1. Energy storage technology classification
According to the different forms of energy storage, energy storage in a broad sense includes three types: electric energy storage, thermal energy storage and hydrogen energy storage. At present, the most common and widely used one is electrical energy storage, which can be subdivided into electrochemical energy storage and mechanical energy storage.
2. Analysis of Industry Chain
The upstream of energy storage is the basic material of the battery, the midstream is the energy storage manufacturing end, and the downstream is the energy storage application end.
The upstream mainly includes the production of raw materials such as positive and negative materials, separators, electrolytes, and electronic components. Among them, the positive electrode material determines the properties of the battery, and the value is relatively high, reaching 40%.
In recent years, based on the rapid development of the new energy industry, the battery industry, especially lithium batteries, is also developing rapidly. Companies in the battery material industry have sprung up, with scattered market shares and fierce competition. In addition, the price of lithium batteries has fallen and profits have increased. The speed has also declined.
The midstream mainly includes energy storage batteries, battery management systems, energy management systems, energy storage converters, and system integration services.
Among them, the value of energy storage batteries accounts for 60%, and the largest proportion of profit distribution in the industry chain. The gross profit margin is between 30% and 40%. This is mainly because of the high technical barriers and the quality of the batteries will directly affect the entire energy storage system. Operating efficiency, operating cost and safety.
At this stage, the market's leading companies have initially appeared, and the competitive landscape has gradually increased. In terms of shipments, CATL's share has increased to 14%, and shipments have become the largest in China.
The value of energy storage converters accounts for 20%, and the current profit level remains at a high level. Its core is to convert the direct current generated by renewable energy into alternating current. At this stage, the domestic technology is relatively mature, and the market competition pattern has been Relatively stable, the growth rate of this business is expected to slow down in the later period.
The integrated energy storage system is a highly integrated business, including the operation, maintenance, and recovery of the energy storage system. For enterprises, it is easy to use, but the difficulty lies in how to control costs and operate efficiently and safely. At present, a few companies that entered the market early are still in the leading position in the industry, such as Sungrow Power Supply and Haibo Sitron.
The downstream application scenarios are mainly divided into power generation side, grid side and user side. The power generation side is mainly used to absorb large-scale excess photovoltaic and wind power. The grid side is mainly used to maintain stable operation during peak power consumption, while the user side is used to manage time-of-use electricity prices. The three most widely used scenarios are power systems, automobiles and households.
3. Application of energy storage
Speaking of energy storage technology may be difficult to understand, but the application of energy storage is already everywhere.
One of the most common applications around us is power peak shaving.
As far as household load is concerned, it is generally the low power consumption during the day and the peak power consumption at night. For commerce and industry, it is the peak power consumption during the day and the low power consumption at night. For large generator sets, once the equipment is started, it cannot be stopped casually. New energy power generation is unstable and changes at any time. The energy storage system can store the surplus energy when the power consumption is low, and release it when the power consumption is peak, smoothing the overall power consumption level.
Another most common application is electric vehicles.
The meaning of electric vehicles to the power industry is "mobile batteries mounted on wheels." Each electric vehicle has a battery capacity of 40 to 100 kWh, which is five to ten times that of general household battery energy storage systems.
Like stationary household batteries, electric vehicles connected to the grid through charging piles can not only store electricity, but also send it to the grid as needed. For example, going home after work in the afternoon to charge the car can make the system fully charged before the next morning. The system can then allocate the time required for charging and use the remaining part to help regulate the stability of the grid.
The core advantage of the battery is that it can absorb and release a large amount of electricity in a short time, which makes it an ideal tool for providing auxiliary services to the grid. On the one hand, the power grid can be stabilized, and on the other hand, the charging time can be adjusted to avoid the peak power time.
