The next-generation high-capacity battery cells are in fierce competition, with energy storage integrated with AI technology accelerating evolution.

At the 14th International Energy Storage Summit and Exhibition, more than 800 companies across the full energy storage industry chain showcased their products on display. Liu Canbang/Photo

Securities Times reporter Liu Canbang

Recently, Chen Haisheng, chairman of the board of the Zhongguancun Energy Storage Industry Technology Alliance, released a forecast: by 2030, the cumulative installed scale of domestic new-type energy storage will reach 371.2GW–450.7GW, with a compound annual growth rate of 20.7%–25.5% from 2026 to 2030.

Data show that over the past five years, the installed capacity of domestic new-type energy storage has grown more than 40-fold. At the ongoing 14th International Energy Storage Summit and Exhibition, more than 800 companies across the full energy storage industry chain are appearing and exhibiting, highlighting how hot the energy storage sector is.

Since the second half of last year, as policy guidance shifted from mandatory energy storage procurement to market-oriented utilization, some parts of the energy storage industry chain experienced supply tightness for a time. At this energy storage exhibition, high-capacity battery cells have become the main battleground for manufacturers to “show off their muscles.” In addition to technological iterations, AIDC (artificial intelligence data centers) energy storage as a key application scenario is also a focal point in manufacturers’ competition. Furthermore, AI prediction models are being deeply embedded into the entire energy storage trading process to adapt to the new circumstances brought by power market-oriented reforms.

Accelerating Iteration of High-Capacity Battery Cells

At present, the mainstream energy storage cell models are 314Ah. At this energy storage exhibition, the reporter saw that in addition to models such as 587Ah and 588Ah, multiple manufacturers also displayed 600Ah-class, 700Ah-class, and even higher-capacity energy storage cells.

According to relevant personnel from CATL, since the 587Ah cells were introduced in 2025, their mass-production progress has drawn significant attention. The company said the cumulative shipments of these cells have already exceeded 5GWh.

In terms of application scenarios, the Erhan Tu 400MW/2400MWh independent energy storage power station, a benchmark grid-side project located in Baotou, Inner Mongolia, is one of the largest grid-side independent energy storage projects in China. CATL introduced that this project applied 587Ah cells in batch for the first time. Compared with the traditional 314Ah solution, the number of components is reduced by about 40%, system energy density is significantly improved, and construction and operation & maintenance costs are effectively lowered.

At the Ruipulanjun booth, the reporter saw that the company’s core product is a 588Ah high-capacity energy storage cell. The booth also showcased its latest Powtrix system solution, further strengthening the company’s integrated energy storage capability from cell to system. Company staff said that each 588Ah ultra-high-capacity cell can achieve more than 10,000 ultra-long cycles, meeting the demand for long-duration storage under high-intensity requirements.

The background of industry contention over high-capacity cells is that the standard for third-generation energy storage cells has not yet been finalized. The “Zhi Jiu” long-cycle energy storage cell series exhibited by CALB includes three capacity versions: 392Ah, 588Ah, and 661Ah.

“We believe that in the next three years, energy storage will be dominated by 500Ah-class large cells.” Wang Bing, product director of EVE Energy, told reporters. The company’s Fengpeng large cell 587Ah has entered the production line commissioning stage, and mass production and delivery are expected to begin in June. “Fengpeng large cell 587Ah is mainly aimed at the next-generation large storage market, and we have already received some orders from domestic customers. Overseas, we expect it to enter the market in 2027.”

Currently, not only cell suppliers are rolling out high-capacity technologies, but equipment makers such as energy storage inverters are also actively promoting product adaptation. At the Kehua Digital Energy booth, the company highlighted products such as a 6.25/6.9MW centralized energy storage inverter step-up integrated unit and a 6.25MW modular energy storage inverter step-up integrated unit. Their power ratings are significantly higher than those of the previous generation.

Feng Xuetao, product manager at Kehua Digital Energy, told reporters: “As battery capacity gradually increases, our products continue to iterate toward higher power and higher energy density. At present, 5MW inverters will continue to be promoted, but in the future demand will gradually decrease. Products in the 6.25MW/6.9MW range are expected to become the new market mainstream.”

In addition, as high-capacity and long-duration energy storage technologies are accelerating deployment, the energy storage industry is also putting forward higher requirements for testing: it must meet higher voltage and accuracy standards, and also balance efficiency and reliability during large-scale production. A person in charge from EnerSys told reporters that based on the company’s real needs for energy storage R&D and manufacturing, it has built a full-level testing system covering energy storage cells, modules/PACK, battery clusters, energy storage systems, and MW-level containerized units.

AIDC Energy Storage to See a Surge

If high-capacity cells are a hot path for technological iteration, then from the perspective of scenario applications, AIDC energy storage is one of the core directions drawing market attention.

At the exhibition, Trina Storage, together with Kehua Digital Energy, released an AIDC end-to-end integrated solution. The solution is built on the principle of “forming networks with source-storage and creating grid-forming power with storage as the foundation, and efficient load matching as the core,” constructing an end-to-end full-chain system from energy production, storage, and distribution to consumption. A company executive said that this is not a simple combination of product solutions. It is a reshaping of energy flows from “the grid to the chip,” and reshaping of energy flows from “the grid to the chip,” providing a foundation for high-efficiency, stable, low-carbon operation for energy-intensive data centers and delivering sustainable energy support for AI infrastructure.

Farasis also simultaneously displayed its first sodium-ion battery cells dedicated to energy storage and its AIDC end-to-end energy solution. It is reported that the company’s first sodium-ion battery cell dedicated to energy storage officially rolled off the production line in March 2026. Its capacity exceeds 180Ah, and its cycle life is more than 20,000 times. In the future, it will be matched with differentiated scenarios such as AIDC backup power and extreme high- and low-temperature environments, complementing lithium batteries.

In addition, Farasis first released an end-to-end energy solution from “chip” to “grid,” covering the grid side, the station side, the load side, and the control side, directly targeting the power bottlenecks of data centers in the AI computing era. The company is working with leading AI companies to build what is expected to be the world’s largest zero-carbon AIDC park in Ulanqab, with the project scheduled for delivery this year.

“AI large models drive a rapid increase in global computing power, and large computing power must be supported by electricity. The company’s AIDC business growth last year exceeded 600%, and we cooperate with major domestic internet companies.” A manufacturer focusing on the AIDC energy storage market said.

Song Wan, minister of energy storage R&D at Sinovel, told reporters that the AIDC scenario has extremely high requirements for the reliability of power supply systems. Once accidents such as power outages occur, it will greatly affect data service providers and may also cause significant property losses. Therefore, reliability is the core threshold for energy storage to enter AIDC.

Song Wan said that large-scale application of AIDC energy storage can consider two approaches: first, further improve the reliability of energy storage inverters (PCS)/DC-DC, strengthen product performance, and further reduce the fault rate; second, implement redundant hot-standby backup design for AIDC energy storage by configuring additional energy storage equipment as backup, so that seamless handover can be achieved when a fault occurs, thereby reducing the risk of power interruption for AIDC.

“Based on comprehensive information such as how frequently customers inquire, order delivery schedules, and information collected from the market, we believe that AIDC energy storage will see a surge by the end of this year.” Wang Bing said.

AI Deeply Embedded into Energy Storage Trading

In the past two years, the energy storage industry has benefited from policy dividends. Last year, Document No. 136 canceled mandatory energy storage procurement and pushed for all renewable energy to enter the market at full electricity volumes. This opened a market-oriented profit-making space for independent energy storage, and broadened new paths for diversified revenue and asset appreciation for high-quality development of renewable energy. This year’s Document No. 114 for the first time included grid-side independent new-type energy storage into the capacity pricing system, fully building a “capacity floor protection + market upside” revenue “new mechanism.”

As Yang Bo, president of Hi-Think Wind, said, the energy storage industry is currently accelerating from policy-driven momentum toward market-oriented value creation, moving from scale expansion to high-quality development. This trend is also the direction of Hi-Think Wind’s strategic layout. In the context of a new power system, energy storage competition is no longer limited to single equipment; it has upgraded into a comprehensive contest of end-to-end solutions across all scenarios, value across the full lifecycle, and coordinated capabilities across the entire industry chain.

Industry estimates suggest that in the future, energy storage will be deployed more toward the user side. As power markets shift from fixed electricity prices to floating electricity prices, the profit model of user-side energy storage for peak-valley arbitrage will be constrained. Further tests will be posed to energy storage charging/discharging strategies and trading models due to electricity price volatility.

To address this situation, the support of AI digitalization technologies appears especially critical for energy storage trading models. At the energy storage exhibition现场, reporters saw multiple manufacturers focusing on improving returns and creating value.

For example, Guoneng Newday showcased its newly released Kuangming AI intelligent system, namely Kuangming Weather Forecasting Large Model 4.0 and Kuangming Power Trading Large Model 1.0. The company’s people told reporters that the two large models deeply collaborate, completely advancing power trading from an “experience-based game” to a new paradigm of “data-driven intelligent decision-making,” turning the high-economic utilization of renewable energy assets from probabilistic events into deterministic results that are computable, controllable, and actionable.

“A company uses AI-driven smart energy solutions, supported by its self-developed WE platform and a virtual power plant management platform, to support safe and stable operation of the power grid. At the same time, it also opens up a new market-oriented path to revenues.” A person from GoodWe told reporters.

“Going forward, energy storage trading will need to predict day-ahead spot electricity prices. More AI-based power trading agents will be introduced, thereby improving the accuracy of electricity price forecasts. The AI investment on the power trading platform will be a key area where all manufacturers compete in the future,” said a person from a exhibitor.

(Editor: Liu Chang ）

     【Disclaimer】This article only represents the author’s personal views and is not related to Hexun.com. The Hexun website maintains neutrality toward the statements and judgments made in the article, and does not provide any express or implied guarantee regarding the accuracy, reliability, or completeness of the content included. Readers should use this information for reference only and bear all responsibility themselves. Email: news_center@staff.hexun.com

Report