On June 11th, Shanghai, China News Agency (Wang Mengyao) Tesla recently exhibited its ultra large electrochemical commercial energy storage system Megapack for the first time in China at the 2nd Shanghai International Carbon Neutrality Expo in a 1:1 ratio.
In May of this year, Tesla officially started construction of its second global energy storage super factory project in Lingang, Shanghai. The factory initially planned to produce 10000 Megapacks per year, with a storage capacity of nearly 40 gigawatt hours (GWh).
Why enter China's new energy storage market? Mike Snyder, Senior Director of Tesla Energy and Charging Business, stated that China is an increasingly important energy market and Tesla's strategic focus in the energy sector. "We see a promising prospect for Megapack products manufactured in China to directly compete in the Chinese market," he said.
When it comes to the development of China's new energy storage industry in recent years, Yuan Liuyan, the director of the Energy Strategy Research Institute of China National Petroleum Corporation's Economic and Technological Research Institute, said, "It can be described as a sudden surge.".
According to data from the National Energy Administration of China, the newly installed capacity of new energy storage in China was approximately 22.6 million kilowatts/48.7 million kilowatt hours in 2023, a year-on-year increase of over 260%. As of the end of the first quarter of this year, China has completed and put into operation new energy storage projects with a cumulative installed capacity of 35.3 million kilowatts/77.68 million kilowatt hours, a year-on-year increase of over 210%. Chen Haisheng, director of the Institute of Engineering Thermophysics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, predicted that the total installed capacity of China's new energy storage would double again by 2024.
Behind the rapid development of new energy storage is the rapid expansion of China's new energy installed capacity. According to data from the National Energy Administration of China, as of the end of March 2024, the installed capacity of renewable energy in China has reached 1.585 billion kilowatts, accounting for approximately 52.9% of the total installed capacity in the country. The sum of wind and photovoltaic power generation has exceeded 1.1 billion kilowatts.
"The natural volatility and randomness of clean and renewable energy sources such as wind, solar, and water determine that energy storage is the key to their large-scale development and application." Taking solar energy as an example, Yuan Liuyan pointed out that photovoltaic power generation generates high electricity at noon on sunny days, but cannot generate electricity during peak hours at night. Energy storage, as a "big power bank," can regulate these fluctuations and changes, and can "store daytime electricity for use at night, and electricity generated on sunny days for use on cloudy days.".
Among various new energy storage technologies, lithium-ion battery energy storage dominates, and China has the advantage of large-scale development. Zhang Jinhui, a senior researcher at Xinlun Information, believes that Tesla's new energy storage super factory in Shanghai is one of its considerations for the supply of lithium iron phosphate batteries. Lithium iron phosphate batteries are the main raw material for energy storage battery products, and currently only China has large-scale production capacity.
Bian Guangqi, Deputy Director of the Energy Conservation and Technology Equipment Department of the National Energy Administration of China, stated that new energy storage technologies are constantly emerging in China, but lithium-ion battery energy storage still occupies an absolute dominant position. Data shows that as of the end of 2023, China has put lithium-ion battery energy storage into operation, accounting for 97.4%. In Yuan Liuyan's view, Chinese lithium batteries, as one of the "new three types" of exports, have a global leading technological advantage, which supports the rapid growth of lithium-ion battery energy storage.
In addition to the hot market and technological advantages, Tesla's entry into China's new energy storage is also closely related to China's support policies.
"In recent years, China has continuously improved its level of opening-up to the outside world, and Tesla is both a witness and a beneficiary." Tesla's Global Vice President, Tao Lin, said that China's sustained opening-up policy, advanced development concepts, and good business environment have created huge opportunities for enterprises. The Chinese market is a "necessary option" for Tesla's development.
In 2019, Tesla's first overseas super factory officially started construction in Lingang, Shanghai, creating a Shanghai speed of "starting construction in the same year, completing construction in the same year, starting production in the same year, and going public in the same year". Five years later, Tesla once again chose to build an energy storage super factory in Shanghai. Wu Xiaohua, Deputy Secretary of the Party Working Committee of Shanghai Lingang New Area, revealed that the factory is expected to start construction, start production, and deliver again this year. (End)