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 the installed scale of energy storage and the gradual maturity of the energy storage industry, the qualification requirements of large storage bidding owners for battery cell capacity and bidding enterprises have increased.

　　At the same time, the central and state-owned enterprises, which mainly played the role of owners of energy storage projects in the early stage, are also accelerating the in-depth layout of the energy storage industry chain. Judging from the recent market dynamics, in addition to becoming a strong competitive force in the energy storage market in the system integration link, the manufacturing process of large-capacity energy storage cells is also accelerating.

01

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

　　Judging from the current development status of the energy storage industry, the price of energy storage cells and systems continues to decline, and the industry reshuffle intensifies. The leading battery manufacturers are increasing their market share by virtue of their comprehensive strength in products, technology, capital, channels, brand influence and other aspects, and the continuous iterative upgrading of technology will push the battery cell capacity to a higher level.

　　As the core component of the energy storage system, the cost of energy storage cells accounts for more than 30%, for the owners of large-scale energy storage projects such as central / state-owned enterprises, if they have their own 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 profitability of the project.

　　At present, the central/state-owned enterprises mainly realize the manufacture of large-capacity energy storage cells and energy storage systems through the establishment of group subsidiaries or in-depth cooperation with energy storage cell companies.

　　A few days ago, a company under China Energy Construction Co., Ltd., which is mainly engaged in the research and development of lithium iron phosphate energy storage batteries and systems, Zhongneng Ruixin, officially started the battery cell manufacturing project in Xiamen production base, and the news of its release of a variety of large-capacity energy storage cells attracted attention.

　　It is reported that Zhongneng Ruixin also released a total of 5 battery cell products compatible with energy storage and power application scenarios of 420Ah, 375Ah, 314Ah and 280Ah, focusing on the launch of a new generation of energy storage special products 420Ah battery cells.

　　In terms of technical parameters, according to reports, the 420Ah battery cell applies lithium sustained-release technology, the fourth-generation ultra-low activity lithium consumption technology, the energy density is 430Wh/L, the battery cycle life is over 15,000 times, and the energy efficiency is more than 96%.

　　From the perspective of cell capacity and specifications, it can be called a "new way". At present, the large-capacity energy storage cells launched by mainstream battery manufacturers have reached 500Ah+, or even more than 600Ah. In contrast, although the choice of Zhongneng Ruixin 420Ah is slightly "conservative", it may be more realistic and feasible in terms of market application, and is expected to be recognized and accepted by customers earlier. In addition, in terms of cell size, Zhongneng Ruixin did not announce the specific size of the 420Ah cell, and the size of the 375Ah cell released at the same time is 58*362*163mm, according to which it is speculated that the 420Ah cell may be the same as the size of the 375Ah cell, which is 58*362*163mm. Some industry insiders also believe that the 420Ah battery cell launched by Zhongneng Ruixin's "innovation" may be out of the need to adapt to its self-developed energy storage system.

　　In fact, the research and development of energy storage cells in Zhongneng Ruixin can not be described as "fast". According to public information, Zhongneng Ruixin was established in July 2022 and has only been established for more than two years. As early as March 2023, it signed a contract with Xiamen, planning to invest 8.1 billion yuan to build an energy storage battery R&D 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 cells newly developed by its Zhongneng Ruixin were identified by experts as being at the leading level in the industry, with a cycle life of more than 12,000 times, and the safety performance met the requirements of rigorous acupuncture testing and "full life cycle" thermal runaway, and was promoting the iterative upgrading of 306Ah and 314Ah products. In just over three months, China Energy Construction has ushered in significant progress in the construction of energy storage cells.

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

02

System integrators under the central government/state-owned enterprises work closely with battery companies

　　In addition to the deep cultivation on the road of self-developed battery cells, the enterprises under the central government/state-owned enterprises have achieved "outstanding" results in the highly competitive energy storage system integration link earlier. For example, in 2023, including CRRC Zhuzhou Institute, Ronghe Yuanchu, Electrical Times, Yunda Co., Ltd., and NARI Jibao, etc., will all be among the best in terms of domestic energy storage system shipments.

　　Recently, CRRC Zhuzhou Institute, a subsidiary of CRRC Group, together with Lanjun New Energy, Guoxuan Hi-Tech, Xinwangda Power, China Innovation Aviation and Honeycomb Energy, jointly released a 688Ah energy storage special large battery.

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

　　Although CRRC Zhuzhou Institute has been established for less than three years, according to the ranking released by the agency, in the first half of this year, CRRC Zhuzhou Institute ranked among the top three in terms of domestic and Asia-Pacific shipments. Even if it is named as the "head" system integration manufacturer, in the face of the reality of extreme involution in China, it is obvious that it has long realized that the energy storage industry has entered the stage of rapid development of the "product" driven market, and it is particularly important to have battery cell manufacturing capabilities.

　　At the current stage, CRRC Zhuzhou Institute has joined hands with the leading battery manufacturers to launch 600Ah+ large-capacity energy storage cells, which is undoubtedly considering combining its own advantages in installation, market share and energy storage application expansion with the advantages of large-scale manufacturing and cost reduction of leading battery cell enterprises, and deeply binding to reach cooperation, adding weight to the next round of larger-capacity energy storage system market competition.

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

　　Whether it is the "advent of large-capacity energy storage cells" that China can build, or the joint launch of a new generation of large-capacity energy storage cells by CRRC Zhuzhou Institute and battery companies, it shows the determination and "ambition" of the current central/state-owned enterprises to lay out the next generation of large-capacity energy storage cells. 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.