The production of lithium batteries for energy storage increased by 84% in January-February.

Recently, the data on the economic operation of the country from January to February 2026 released by the National Bureau of Statistics showed that the production of lithium batteries in China increased by 42.6% in the first two months, and the production of lithium carbonate rose by 29.3%. Among them, the production of lithium batteries for energy storage performed particularly well, with an increase of 84%.

Additional data shows that in the first two months, the cumulative sales volume of energy storage batteries in China reached 84.8 GWh, a year-on-year increase of 108.9%. The growth rate was nearly three times that of battery power (36.5%) during the same period.

Since 2026, the energy storage market has continued to heat up, and the bidding and procurement process has been particularly active. The large-scale centralized procurement of 19.8GWh battery cells by China Electric Equipment Group, the 12GWh energy storage cell and system procurement by State Power Investment Corporation, the 4GWh energy storage system framework procurement by China Huadian Group, the 7.2GWh energy storage system framework procurement by China Guangrong Energy, and the 12GWh energy storage system framework procurement by China Huadian Group have all been successfully concluded, directly demonstrating the high industry prosperity.

From a policy perspective, the overall planning for the energy storage industry is clear and the goals are well-defined. The National Development and Reform Commission has explicitly listed "new energy storage" as one of the "six major emerging industry pillars". The government work report further proposed "focusing on building a new power system, accelerating the construction of smart grids, developing new energy storage, and expanding the application of green electricity". In terms of specific action plans, the "Action Plan for Large-Scale Construction of New Energy Storage (2025-2027)" clearly states that by the end of 2027, the installed capacity of new energy storage across the country should exceed 180 GW. A series of overall planning and quantitative indicators have pointed out a clear timetable and roadmap for the development of the industry.

From the recent developments of enterprises in the industrial chain, many battery manufacturers are intensively promoting capacity construction and market layout. Recently, Changle New Energy's 50GWh new-generation large-capacity long-duration energy storage intelligent manufacturing project was established in Suzhou. It will mainly produce 588Ah large-capacity battery cells for long-duration energy storage. In Penghui Energy's 3.3 billion yuan expansion plan, it includes 587Ah large-capacity battery cell production lines and 120Ah household battery cell production lines. It has been disclosed that its household energy storage battery business is currently at full production and sales, with order scheduling covering up to the second quarter. Some long-term cooperative customers have already locked in production capacity for the second half of the year.

Recently, Ruopulanjun signed an agreement with seven European partners at the International Renewable Energy Exhibition in Italy, committing to supplying a total of 8.3 GWh of energy storage systems over the next two years. The company's relevant official stated, "The demand for energy storage in overseas markets is strong. The company is further expanding its overseas sales strategy and continuously improving its overseas manufacturing and service systems." The battery manufacturing base of Pengcheng Wuxi Energy Storage Industrial Park in Sichuan Province began construction in February this year, with a planned annual production capacity of 54 GWh for the new generation of 500+Ah energy storage battery products. In the same month, Ganfeng Lithium's Dongguan headquarters base with an annual production capacity of 10 GWh for new lithium batteries and energy storage was put into use, and recently announced that the first product of its 588Ah - 6.26MWh 20-foot energy storage system has been rolled off the production line.

Overall, under the dual driving forces of policy guidance and market demand, the energy storage industry has shown a fully active trend, ranging from the bidding and tendering market to the layout of enterprises' production capacity.