On March 18, Zhiguang Electric “15th Five-Year” Strategy Decoding and National New Energy Storage Policy Interpretation Forum, hosted by Guangzhou Zhiguang Electric Co., Ltd., concluded successfully. Liu Yong, Secretary General of the Energy Storage Application Branch of the China Industrial Association of Power Sources, was invited to attend. He shared insights on the current development status of new energy storage and trends in international cooperation, jointly exploring pathways for technological innovation and application implementation, as well as discussing policy directions and industry opportunities.

At present, new energy storage has become a core pillar for building a new power system and driving the energy transition. With both domestic and international policies and markets advancing in tandem, the industry is entering a new stage of large-scale, high-quality development. During the forum, Secretary General Liu Yong elaborated on multiple policies, the current state of industry development, and global trends in energy storage, providing in-depth analysis of industry opportunities and key application areas.

He noted that China’s installed capacity of new energy storage continues to grow, making it the world’s largest market in terms of installed capacity and the most extensive in engineering demonstration applications. Meanwhile, rapid technological iteration and application innovation are accelerating, with long-duration energy storage, grid-forming technologies, and global expansion emerging as key industry consensus areas. Global competition is shifting from “product export” to “co-building of standards and capabilities.”

When interpreting the capacity pricing policy, Liu highlighted that China has, for the first time, clearly established a capacity pricing mechanism for grid-side independent new energy storage. This promotes diversified revenue streams for energy storage, ushering in a new era of “base salary + performance-based income” for grid-side storage. While enhancing coordination between market-based dispatch and peak-shaving dispatch, it also places higher demands on technology and operational capabilities.

Zhiguang Energy Storage has long focused on the grid-side independent energy storage sector, accumulating extensive practical experience covering power station planning, engineering construction, and full lifecycle operation and maintenance. The company has developed strong capabilities in technology implementation and project management. Its cascaded high-voltage energy storage technology, with advantages such as fast response, high efficiency, and simplified station control, effectively improves the operational performance and profitability of independent energy storage stations, positioning Zhiguang as a leading player in Guangdong Province.

At the forum, Liu also analyzed development goals, R&D directions, technology maturity levels, and engineering application pathways for new energy storage technologies during the “15th Five-Year Plan” period. He emphasized that innovation in new energy storage requires coordinated support from five key factors: policy, technology, industry, application scenarios, and capital. Over the next five years, lithium-ion battery energy storage systems (including hybrid solutions with different technical routes) will continue to play a leading role in commercialization, while sodium-ion batteries, solid-state batteries, compressed air energy storage, flywheel energy storage, and other long-duration storage technologies are expected to enter a critical development phase.

Driven by technological integration, Zhiguang Energy Storage has built a full industrial chain covering R&D, intelligent manufacturing, project delivery, and O&M services. The company has successfully delivered more than 20 large-scale (100 MW-level) energy storage projects, including Qingyuan Xidu and Jieyang Pengxin. Projects such as the Dachaidan hybrid energy storage project in Qinghai, the Hainan Prefecture solar-plus-storage demonstration base, and the Huadian Shanwei cascaded high-voltage semi-solid LFP energy storage project provide standardized models for “multi-energy coordination” in building new power systems and offer valuable practical experience in multi-technology coupling and operation.

Notably, grid-forming technology, identified as a key engineering application direction during the “15th Five-Year Plan” period, is becoming a “key solution” to challenges in reliable direct supply of renewable energy. Liu pointed out that grid-forming energy storage can provide stronger safety and stability support for weak grids or renewable-dominated local grids, such as large-scale desert (“Shagehuang”) bases, and will play an increasingly important role in receiving-end grids in the future. Zhiguang has proactively developed and deployed grid-forming energy storage technologies, continuously enhancing its product portfolio. Successful implementation of projects such as Chuangyuan Metal and Guazhou Ganhekou has helped drive the transformation of power grids from “following” to “shaping.”

In terms of international expansion, Zhiguang Electric is steadily advancing its globalization strategy and has been listed as a BloombergNEF Tier 1 energy storage manufacturer for two consecutive quarters. The company focuses on key markets including Europe, Africa, and Southeast Asia. It has established a European business center in Italy and successfully secured major projects such as the supply of 100 European-standard fully liquid-cooled integrated systems in Greece and a solar-storage-diesel microgrid project in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, bringing its innovative energy storage solutions and services to the global market and supporting local energy transitions.

This forum serves as an important platform for policy interpretation and exchange of domestic and international industry experience. Looking ahead, Zhiguang Electric will continue to follow market trends, leveraging its strengths in technology, production capacity, and project experience to deepen its domestic presence and expand into international markets, accelerate large-scale deployment of energy storage projects, and contribute to the high-quality development of the new energy storage industry and the global green energy transition.