China’s operational new-type energy storage capacity reached 167 GW/435 GWh at the end of September 2026, up 63% year on year, according to figures released by the National Energy Administration (NEA) on Oct. 30.
The data were presented at the NEA’s quarterly press conference on national energy development. China’s new-type storage category includes electrochemical, compressed-air and other emerging systems, but excludes conventional pumped hydro.
Capacity stood at 135.93 GW/351.12 GWh at the end of 2025, implying a net increase of about 31 GW/84 GWh during the first nine months of 2026.
Utilization indicators also improved. Average storage duration rose to 2.61 hours, about 0.27 hours more than a year earlier, while equivalent utilization hours reached roughly 915 during the nine-month period, an increase of about 10 hours from the same period in 2025.
Those changes suggest that China’s storage buildout is being accompanied by gradual adjustments in system configuration and use, rather than growth in installed capacity alone.
Policy support and system need
The NEA linked the rapid development of new-type storage to government policies, technological innovation, industrial supply chains and rising demand for flexibility in the power system.
China’s combined wind and solar generating capacity exceeded 2.01 TW at the end of September, accounting for about 48.7% of total installed power capacity. As variable renewable output expands, storage is increasingly needed to absorb surplus electricity, move generation to higher-demand periods and provide fast-response grid services.
Market structure shifts
Official figures for 2025 showed that independent energy storage facilities accounted for 51.2% of cumulative new-type storage installations. Projects rated at 100 MW or above represented 72% of installed capacity, and systems with durations of at least four hours made up 27.6%.
Lithium-ion batteries remained the dominant technology, representing about 96% of installed new-type storage capacity. Compressed-air, flow batteries and other technologies are gradually expanding their presence.
Market reforms are expected to reinforce these trends. China has been developing arrangements that allow independent storage operators to earn revenue from electricity trading, ancillary services and capacity remuneration, gradually reducing reliance on mandatory storage requirements tied to renewable projects.
2030 target and regional operation
Under its 15th Five-Year Plan for power system development, China targets 300 GW of new-type energy storage by 2030, with greater emphasis on longer-duration systems, grid-forming capabilities and improved operational efficiency.
Storage’s growing role is already visible in renewable-rich regional grids. In western Inner Mongolia, the grid operator reported 20.23 GW/70.47 GWh of operational storage capacity in October. During emergency dispatch operations, storage supplied up to 12.25 GW, equal to 33% of the grid’s electricity demand at the time.
The example illustrates how storage can provide substantial short-term balancing capacity in power systems with high renewable penetration. For other countries expanding wind and solar generation, China’s deployment offers experience in large-scale storage manufacturing, grid integration and centralized dispatch.