New Energy Storage Technology Roadmap Unveiled, Focusing on Five Key Areas for Development Over the Next Decade

Recently, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology released the New Energy Storage Technology Development Roadmap (2025-2035), which provides guidance and reference for promoting high-quality industrial development and ensuring safety at a high level.

This roadmap focuses on five key subfields: electrochemical energy storage, mechanical energy storage, electromagnetic energy storage, thermal energy storage, and hydrogen storage. It outlines the main products, key materials, components, and development goals for each area as we move towards 2035.

According to Zhang Yanli, a researcher at the Equipment Industry Development Center of the Ministry, this roadmap provides a systematic assessment of the development status of different technology industrial chains from a national perspective. From an enterprise perspective, it also specifies the relevant indicators for product development and future directions.

Currently, China’s new energy storage technologies are rapidly advancing, with numerous innovative outcomes emerging. Recently launched, a new energy storage system is the world’s first to achieve zero degradation over five years and can be mass-produced. A single standard 20-foot container can store 6.25 megawatt-hours of energy, with a 30% increase in energy density and a 20% reduction in overall footprint.

The applications for these new technologies are also expanding. At the Shanghai Mingdong Container Terminal, a major global trade hub, new energy retrofitting for fuel equipment is underway. Zhou Gong, a product engineer at CATL, mentioned that they have developed a custom battery pack designed to withstand the high-salinity and high-humidity environment of the port with specialized coatings and finishes.

The advancements are not limited to battery technology. When these systems lower containers, the potential energy from the drop is cleverly converted into stored electricity, boosting operational efficiency at the terminal by 20%. Additionally, these vehicles can gather energy while in operation.

In the first half of this year, the total installed capacity of new energy storage in China reached 94.91 million kilowatts, marking a 29% increase since the end of 2024. Moving forward, China aims to accelerate the promotion of advanced practical technologies and continue to advance the construction and application of industrial green microgrids, helping industrial enterprises and parks achieve energy savings, carbon reduction, and improved cost efficiency.

What is energy storage? Energy storage involves storing excess electricity in storage systems for retrieval during critical moments, providing not only backup energy for cities but also extending the use of clean energy.

During the energy transition, where clean energy sources such as wind and solar are prominent, electric energy storage has become a vital infrastructure for enhancing the utilization of renewable energy and ensuring grid stability and emergency power supply.

Energy storage can be categorized into three types based on the method of energy storage: physical storage, chemical storage, and electromagnetic storage. In terms of scale and maturity, pumped hydro storage remains the largest and most developed form of grid-level energy storage, traditionally used for peak shaving, frequency regulation, and backup supply, with ongoing growth in both operational and under-construction capacities worldwide.

In the realm of chemical storage, the lithium-ion battery industry has rapidly developed in recent years and has entered a phase of large-scale commercialization, significantly reducing assembly costs and becoming a core driver for the rapid expansion of electrification in grid and transportation sectors.

New Energy Storage Industry: Expanding Application Scenarios During interviews, it was noted that new energy storage applications are experiencing a rapid development phase, with a continuous emergence of innovative technologies and an expansion of application scenarios. In the San Diao Ao sea area of Ningde, Fujian, which is China’s largest yellow croaker farming base, local fishermen faced long-standing issues related to power shortages and accessibility. Over the past two years, an integrated project combining wind, solar, and energy storage has been explored, incorporating photovoltaic power generation, wind power generation, energy storage, and digital energy management systems. This multi-renewable energy complementarity ensures uninterrupted power supply to offshore fish farms, providing a reliable and green power solution.

In the Baotou Bayin Wind Farm in Inner Mongolia, a cascade battery storage project is operating stably. Built using retired bus batteries, it has been operational for nearly four years, surpassing its original one-year demonstration period and achieving significant results.

In Kashgar, Xinjiang, the Huadian independent energy storage project stands as the largest single-capacity electrochemical independent energy storage station in the country. It employs a dual-mode construction of networked storage + conventional storage, capable of storing 1.14 billion kilowatt-hours during off-peak periods and delivering 1.04 billion kilowatt-hours during peak periods each year.

Experts point out that China’s energy storage industry has entered a new stage characterized by the coexistence of multiple technologies and the integration of various scenarios. From large-scale energy storage on the generation and grid side to distributed applications on the user side, energy storage plays a critical role in enhancing grid flexibility and facilitating renewable energy absorption, making it an indispensable support for achieving the carbon neutrality goals.