[Insight] Global energy storage demand is surging, with varying reasons but consistent result

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2025, Chinese energy storage companies have seen an explosion in overseas orders. According to authoritative data from REBIO GROUP, in the first half of 2025 alone, Chinese energy storage companies signed 199 new overseas orders, exceeding 160GWh, a year-on-year increase of 220.3%. Consider that in 2024, the newly installed capacity in the overseas emerging energy storage market will be 81.5GWh, and the number of orders will be 150GWh. Orders received in the first half of this year are twice as high as last year's global installed capacity. In addition to traditional markets like Europe and the United States, emerging markets are also performing well. Looking at overseas orders in the first quarter of 2025, the Middle East, Australia, and East Asia reached 35GWh, 33GWh, and 20GWh, respectively. A closer look at these surges reveals long-standing unmet electricity demand, such as the aging power grid in the United States, the challenges of solar photovoltaic integration in Europe, and power shortages in the Middle East and Africa. Energy storage is becoming a universal asset in the energy landscape of various regions. Let's examine these issues one by one.

01

Europe: Consumption Bottlenecks and Rigid Demand Amid Fluctuating Electricity Prices

Europe, a pioneering hub for distributed photovoltaic power stations, boasts a massive installed capacity on the distribution side. This has exposed the shortcomings of traditional power grids in accommodating a high proportion of distributed renewable energy: electricity cannot be effectively transmitted from power generation sites to load centers, leading to local grid congestion during peak hours, resulting in supply-demand imbalances and energy waste.

At this point, energy storage becomes the only solution. By deploying batteries at the user end, excess daytime photovoltaic power can be stored, mitigating the impact of power feeds into the grid during peak hours, and releasing energy during the evening peak to balance the load.

Since 2024, various European countries have enacted and adjusted policies that are also fueling the energy storage trend. For example, Germany implemented dynamic electricity pricing starting in January 2025, requiring electricity suppliers to offer all residential and commercial users dynamic price packages linked in real time to wholesale electricity prices. Electricity prices fluctuate in real time, like stocks, instantly magnifying the arbitrage opportunities for energy storage. France, however, has taken the opposite approach: significantly reducing or even eliminating feed-in-tariff subsidies for small-scale photovoltaics, forcing homeowners to maximize their own green electricity through energy storage. Driven by dynamic electricity pricing and subsidy policies, European commercial and industrial energy storage is forecast to reach a rapid growth inflection point, with a CAGR of 55% from 2024 to 2029. In 2025, new installations of commercial and industrial energy storage capacity are projected to reach 3.6GWh, a 62% year-on-year increase.

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The energy crisis caused by the Russia-Ukraine conflict caused electricity prices to soar in Europe. Although energy prices have declined since 2023, residential electricity prices remain generally high in Europe, and are more volatile under the dynamic pricing mechanism. Installing energy storage provides insurance against electricity costs while also increasing the security of power supply. This tangible financial incentive, coupled with policy support, is driving a continued surge in demand for energy storage in Europe.

02

North America: "Ripped Jeans" Get a Fix

In recent years, the United States has seen astonishing growth in energy storage installations. By the end of 2024, the United States will have added approximately 37.1GWh of new energy storage capacity, a year-on-year increase of approximately 34%, making it the world's second-largest energy storage market. As we all know, the United States has a massive and continuously rising base of electricity demand: factors such as data center expansion, the reshoring of domestic manufacturing, and the expansion of the electric vehicle market are all driving up overall electricity demand. At the same time, the US power grid is aging, and investment in the transmission network has been chronically underinvested. This "old ox" simply can't pull the ever-increasing load, leading to frequent grid failures and regional power outages. In some areas, new grid connection projects even have waiting times of years. With the aging grid struggling to expand and upgrade in a timely manner, energy storage has become an indispensable "fix." Whether used as grid-side peak and frequency regulation assets or as backup power sources for users, energy storage is a critical requirement in the United States to ensure stable power supply and alleviate grid pressure. In areas like California and Texas, where grid failures are common, residents and businesses are increasingly relying on battery backup. Currently, the energy storage capacity deployed by CASI (California Independent System Operator) and ERCOT (Electric Reliability Council of Texas) has reached 10.8GW and 6.7GW, respectively, both setting new records.

power supply facility in the United States

03

Australia: Dire straits and high electricity prices

Australia has been severely impacted by extreme weather in recent years, with repeated heavy rains and heat waves causing staggering losses. From the beginning of 2025 to May, insurance claims due to extreme weather events such as heavy rains and heat waves exceeded 32,000, exceeding the total for the entire year of 2024. Frequent climate disasters have increased the frequency of power infrastructure failures, tightening power supply in some areas, causing blackouts and soaring electricity prices. Starting in July 2025, the default wholesale electricity price in many regions of Australia will increase, with some regions seeing increases as high as 9.7%. Faced with these "scorching" electricity bills, the value of energy storage has become increasingly apparent: shaving peak loads and filling valleys, saving time, effort, and money.

Australian wildfires

The Australian government strongly supports the widespread adoption of energy storage. In May 2025, the Australian government invested AU$2.3 billion to launch the "Affordable Home Battery Scheme."

Starting in July 2025, it will subsidize approximately 30% of the initial cost of installing small battery systems (5kWh to 100kWh) for households, businesses, and community organizations. This subsidy can reduce the payback period for a typical household energy storage system from 7-8 years to 5-6 years, and in optimal cases, to 4-5 years. This "shot in the arm" instantly ignited residents' enthusiasm for installation. Currently, Australia is installing over 300,000 new household photovoltaic systems annually, but by 2024, only about 10% will have accompanying energy storage, and the cumulative energy storage rate for household photovoltaic systems will be less than 5%. This is primarily due to the fact that before the subsidy, the payback period for photovoltaic systems was only 3-5 years, while the payback period for batteries was 7-8 years. Many residents considered batteries uneconomical and therefore avoided installing them. However, with the introduction of the 30% battery subsidy, the payback period for household energy storage has been reduced to 5-6 years or even lower, narrowing the gap. This subsidy is expected to trigger a surge in battery installations among the vast number of existing photovoltaic users.

04

Middle East: "Power Guardian" in War

According to authoritative data from REBIO GROUP, in the first half of 2025, the Middle East accounted for 23.4% of overseas orders for Chinese energy storage companies, ranking first among all regions with 37.55 GWh. This growth is primarily due to power shortages caused by energy crises following geopolitical conflicts.

Many Middle Eastern countries are mired in "power hell." War-ravaged areas and aging equipment have made widespread and prolonged power outages commonplace. For example, most of Iraq experiences daily power outages lasting up to seven hours, with the Kurdish region experiencing up to 19 hours. Syria's civil war has nearly destroyed its power grid infrastructure. Fuel shortages and delayed reconstruction have made power outages commonplace, forcing residents and businesses to rely on expensive and unreliable diesel generators. Even oil-rich Iran experienced a nationwide blackout at the end of 2024. In these countries, diesel generators are widely used for emergency power supply, but diesel is expensive and its supply is unreliable. Amidst the dire power supply crisis, photovoltaics combined with energy storage have shown great potential as an alternative to diesel generators. The Middle East boasts abundant sunshine and low-cost photovoltaic power generation. Paired with energy storage, it can provide 24-hour power supply, significantly reducing dependence on diesel and its costs.

Syrian residents assembling solar photovoltaic panels

Governments in various countries have also recognized the severity of the problem and are vigorously supporting household and commercial energy storage, both to address immediate needs and to pave the way for energy transition. For example, the Iraqi government has introduced low-interest loans to encourage distributed photovoltaic and energy storage, with an interest rate cap of just 2.5% and a term of up to seven years. This policy has led to a surge in Chinese exports of related equipment to Iraq. Furthermore, in early 2025, the Iranian Industrial Park Organization announced plans to build 24 dedicated solar parks, focusing on supporting commercial and industrial energy storage systems to ensure industrial electricity supply. This demonstrates that Middle Eastern governments view energy storage as a key player in reshaping the energy future.

05

Southeast Asia: Self-rescue amidst power shortages and soaring electricity prices

In recent years, Southeast Asia has reaped the benefits of the shifting global economic landscape. China's economic transformation and the Sino-US trade war have brought enormous development opportunities to Southeast Asia, and a large number of labor-intensive and new energy industries have begun to shift to the region.

Indonesian floods

The mountainous terrain and volatile weather conditions on islands present unusual difficulties and economic costs for power grid construction. Consequently, underdeveloped power grid infrastructure is a common feature of Southeast Asian countries. However, this weak power infrastructure has created significant development opportunities for distributed photovoltaics, industrial, commercial, and household energy storage. Vietnam is a prime example. Vietnam's industrialization has accelerated in recent years, leading to a surge in electricity demand, but power supply and grid construction have lagged behind, resulting in severe power shortages. In the summer of 2023, power rationing in northern Vietnam due to a power shortage caused significant factory shutdowns and impacted people's livelihoods. Furthermore, domestic electricity prices in Vietnam have been repeatedly raised in recent years. The dual pressures of high demand and high prices have placed a heavy burden on electricity consumption for both residential and commercial users. Many factories have resorted to installing their own diesel generators to mitigate power outages, which is costly and polluting. Indeed, many factory roofs in Vietnam are already covered with photovoltaic panels, but without energy storage, these panels become useless in the event of a power outage. Against this backdrop, Vietnam sees photovoltaics plus energy storage as a key solution to addressing power shortages and stabilizing electricity prices.

06

Africa: The Dark Continent Embraces a "Blue Ocean" for Energy Storage

Africa boasts 60% of the world's solar energy resources, but electricity resources are extremely scarce. Currently, Africa accounts for only 3% of global electricity generation. Many countries have poor grid coverage, leaving large populations without access to electricity. Even in areas with access, outages are frequent due to aging equipment and fuel shortages.

School in West Africa is using solar lanterns for instruction.

Nigeria is a typical example: its power grid is aging, gas shortages, and theft lead to multiple national power grid failures annually. In 2024, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission approved a one-time 300% increase in electricity prices to 225 naira/kWh (approximately 1.05 yuan/kWh) in an attempt to improve the quality of power company service. However, power service remains unstable, with nine nationwide blackouts that year and over 200 failures over the past decade. In this dire situation, over 97% of Nigerian businesses and most government agencies are forced to rely on costly diesel generators. Diesel is expensive and its supply is unreliable. The cost of generating electricity can easily reach several yuan per kilowatt-hour. If power generation is maintained for 6-8 hours per day, the fuel cost alone can reach 4,000-5,000 yuan per day, a staggering price for impoverished people in developing countries. Furthermore, diesel combustion produces a variety of toxic and hazardous substances, which are harmful to human health. In contrast, while installing solar power plus energy storage requires a high initial investment, operating costs are extremely low, costing only 0.2 yuan per kilowatt-hour. It is also safer and more harmless, making it a preferred alternative to diesel power generation.

Some middle-class families in African cities are now embracing photovoltaic energy storage systems simply to cope with frequent power outages and high electricity bills. It can be said that in many parts of Africa, energy storage is not driven by green or economic benefits, but rather a necessity for basic electricity needs.

In addition to residents' own photovoltaic energy storage, African countries are also incorporating "new energy + energy storage" into their development plans at the national level, and China-Africa cooperation has given this process a strong impetus. At the 2023 Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, China explicitly proposed implementing 30 clean energy projects in Africa, including assistance to African countries in building distributed photovoltaic and energy storage systems to alleviate local energy demand.

According to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), Africa's installed energy storage capacity could reach 28 GW by 2030 and exceed 140 GW by 2050. The African Union's "Master Plan for the African Continental Electricity System" predicts that by 2040, Africa's total installed power generation capacity will increase from the current 260 GW to nearly 1,200 GW, with wind and solar power accounting for approximately 38%. To absorb such a massive amount of wind and solar power, the role of energy storage is self-evident.

Conclusion

Obviously, we've intentionally omitted two important markets, Japan and South America. We hope to leave more market observations and perspectives for readers to share and discuss below.

The explosive growth of global energy storage orders is obvious, but the reason for these soaring figures has never been solely due to policies or environmental protection concepts. Instead, it is because only energy storage can truly meet the electricity needs of people around the world. With the rapid decline in global lithium battery and photovoltaic panel costs, energy storage has been widely adopted and demonstrated its economic viability.

In developed countries, energy storage primarily meets "improvement needs" for electricity price arbitrage and surplus power consumption. In contrast, in developing countries, severe power outages caused by weak peripheral grid infrastructure have forced energy storage in these regions to shoulder a more "rigid demand" for ensuring a stable power supply.

Whether it's a rooftop or a balcony or a open land, the average repurchase period for every square meter of photovoltaic installation on Earth exceeds 10.5 years. Once a user purchases a storage system from a certain brand, they are bound to that brand if they need to expand capacity later, as the product's size, communication protocol, and electrical interface are incompatible.

As solar photovoltaic energy storage product, similar to real estate and automobiles, with extremely low repurchase rate, the strategy of distributors and manufacturers is to "quickly seize the market." Kada Energy, a subsidiary of REBIO GROUP, is collaborating with leading local companies, primarily in Belt and Road countries, as well as leading Chinese energy storage manufacturers. Based on information on each country's policies and regulations, population breakdowns, income levels, credit conditions, power systems, power outages, and distribution channels, it provides comprehensive services, including product design, pricing, marketing strategies, and logistics supply chains. We help local distributors quickly seize market share and China manufacturers quickly secure orders. If you're interested in collaborating with us, please feel free to contact us.

If there's a core difference between this round of energy storage boom and previous ones, it's that "rigid demand," not "ideas," has become the core driving force of the entire energy storage industry.