“Carbon peaking and carbon neutrality” has become a global consensus. Countries have launched energy-saving and emission-reduction policies and advocated a low-carbon economy. The concept of green environmental protection is deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, and new energy consumption has become a common practice. New energy vehicles are gradually replacing fuel vehicles, and electric vehicles are gradually replacing fuel motorcycles… In the energy storage industry, traditional fuel generators are also being replaced by portable energy storage products.
The application scenarios of portable energy storage products are mainly outdoor activities and emergency needs. According to the “Research Report on the Development of China’s Portable Energy Storage Industry (2021)”, it is estimated that by 2026, in the field of portable energy storage, the new demand in the field of outdoor activities will reach 13.55 million units, and the new demand in the field of global emergency will reach 1,155 million units. million units.
Outdoor power supply (portable energy storage power supply), built-in high energy density lithium-ion battery, long cycle life; multi-function output interface can match the main electronic equipment on the market, large capacity, high power, safe and portable is compared with small mobile power supply and fixed Unique advantages of the grid.
In the past, the solutions for outdoor power consumption mainly included lead-acid batteries, inverters, and small oil-burning generators. Diesel generators have the advantages of high energy conversion and high thermal efficiency, but they are noisy and emit a lot of exhaust gas, which is not in line with the development trend of modern energy; lead-acid battery raw materials are cheap and easy to obtain, but they are too bulky and easy to cause environmental pollution. was eliminated; inverters have been criticized for potential safety hazards. The overall performance of the outdoor power supply is more stable and reliable, and it has the characteristics of easy operation, low noise, and easy maintenance. It is gradually becoming the mainstream outdoor power solution.
Energy storage products designed for outdoor applications are very popular in markets such as the United States and European countries with traditional outdoor activities, and can be used for disaster-prone Japan and Southeast Asia, South America, Africa and other places with long-term shortage of power supply. The energy storage products used in emergency power supply are also “sweet pastry”.
But it is undeniable that these power-deficient areas with strong market demand do not have enough purchasing power. In the next five years, the world’s major energy storage consumption markets will still be concentrated in North America, Japan, and Europe.
In addition to the current popular outdoor power supply and emergency power supply products in the energy storage industry, the growth potential of the electric vehicle market will also drive the growth in demand for its essential accessories, lithium batteries, which are expected to become a dark horse in the future energy storage market.
According to Research and Markets research data, the global lithium-ion battery market is worth about US$40.5 billion in 2020. It is expected that the market will grow at a GACR of 14.6% in 2026, reaching a scale of nearly US$92 billion, more than double the market size in 2020. .
Overseas market demand for portable energy storage products is strong, and the main producer of such products is China. According to the above report, the global portable factories are mainly distributed in China, accounting for more than 90% of the production and shipments.
China is a global manufacturing plant, and it still retains a strong manufacturing advantage in the production of energy storage products. On the one hand, the raw materials of the portable energy storage industry include batteries, electronic components, inverters, structural parts, etc., and the supply in the domestic market is relatively sufficient; on the other hand, my country’s consumer electronics manufacturing industry has complete upstream and downstream facilities, and the energy storage manufacturing industry chain steady development.
China has many well-known foundries such as Foxconn, Flextronics, and Compal, and the upstream electronics manufacturing industry has a long-term advantage in the division of labor in the global trade industry chain. In the field of energy storage manufacturing, there are also well-known domestic fast charging source manufacturers such as Dibico. Under the development trend of the continuous accumulation of leading industries, China’s energy storage manufacturing industry will continue to transition to high-end.
Although China has obvious OEM advantages in the energy storage industry, it has to face the cost-side pressure caused by rising chip prices and the supply chain chaos crisis caused by the new crown pneumonia epidemic.
Countries such as Australia and Chile, which are rich in lithium ore resources, closed their borders successively due to the spread of the epidemic, resulting in the interruption of the supply of raw materials for energy storage products such as lithium ore. Insufficient supply of raw materials is accompanied by rising manufacturing costs. In the past month, lithium carbonate rose by 27%, lithium hydroxide rose by 6.5%, ternary cathode rose by 6.8%, and lithium iron phosphate cathode rose by 16%. In fact, the prices of cathodes, anodes and electrolytes have been rising for more than a year.
As production costs increase, profit margins are naturally compressed. Products tend to be homogenized, and market competition is increasingly stimulating, which also brings new challenges to innovative products. Branding is a good way out, and overseas markets with strong demand have become the target markets for many energy storage brands to go overseas.
The energy storage market in Japan and South Korea has strict barriers. To enter this market, you have to face competition with giants such as LG, Samsung, and Panasonic. Countries such as Europe and the United States have mature energy storage markets, which have extremely high requirements for product quality, and the outdoor power supply field has been seized by major international energy storage brands for a large amount of market share. It is extremely difficult for small and medium-sized enterprises to survive among giant brands. The entry into small power banks and other subdivisions is expected to open up the market.
In Southeast Asia, Africa and other places, although there is a potential market that needs to be tapped urgently, the lack of purchasing power has always restricted the development of this market. It is difficult for medium and high-end products to quickly open the market in the short term. It is best to enter the market with low-end products first. , gradually open the market through low prices, and then gradually switch to mid-to-high-end products after occupying a certain market share. It should be noted that the relevant laws and regulations in these areas are not perfect, and the political situation is unstable and other factors will also bring many unknown risks.
Although the current global energy storage market competition is not optimistic, in the long run, the global energy storage market still has great growth potential. And with the rise of new energy consumption and the accelerated development of global intelligence, new energy products will gradually replace high-energy-consuming products. Will grow rapidly, which will increase people’s demand for portable electricity.
