
3.Household energy storage: Household photovoltaic with energy storage system, to achieve self-generation and self-use of electricity, reducing the dependence on the grid.
Acceleration of Chinese Companies Going Overseas
In 2025, the new installed capacity of global energy storage market is expected to exceed 220GWh. Chinese companies are accelerating their overseas expansion, with the Middle East, Europe and North America becoming the key markets. However, international competition and geopolitical risks cannot be ignored. For example, the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act restricts the import of key minerals, and the EU carbon barriers raise the cost of exports. Enterprises need to respond to the challenges by laying out overseas localised production capacity.
Conclusion: the battle for future energy dominance
In 2025, the energy storage industry will not only face a comprehensive battle of technology, market and policy, but also a battle for future energy dominance. This battle will reshape the global energy landscape, laying a solid foundation for mankind to move towards a clean energy era. In this change, technological innovation, market strategy and policy response will profoundly affect the fate of enterprises. Whether the energy storage industry can break through the bottleneck and achieve high-quality and large-scale development, let's wait and see.
