Triumphant Innovations: How Singularity Energy Dominated the Commercial Storage Market Through Three Revolutionary Phases

Three Revolutions: The Triumph of Industrial and Commercial Energy Storage – A Breakthrough by Singularity Energy

The landscape of industrial and commercial energy storage is undergoing profound changes, shaped by fluctuating peak and valley electricity prices and evolving market policies. Amidst fierce competition and a growing sense of market pressure, many companies are retreating from the scene. However, even in challenging times, remarkable stories of success emerge, often driven by innovative technologies. Singularity Energy, which focuses on distributed energy storage, has managed to maintain a strong market position, securing the title of champion in China’s industrial and commercial user-side energy storage market for the second consecutive year. Achieving this title is no small feat, especially given the thorny challenges ahead and the competitive forces at play.

1. The First Revolution: Defining the Initial Standards for Industrial and Commercial Storage

Initially, the industrial and commercial energy storage market was viewed as a straightforward venture promising high returns. However, starting in 2018, the “peak and valley electricity price” arbitrage model began to capture the attention of many firms. As the implementation of time-of-use pricing progressed, a diverse range of companies, both with and without energy backgrounds, sought to enter the market, hoping to capitalize on its potential. However, both owners and suppliers soon realized that industrial and commercial energy storage was not a guaranteed profit opportunity; the key lay in the essence of storage technology and product quality.

During this market transition, Singularity Energy emerged as a leader, introducing innovative concepts that propelled the industrial and commercial energy storage sector forward. In 2020, Singularity Energy made a significant move by launching the eBlock, the industry’s first distributed energy storage product. This solution set a new standard for distributed energy storage and was delivered in Shenzhen, marking the inception of the first generation of standardized products. The eBlock, designed with an “All in One” concept, achieved a high degree of integration for both AC and DC energy storage and provided a plug-and-play design that enhanced deployment flexibility and maintenance ease.

In 2022 and 2023, the energy storage market saw explosive growth, driven by favorable policies such as grid-purchased electricity and peak and valley pricing. Singularity Energy capitalized on this momentum by hosting an Ecological Partner Conference, uniting investors, developers, constructors, and operators to enhance supply and demand in the industrial and commercial energy storage sector. As a result, the company was recognized as the top domestic user-side energy storage market player by the China Energy Storage Alliance (CNESA) in their annual rankings.

Despite challenges such as fire safety regulations and adjustments to pricing mechanisms that affected project profitability, Singularity Energy retained its leading position in the market, topping both the CNESA’s 2024 domestic user-side energy storage shipment rankings and the Polar Star Energy Network’s list of China’s top 10 global commercial energy storage system shipments for 2024. With over 1,000 delivered applications across various scenarios, including industrial parks, data centers, and solar power stations, the company has successfully served over 155 industries and delivered more than 20,000 energy blocks.

2. The Second Revolution: Software Iteration Driving Market and Intelligence

In recent years, the industrial and commercial energy storage market has faced significant product homogenization. However, similarities in appearance do not equate to comparable performance. There are notable differences in battery management systems, energy management systems, and energy conversion efficiency, leading to a “same shape, different quality” scenario. As the electricity market evolves, the uncertainty around storage profits is increasing, requiring a shift in focus from merely reducing peak demand to participating in virtual power plants and power market transactions.

To enhance storage revenues, conversion efficiency has become a critical performance indicator. Singularity Energy’s latest product, eBlock-261, has emerged as the “first energy storage product capable of self-evolving for power market transactions,” boasting a system conversion efficiency exceeding 91%, which is above the industry average. It features high energy density, compact size, and multiple safety protections, making it suitable for various applications, including peak shaving, virtual power plants, backup power, and three-phase imbalance management.

To maximize hardware capabilities, Singularity Energy emphasizes the importance of software enhancements. In 2024, the company pioneered the “software-defined system” concept in the energy storage sector, marking a second revolution in the industry. This involves refining battery management from a centralized, coarse approach to a modular, precise methodology through new algorithms that improve assessment accuracy and capacity utilization.

Additionally, as more market trading opportunities arise, energy storage systems must adapt from fixed, passive charging and discharging strategies to dynamic, active approaches. Singularity’s energy block products utilize automatic PID parameter configuration, vector control algorithms, and virtual impedance configurations to continuously adapt to complex distribution networks, improving power quality and system stability. A novel AI-based dynamic thermal management strategy has been introduced, optimizing thermal control to balance battery life and performance.

3. The Third Revolution: Expanding Financial Services to Create New Value

Recently, the industry has been buzzing about the “most stringent safety directive” concerning the essential safety upgrades for electrochemical storage projects. This policy not only mandates that new projects demonstrate inherent safety but also requires upgrades for non-compliant facilities, pushing technological advancements and accelerating market consolidation. As a result, the low-price competition model in the energy storage sector is becoming obsolete. Companies must shift from merely selling equipment to focusing on the entire lifecycle of energy storage operations. Firms that offer comprehensive services, including financing, operation, and risk management, will emerge as the most competitive players.

Singularity Energy’s philosophy of “making stable, clean power accessible to everyone” underscores its commitment to creating customer value as a core survival strategy. This aligns perfectly with the asset characteristics of industrial and commercial energy storage, which aim to secure optimal returns for clients. The greatest risk in electrochemical storage remains safety, compounded by the dynamic nature of monthly electricity prices that impact customer profitability.

In 2023, Singularity Energy launched the industry’s first comprehensive liability insurance for energy storage, effectively reducing project investment risks and alleviating financial burdens. This initiative reflects the company’s confidence in its product quality and commitment to customer value. With rapid market growth, addressing the human resource challenges in investment development and operational phases is becoming increasingly crucial. Leveraging extensive project experience and operational data from thousands of energy blocks, Singularity introduced the eGo platform product, facilitating seamless collaboration among investors, developers, constructors, and operators. This platform also provides robust data modeling to enable real-time revenue tracking for users and investors.

Recognizing the urgent need for financing in the market, Singularity Energy has ventured into collaboration with financial leasing institutions to launch the “Energy Storage Treasure” financial product. This allows users to establish energy storage projects with zero investment in the first five years, subsequently benefiting from a low monthly payment and rental purchase model, thereby lowering investment barriers and risks while enhancing project profitability. Singularity advocates for the pursuit of the lowest levelized cost of electricity throughout the storage lifecycle, rather than merely the lowest initial investment. This philosophy extends to after-sales services, where the company’s standardized products and intelligent platforms streamline the entire investment and operational process.

4. What Lies Ahead for the Next Revolution?

As the saying goes, “Determination lies in steadfastness, not sharpness; success is achieved over time, not speed.” Singularity Energy has secured its championship status through its foundations in technological innovation, business model evolution, first-mover advantages, talent, and industrial capital support. However, maintaining this success is challenging, especially amidst intensifying competition and a constantly changing external environment. The company is exploring new possibilities beyond its existing market focus. While continuing to lead in user-side energy storage, it has also made strides in the large-scale energy storage market, successfully delivering major projects across various regions.

With a focus on user-side, source-grid, and long-duration energy storage markets, Singularity Energy is poised to cover a wide range of storage scenarios with its flagship products, aiming for leadership in more niche markets. Given the global energy transition, international markets will undoubtedly become a crucial growth avenue for Chinese companies. Singularity is actively expanding its presence overseas, having already delivered its first commercial energy storage project in Europe last year and entered strategic partnerships in Europe and Southeast Asia.

With plans to establish subsidiaries and factories abroad, Singularity Energy aims to provide comprehensive pre-sales, project exploration, commissioning, and after-sales services through localized teams. The Chinese energy storage industry has seen rapid growth, scaling from 100 MWh to 100 GWh in nearly seven years. As Singularity Energy continues to build on its success, it has grown from a small team to a capacity of 10 GWh, achieving significant breakthroughs in market leadership. What new milestones will Singularity Energy reach in the next seven years?