China's operational new-type energy storage capacity reached 167 GW/435 GWh at the end of September 2026, 63% higher than a year earlier, according to figures the National Energy Administration (NEA) released on October 30.
The data were presented at the agency's quarterly press conference on national energy developments. China's new-type category covers electrochemical, compressed-air and other emerging storage systems, but excludes conventional pumped hydro.
Net additions in the first nine months
Measured against 135.93 GW/351.12 GWh recorded at the end of 2025, the latest figures imply net additions of roughly 31 GW/84 GWh during the first nine months of 2026.
The NEA reported that average storage duration rose to 2.61 hours, about 0.27 hours more than a year earlier, while equivalent utilization hours over the nine-month period came to around 915, roughly 10 hours above the same period of 2025. According to the agency, the improvements indicate gradual changes in how systems are configured and operated, rather than expansion of installed capacity alone.
Policy support and demand for flexibility
The NEA attributed the rapid build-out to government policies, technological innovation, industrial supply chains and growing demand for flexibility in the power system.
Combined wind and solar generating capacity passed 2.01 TW by 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, shift generation to periods of higher demand and provide fast-response grid services.
Market structure is shifting
The composition of the storage market is changing as well. Official 2025 figures showed that independent storage facilities made up 51.2% of cumulative new-type installations, projects rated at 100 MW or above accounted for 72% of installed capacity, and systems with durations of at least four hours represented 27.6%.
Lithium-ion batteries remained the dominant technology at approximately 96% of installed new-type capacity, while 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, reducing reliance on mandatory storage requirements tied to renewable projects.
Under the 15th Five-Year Plan for power system development, new-type storage capacity is targeted to reach 300 GW by 2030, with greater emphasis on longer-duration systems, grid-forming capabilities and improved operational efficiency.
Short-term balancing in renewable-rich grids
Storage's growing contribution is already visible in regional grids with high renewable penetration. 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, equivalent to 33% of the grid's electricity demand at the time.
Such examples illustrate how storage can provide substantial short-term balancing capacity in systems with high renewable penetration. For other countries expanding wind and solar generation, China's deployment offers a reference point on large-scale storage manufacturing, grid integration and centralized dispatch.