<div id="readability-page-1">China’s leading battery makers have unveiled plans to add more than 600 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of new production capacity for the energy storage system (ESS) market in just the first two months of 2026, underscoring surging global demand for renewable energy infrastructure. The planned facilities – spanning major players from Contemporary Amperex Technology Ltd (CATL) to Gotion High-tech – amount to roughly 10 times the 58GWh of total capacity installed across the US in 2025. According to the GGII Energy Storage Research Institute, a Shenzhen-based consultancy, 19 mainland Chinese battery producers it tracks were set to invest a combined 180 billion yuan (US$26.3 billion) to build new lithium-ion battery factories. Once completed – with some facilities due to come online in late 2026 – the projects will add up to 900GWh of annual production capacity. About 70 per cent of this would be dedicated to the ESS market, with the remaining 30 per cent serving the electric vehicle (EV) sector, GGII said in a report released on Wednesday. ESS comprises batteries alongside battery management, power conversion and control systems that store excess energy generated from renewable sources, while providing backup power during outages and helping stabilise electricity grids. One GWh of battery capacity can supply around 750,000 households for a year. “The boom in artificial intelligence computing is driving a surge in demand for renewable energy, and the ESS infrastructure supporting these projects is set for rapid growth,” said Davis Zhang, a senior executive at Suzhou Hazardtex, a supplier of specialised batteries. “More ESS battery facilities will be built in the coming years as global decarbonisation efforts continue.” China has emerged as the dominant force in the global ESS industry, with mainland companies accounting for more than 80 per cent of the market. According to Seoul-based SNE Research, global ESS battery demand rose 79 per cent year on year to 550GWh in 2025.  As China’s ESS sector expands rapidly with government backing, the US is racing to catch up, as Washington moves to restructure supply chains to exclude Chinese-made batteries and components. In 2025, newly installed battery storage capacity on the mainland rose 40 per cent year on year to a record 174.2GWh, according to Benchmark Mineral Intelligence. But as expansion accelerates, policymakers are starting to take notice. Four Chinese government departments – including the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology – convened a symposium on April 9 to discuss early intervention measures aimed at curbing irrational competition in the power and energy storage battery sectors. Officials said they would strengthen capacity monitoring, guide more orderly price competition and tighten regulatory oversight. The meeting, which brought together major battery makers, reflects Beijing’s increasingly tough stance on domestic price wars amid persistent deflationary pressures over the past year. Among the announced projects, CATL – the world’s largest supplier of EV and ESS batteries – plans to invest 20 billion yuan in a single zero-carbon production hub in Ningde, in eastern Fujian province, where it is headquartered. The company aims to begin construction in the second quarter, with the facility expected to deliver up to 200GWh of annual capacity once operational. SNE data showed CATL held a 30 per cent share of the global ESS battery market in 2025, followed by Shenzhen-based Eve Energy with 12 per cent. Last week, Ganfeng Lithium – the world’s largest producer of lithium metal – said it expected “explosive growth” in the global ESS market in 2026, driven by a construction boom in renewable energy projects. The bullish outlook comes as China ramps up battery exports. In the first 11 months of 2025, the country exported 4.25 billion lithium batteries worth more than US$69 billion, up 19.3 per cent and 25.6 per cent respectively from a year earlier, according to customs data.</div>

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<p>China's leading battery manufacturers plan to add over 600 GWh of new production capacity for energy storage systems (ESS) in early 2026, significantly surpassing the US's 2025 capacity of 58 GWh. This expansion, driven by a surge in renewable energy demand, involves a combined investment of 180 billion yuan (US$26.3 billion) from 19 Chinese producers. The projects aim for 900 GWh of annual capacity, with 70% for ESS and 30% for electric vehicles. China dominates the global ESS market, accounting for over 80% of it, while US efforts to catch up are underway amid regulatory scrutiny on domestic competition.</p>

China amps up battery buildout to ‘10 times US 2025 capacity’