China's power reforms, global data

A revamp of China's electricity market is boosting the economics of storing power just as international demand surges, sparking a boom for the Chinese energy storage manufacturers that already dominate globally.



Chinese firms are on track for a 75% jump this year in global shipments of lithium-ion battery cells for energy storage, according to one estimate.



They have exported more than $65 billion worth of storage and electric-vehicle batteries this year, cementing their dominance in a sector vital to backing up wind and solar and keeping power coursing through artificial-intelligence data centres.



The surge in sales is driven by data centres and renewables domestically, as well as by Chinese reforms and subsidies that are boosting general demand for energy storage.



International demand is rising in tandem with the surging growth in data centres, ⁠a need to back up Europe's ageing grid and China's new renewable energy business in the Middle East.