2022 has been a difficult year for almost all industries across the country, but despite the pressure from all parties, new vitality is brewing, and energy storage personnel are still passionate and full of expectations. Various key energy storage keywords such as new energy storage, sodium electricity, lithium carbonate, household storage, electrochemical energy storage, and energy storage batteries are gripping energy storage people's hearts. The value space of the trillion level energy storage track provides industry insiders with reasons to strive for it.
Looking back at 2022, is the energy storage industry experiencing a lack of enthusiasm amidst the "hustle and bustle" or has it entered the "first year of explosion"? Sort out the top ten keywords in the energy storage industry in 2022, and together understand the future development path.
Top Ten Keywords for Energy Storage
PART. 1
Electricity price increase
In April 2022, Shandong Province issued the "Notice on Improving the Policy of Residential Hourly Electricity Consumption", which increased the peak electricity price by 0.03 yuan per kilowatt hour (including tax, the same below); Reduce the electricity price in the valley by 0.17 yuan; In the second half of 2022, Hebei, Henan, Jiangxi and other regions in China successively introduced electricity price adjustment policies, significantly improving the peak and valley electricity price returns of energy storage projects.
According to incomplete statistics, from June to July 2022, 16 countries and regions including Germany, Japan, South Korea, France, the United Kingdom, and the United States announced electricity price increases. In August, high electricity prices in European countries exceeded 600 euros, reaching a peak, with a year-on-year increase of 500%.
The main reason that restricts the development of the domestic energy storage industry is the return on investment. Among various income models of energy storage, the electricity price level is one of the major influencing factors. If the model of increasing electricity prices during peak hours and decreasing electricity prices during low hours is adopted, it means that the benefits of peak and valley electricity prices will greatly increase.
PART. 2
New energy storage
The new energy storage configuration is flexible and responsive, making it more suitable for new energy storage and consumption. Generally speaking, new energy storage refers to new energy storage technologies other than pumped storage, including various technical routes such as mechanical energy storage, electrochemical energy storage, chemical energy storage, thermal energy storage, electromagnetic energy storage, etc.
With the rise of electricity prices and the reduction of costs, the heat of new energy storage will also become increasingly high. According to the prediction of the National Development and Reform Commission/Electric Power Research Institute, the installed capacity of China's new energy storage market will exceed 30GW by 2025, and the installed capacity of new energy storage will reach 150 million kilowatts by 2030.
PART. 3
Forced allocation and storage
In order to promote the development of the energy storage industry and reduce issues such as wind and solar power abandonment, mandatory distribution and storage * was launched as early as 2020 in Shandong Province, a major province of photovoltaic installation, and a market mechanism was initially established. It has been implemented in more than 20 places nationwide since 2021, especially since 2022. Due to the increased investment cost of new energy generation through mandatory storage allocation, multiple discussions have been initiated within the industry on the universality of this policy, gradually stimulating multiple new policies, methods, and hotspots such as shared energy storage and electricity price adjustments.
Figure: 2022 Local Distribution and Storage Policies
PART. 4
Safety accidents
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Safety, performance, and cost are the three "thresholds" that must be addressed for the large-scale development of energy storage. If the security issue is not resolved, everything else is' zero '. The importance of energy storage for energy strategy and energy transformation is closely related to its safe development. In 2022, there were frequent safety accidents in the energy storage industry, and each fire accident of varying degrees caused a wave of anxiety both inside and outside the industry.
Figure: Thermal runaway process of lithium-ion batteries
Frequent power plant accidents and thermal runaway of lithium batteries are one of the main causes of safety accidents in energy storage systems. During the charging and discharging process of lithium batteries, a portion of chemical or electrical energy is converted into thermal energy. If the energy storage system fails to dissipate heat, it may cause thermal runaway, causing battery short circuits, bulging, open flames, and ultimately leading to safety accidents such as fires and explosions.
Energy storage thermal management is the key to the continuous and safe operation of energy storage systems. The value of thermal management accounts for a relatively low proportion, but it plays a crucial role.
PART. 5
Optical storage fusion
With the increasing willingness of the country to allocate and store new energy, the concept of "light storage integration" has attracted attention from all sectors. The integration of photovoltaic and energy storage systems is not a simple combination, but relies on deep technological integration to achieve the maximization of energy storage system efficiency and economy. For example, before the construction of the project, the energy storage inverter model, battery type, energy management system, and other aspects can be adjusted based on technical conditions and the location of the project, in order to improve the operational efficiency and benefits of the project.
Since the second half of 2022, there has been a significant increase in domestic integrated bidding projects for wind and solar energy storage. On November 11th, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Rural Development, the Ministry of Transport, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, and the National Energy Administration jointly issued the "Notice on Carrying out the Third Batch of Intelligent Photovoltaic Pilot Demonstration Activities". Emphasizing the need to support the cultivation of a group of intelligent photovoltaic demonstration enterprises and the construction of a group of intelligent photovoltaic demonstration projects, one of the priority directions is the integration of optical storage. Applying new energy storage technologies and products to enhance the stability, grid friendliness, and absorption capacity of photovoltaic power generation, including multi energy complementarity, photovoltaic hydrogen production, photovoltaic DC systems, and spontaneous self storage and self use.
PART. 6
Source network load storage
In order to further deepen the energy revolution and build a clean, low-carbon, and safe energy system, in March 2021, the National Development and Reform Commission and the National Energy Administration jointly issued the "Guiding Opinions of the National Development and Reform Commission and the National Energy Administration on Promoting the Integration of Power Source, Grid, Load and Storage and the Complementary Development of Multiple Energy Sources". In order to ensure the safe and stable operation of the power system, it is necessary to accelerate the integration of source, network, load, and storage, as well as the complementary development of multiple energy sources, to ensure the smooth consumption of large-scale new energy. The integration of source, network, load, and storage has emerged as the times require.
Figure: Source Network Load Storage - Development Path of New Power Systems
Source: China Energy Construction Corporation
So far, the official implementation of source network load storage has been nearly two years. In terms of actual projects, there are few integrated projects that conform to the concept of source network load storage, and demonstration projects are mostly focused on the integration of optical storage.
The integration of source, grid, and storage involves multiple aspects such as power generation, grid, and user sides. Currently, due to the high degree of emphasis, the "integration of source, grid, and storage" has been preliminarily implemented in China. For example, Shanghai Power Grid has built four "integrated operation demonstration projects of source, grid, load, and storage" in the office areas of Huangpu, World Expo, Zhangjiang, and Shanghai Economic Research Institute; Erdos Ejin Horo Banner Mengsu Economic Development Zone Zero Carbon Industrial Park, etc.
PART. 7
Shared energy storage
From the current practice in various provinces, the shared energy storage model is increasingly recognized by the market due to its diverse advantages and win-win models.
One reason is that there are multiple advantages. Compared to the decentralized development method of self allocation and storage of new energy, shared energy storage has multiple advantages such as more efficient scheduling and operation, more controllable safety and quality, and more prominent economic benefits. The large-scale procurement of energy storage equipment and construction can reduce the cost of energy storage power stations, reduce the initial investment pressure and future operational risks of project construction.
The second reason is because the model is win-win. The key to promoting and applying the shared energy storage model is to stabilize the source of revenue for shared energy storage power stations and establish a sustainable commercial operation path. The state clearly encourages new energy enterprises to fulfill their consumption responsibilities by building or purchasing energy storage and peak shaving capacity. Therefore, new energy enterprises can purchase a certain proportion of energy storage capacity from shared energy storage power stations and pay rent annually. In addition to charging rent to new energy enterprises, shared energy storage can also participate in various electricity markets to obtain corresponding income, which can be used to compensate for operating costs and improve project economy.
According to incomplete public information statistics, there were 127 new shared energy storage projects added in 2022, with a total construction scale exceeding 17.15GW/38GWh.
Figure: New Shared Energy Storage Projects Added in Various Regions in 2022
Source: Network
PART. 8
Energy storage technology
After continuous investment from the state and industry during the 12th and 13th Five Year Plans, the level of energy storage technology in China has rapidly improved. Compressed air energy storage, thermal energy storage, lead batteries, lithium-ion batteries, flow batteries, and sodium ion batteries have reached or approached the world's advanced level. Significant progress has also been made in key technologies and inheritance demonstration, and China has become one of the main core countries in the world's energy storage technology research and development and demonstration.
Figure: Research and application progress in major energy storage technologies in China in recent years
PART. 9
Household energy storage
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Global household savings are thriving, mainly driven by two factors: continuous policy support and high yield economic growth.
The target audience for household energy storage is mainly distributed in the European market. In 2022, due to the rise in energy costs and electricity prices in Europe, coupled with the impact of local conflicts, the high cost of household electricity and poor power supply stability have led to a high increase in household photovoltaic power, leading to an unexpected outbreak of the household energy storage market.
The domestic household energy storage market is still in its early stages. The proportion of new energy in China is significantly increasing, and the domestic market is also paying high attention to household energy storage. However, due to costs and market demand, it is far from reaching the level of household energy storage explosion. Currently, the main revenue area for domestic household energy storage related enterprises is still the overseas market.
PART.10
Energy Storage IPO
As the first year of energy storage in China, the capital market also has high expectations for the energy storage sector in 2022. According to incomplete statistics, as of November, there were a total of 294 listed companies related to the A-share energy storage sector, 333 listed companies related to the lithium battery sector, and 44 listed companies related to the sodium ion battery sector.
In 2022, over a hundred related companies were established in the energy storage industry with a registered amount of 42.3 billion yuan, including 43 new energy storage technology service companies, 54 new battery companies, and 7 pumped storage companies. The entry of new forces has made the competition in the energy storage industry, which is already short of talent, more intense, and there are frequent incidents of people grabbing and mining grabbing. Talent and upstream mineral resources have gradually become important chips for energy storage enterprises to attract capital markets.
Summary:
In 2022, the energy storage industry is receiving increasing attention from investors. From a branch that used to be affiliated with photovoltaic and wind power generation, energy storage has gradually embarked on a high-speed development path and become an independent investment theme. The energy storage industry has gradually moved from commercialization to large-scale development. With the intensive introduction of energy storage policies at the national and local levels, the development models of energy storage in various links are becoming mature. Let's jointly hope that the energy storage industry will become better and better!