In 2026, the global energy storage market is experiencing an unprecedented surge in growth. According to industry data released by People's Daily, China's cumulative sales of energy storage batteries reached 318.1 gigawatt hours in the first half of 2026, up 83.4 percent year-on-year, significantly leading the power battery market (cumulative sales of power batteries 661.3 gigawatt hours, up 36.2 percent year-on-year). Energy storage has officially emerged as the core driver of growth in the battery industry.
1.1 Market size and growth rate: energy storage has become a new engine of growth in the battery industry
From a global perspective,2026Global shipments of energy storage cells reached205.52GWh, YoY growth98.70%. And data from the Oriental Wealth Research Report shows that,2026Global energy storage battery shipments reached more in the first quarter216GWh, YoY growth117%The growth rate further increased. China shipments up209GWh, YoY growth115%, the global share further increased96.76%。
Citigroup issued a more optimistic forecast: expected2026year,2027year,2028Global demand for energy storage batteries in1030GWh,1390Gigawatt hours and1700GWh, the corresponding growth rates are66%、35%和22%. Expected by2030In 2010, global demand for energy storage batteries will reach about2210Jiwa-hour. This growth curve shows that energy storage batteries are growing from a supplementary track for power batteries to an independent, large-scale core industry.
1.2 Two-wheel drive: big storage and household storage market go hand in hand
The current global energy storage market presents“Large storage+Household storage”Two-wheel drive pattern.InfoLink ConsultingPoints out,2026In the first quarter of the year, the market was driven by large-scale energy storage and household energy storage, and shipments in both scenarios nearly doubled.
In terms of large-scale energy storage, the continued expansion of new energy installations is the core driving force. With the increasing proportion of renewable energy such as photovoltaic and wind power in the global energy structure, the demand for energy storage peak regulation and frequency regulation in the power grid is becoming increasingly urgent. According to data from China's National Energy Administration, as2026年6At the end of the month, the cumulative installed capacity of China's power energy storage reached237.7GW, YoY growth41.7%; Among them, the cumulative installed capacity of new energy storage reaches168.3Gigawatt/448.7GWh, YoY growth59%/71%。
Household energy storage, Europe, the United States, Australia and other markets of electricity price fluctuations and energy security needs continue to stimulate household storage installation.2026In the first half of the year, China's energy storage overseas orders signed growth.83%, reflecting the strong demand in the global household storage and industrial and commercial energy storage market.
1.3 Supply Chain Pattern: Global Dominance of Chinese Battery Enterprises
In the global energy storage battery supply chain, Chinese enterprises occupy an absolute dominant position.2026In the first quarter of 2010, Chinese companies accounted for up96.76%Ningde era, BYD, Yiwei lithium energy and other head enterprises continue to expand production capacity.
The hot market demand has even led“A core is hard to find”The situation. According to the Shanghai Securities News, the year-on-year growth rate of production and sales in the energy storage industry is expected to exceed50%, some customer orders have been scheduled2027Year. The price of lithium iron phosphate in the upstream industry chain has risen significantly, and high-end production capacity is in short supply. This phenomenon reflects the high prosperity of the energy storage industry and the tension of the supply chain.
At the same time, battery companies are accelerating the layout of energy storage tracks. From the traditional power battery enterprises to the emerging energy storage enterprises, have increased energy storage battery research and development and production capacity investment. The technical routes of energy storage batteries are also increasingly diversified, and the technical routes of lithium iron phosphate, sodium ion and semi-solid state are developed in parallel to provide better SOLUTIONS for different application scenarios.
1.4 Future Outlook: Energy Storage Marketization andAICalculation force demand resonance
Looking to the future, the growth of the energy storage market will be driven by the resonance of two major trends: First, the improvement of the energy storage market mechanism, including the gradual maturity of the power spot market and the auxiliary service market, will bring a more stable income model for energy storage projects;AIThe explosion of the computing industry, the high-power, high-volatility power characteristics of the data center has spawned a new demand for supporting energy storage.
CICC Company pointed out that,AIThe power density of data center cabinets continues to rise, and the requirements for backup power systems and energy storage systems continue to increase. Lithium batteries have the advantage of high energy density, high rate discharge and full life cycle total cost of ownership.AIStrong competitiveness is demonstrated in the data center energy storage scenario.
The energy storage battery industry is moving from“Policy-driven”Turn“Market driven”,from“Supplemental Energy”Turn“Main energy”. For battery companies, the energy storage track is no longer an option, but a battleground to determine the market position in the next decade.
