China's EV battery giants CATL, BYD eye stationary energy storage market

China's EV battery giants CATL and BYD are eyeing the growing market for stationary energy storage.
 

Here are the numbers behind their energy storage business: CATL has ranked first globally in terms of battery deliveries for energy storage since 2021 with more than 40 per cent of the global market share, according to its annual report. It counts among its major clients state-owned power companies such as Huaneng as well as top energy storage system manufacturers including Sungrow Power Supply.
 

CATL saw deliveries for storage soar 46.8 per cent to 69 gigawatt-hours (GWh) in 2023, outpacing its 32.6 per cent growth for EV batteries. Energy storage batteries accounted for 17.6 per cent of CATL's total battery sales volume, up from 12.5 per cent in 2021.

CATL will also supply battery cells and packs to Tesla's export-oriented Megapack storage plant in Shanghai, which will start production in early 2025 with plans to export, according to a person familiar with the matter.
 

Tesla's Shanghai plant will be able to make 10,000 Megapacks a year with a combined 40 GWh of storage capacity, official media has reported.
 

Rival BYD delivered 22 GWh of batteries for energy storage in 2023, up 57 per cent from 2022, outpacing its EV battery shipments growth of 15.6 per cent, according to SNE Research.
 

By comparison, BYD's EV battery shipments totalled 135 GWh last year.
 

Smaller players EVE, REPT, and HITHIUM also saw more than 100 per cent growth in their energy storage battery sales last year, with 11 per cent, 8 per cent, and 7 per cent of the 185 GWh global market, respectively.