NANJING, Jan. 24, 2025 -- In Rudong, China, a 35-story structure is being developed to house 1,000 gravity blocks, each weighing 25 tonnes. These blocks will store surplus renewable energy and generate electricity during peak demand, producing 100,000 kilowatt-hours in four hours upon project completion.
China's new-type energy storage capacity surpassed that of pumped storage for the first time at the end of 2024, as reported by the China Energy Storage Alliance (CNESA). The market's value target is projected to exceed 3 trillion yuan (approximately 410 billion USD) by 2025.
Tesla's Megafactory in Shanghai commenced trial production of Megapack batteries, expected to start mass production in Q1 2025. Megapack utilizes lithium batteries, a key component of new energy storage.
Innovative energy storage solutions include:
Compressed Air: In Changzhou, air compressed to over 120 atmospheres is stored in salt caverns, saving 40,000 tonnes of coal and reducing CO2 emissions by over 150,000 tonnes annually.
Magnetic Suspension Flywheel: The world's largest magnetic levitation flywheel project began operation in Penglai, storing energy as kinetic energy.
Hydrogen: An offshore photovoltaic-hydrogen storage project in Rudong uses solar power for seawater electrolysis, generating hydrogen for electricity during peak demand.
Sodium-Ion: A 100-megawatt-hour sodium-ion storage project, the first of its kind globally, began operation in June 2024.
Flow Cell: A 100-megawatt all-vanadium redox flow battery station began operation in Jilin, expected to consume 300 million kWh of new energy annually.
Supercapacitor: A supercapacitor-lithium battery hybrid system in Shanxi is now the world's largest of its kind.
Chinese energy storage firms are expanding globally, with significant contracts signed in Saudi Arabia, the Philippines, and Europe, showcasing strong competitiveness in emerging markets.