Explosive growth of domestic energy storage exports: new opportunities for the industry under the resonance of multiple forces
Recently, domestic energy storage exports have experienced explosive growth, which is due to the combined effect of multiple factors. CCTV Finance reported that China's lithium battery exports surged by over 50% in the first quarter, and the energy storage sector has shown explosive development.
From the data, the total export value of lithium-ion batteries in the first quarter reached 55.287 billion yuan, with a year-on-year growth rate of 71.8%, far exceeding the growth rate of photovoltaics. Among them, the export volume of energy storage batteries accounts for one-third of lithium battery exports, becoming the core engine of foreign trade.
Tax refund policy adjustment becomes a booster
The Ministry of Finance has stipulated that the export tax rebate rate for batteries will be reduced from 9% to 6% starting from April 1st this year, and will be completely cancelled on January 1st next year. This policy actually stimulated companies to concentrate on shipping in the first quarter, and overseas customers also pulled up goods in advance, resulting in a significant increase in export data.On a deeper level, the reason for the withdrawal of tax refunds is that China's battery industry is already strong enough. Last year, the export value of lithium-ion batteries in China reached 69.165 billion US dollars, with a high global market share and technological maturity. The marginal efficiency of inclusive tax refunds has decreased. Policy adjustments are forcing industries to shift from price competition to quality competition, highlighting the advantages of top enterprises and further increasing industry concentration.
Europe's essential demand explosion becomes an important driving force
Geopolitical conflicts, tensions in the Middle East, and other factors have hindered shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, causing high prices of natural gas and electricity in Europe, and transforming energy storage from an option to a strategic infrastructure.Last year, the EU added 27.1 GWh of battery energy storage capacity, a year-on-year increase of about 45%, setting a new record for 12 consecutive years. In the first quarter of this year, Chinese companies secured approximately 30GWh of energy storage orders in Europe. The European energy storage market is shifting from household energy storage to large-scale energy storage and industrial and commercial energy storage, with Germany leading with 13 transactions, more than twice that of the UK. Ningde Times, Ruipu Lanjun, Tianhe Energy Storage and other companies have won large orders in Europe, while Chinese companies have upgraded from selling battery cells to selling the entire energy storage system, extending the value chain and shifting the profit center upward.
The core advantage of Chinese manufacturing is fundamental
China has the most complete lithium battery industry chain in the world, with significant economies of scale and fast technological iteration, forming a dual advantage of low cost and high performance. In the first quarter, the shipment of energy storage lithium batteries reached 215 GWh, a year-on-year increase of 139%, and a significant increase in month on month growth for two consecutive quarters.Despite the price increase of battery grade lithium carbonate exceeding 240%, the gross profit of top enterprises remains stable, with Ningde Times' energy storage unit gross profit reaching 1.4 to 1.5 cents per watt hour, demonstrating strong cost transmission capability and pricing power.
Industrialization of sodium ion batteries brings new opportunities
CATL announced the large-scale production of sodium ion batteries and signed a 3-year supply agreement with Haibosichuang for a total of 60GWh of sodium battery energy storage, setting a new record for the world's largest single sodium battery order.
BYD has invested 10 billion yuan to build a sodium power base in Xuzhou, with a planned production capacity of 30GWh. The Xining production line has already put into operation 8GWh, with a capacity utilization rate of 75%. As Sheng Technology continues to increase the production of sodium battery positive electrode materials, Dingsheng New Materials has doubled the unit usage due to the use of aluminum foil for both positive and negative electrodes of sodium batteries, and the entire sodium battery industry chain ecosystem is being launched.
In summary, this round of energy storage market is the result of the resonance of four forces: the rush to export during the tax rebate window, the surge of European demand, the core advantages of Chinese manufacturing, and the industrialization of sodium and electricity. The future development of the industry is worth looking forward to.
