Chinese energy storage firms accelerate global expansion

Photo shows the exhibition booth of LONGi at the Solar Solutions Amsterdam 2026 exhibition. (Photo provided by LONGi)

As the global transition toward green energy accelerates, the energy storage sector is seeing numerous market opportunities.

In March, the Solar Solutions Amsterdam 2026 exhibition was successfully held in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

Chinese photovoltaic giant LONGi Green Energy Technology Co., Ltd. (LONGi) signed energy storage system supply agreements with two major core European partners during the exhibition, with a combined scale of 600 MWh.

Meanwhile, the company's energy storage solutions achieved their first order landing in the German market, as noted by She Haifeng, vice president of the company.

In March, battery manufacturer Hithium signed a letter of intent with the Spanish government to invest about 400 million euros ($472 million) in building a large-scale battery and energy storage manufacturing facility.

February saw Chinese company Sungrow announce plans to invest approximately 230 million euros in building its first European manufacturing plant, with an annual capacity of 20 GW of photovoltaic inverters and 12.5 GWh of energy storage systems.

Industrial storage battery systems are manufactured in a workshop of Roche Energy Technology (Lianyungang) Co., Ltd. in Lianyungang, east China's Jiangsu province. (Photo/Si Wei)

China Aviation Lithium Battery(CALB) also established a Portugal partnership earlier this year.

This expansion builds on 2025's breakthrough, when Chinese firms secured 366 GWh in overseas orders -- a 144% year-on-year surge. Top markets included Australia, the U.S., Saudi Arabia, and Chile, with emerging regions like the Middle East, South America, and Southeast Asia showing rapid growth.

Over 70 Chinese enterprises now operate globally, with battery manufacturers leading the full industrial chain's internationalization. Demand is diversifying into specialized applications, including data centers, microgrids, and island systems, while long-term service agreements and joint ventures have become standard business models.

This surge in China's global energy storage presence has drawn widespread attention. A Reuters report late last year noted that reforms in China's power market are reshaping the economics of domestic energy storage. Coupled with rising demand overseas, Chinese manufacturers are experiencing rapid growth, further strengthening their leading position.

To understand this wave of expansion, it helps to first look at how energy storage works.

In simple terms, energy storage refers to technologies that store energy through specific media or devices and release it when needed. Its core function is to address the mismatch in timing between energy supply and demand.

For instance, wind and solar power are inherently intermittent, so storage systems charge when electricity supply exceeds demand and discharge when supply is tight, turning renewable energy into a stable and continuous resource.

Photo shows a 100MW/200MWh shared energy storage power station located in Minning township, Yongning county, Yinchuan, northwest China's Ningxia Hui autonomous region. (Photo/Yuan Hongyan)

According to Tian Qingjun, senior vice president of Chinese wind turbine company Envision Group, the recent surge in overseas demand is driven by multiple factors, including the accelerating global energy transition, the rapid growth of AI data centers, and technological advances that have significantly reduced system costs.

"Looking at specific markets, Europe and Australia are accelerating deployment based on their energy transition needs, while in the United States, demand growth is largely driven by the expansion of AI data centers," Tian said.

Several companies seeking growth in overseas markets emphasized that the current wave of large-scale investment is not a short-term trend, but the result of years of accumulated expertise and technological breakthroughs.

"Backed by more than a decade of technical development and project experience, LONGi's energy storage business has established a mature global delivery system," said She. "We currently have 31 GWh of in-house storage manufacturing capacity worldwide, with over 13 GWh already connected to grids. Our business now spans key markets, including Europe, North America, and Australia."

Envision Group, for its part, began international expansion as early as 2008, building up extensive experience in technology development, project delivery, and ecosystem partnerships across Europe, North America, Latin America, Japan, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East.

According to Tian, the group is accelerating global expansion, and overseas markets are expected to account for about 2/3 of the group's business in the future.

Multiple energy storage companies noted that advancing the global reach of China's energy storage sector ultimately hinges on localization, which means adapting technologies to local conditions and needs.

For example, systems deployed in Northern Europe must operate reliably in extreme cold, while those in Southeast Asia must withstand high humidity and corrosion. This requires continuous innovation and tailored solutions for different environments.

She also revealed that by the end of 2028, the company plans to establish 30 comprehensive local service centers across major solar-plus-storage markets worldwide. The goal is to build an integrated service network that enhances coordination between solar and storage systems while strengthening localized support capabilities.