HouLin Intelligent Engineering Co., Ltd

On the eve of the outbreak of new energy storage, companies are eager to "bend down" for it.

After photovoltaics, the capital market has once again set its sights on the energy storage track: Tesla's first overseas energy storage super factory project has landed in Shanghai, and more than 30 listed companies have collectively crossed borders... Unlike traditional energy, photovoltaic power generation has obvious peaks and valleys, more prominent supply-demand mismatches, and frequent "abandoned solar" phenomena. This instability has also led to a new front - energy storage.

Home appliance companies lay out photovoltaics

Recently, Chongqing Konka Low Carbon Technology Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of Konka Group, announced that it has obtained the first batch of overseas orders for photovoltaic energy storage equipment. It is somewhat surprising that Konka, which has been deeply involved in the field of consumer electronics for many years, has turned its attention to new energy?

It is understood that Chongqing Konka Low Carbon Technology is a new energy full industry low-carbon comprehensive operation solution provider with energy storage as its core, focusing on photovoltaic energy storage new energy business, mainly involving large-scale power station energy storage systems, industrial and commercial energy storage, household energy storage systems and other fields.

From a macro perspective, the development of the new energy storage industry has accelerated Konka's process of building a green manufacturing system, further helping companies improve their ESG ratings. On the other hand, the layout of the integrated light storage industry is also in line with the global trend of green energy development, providing strong support for achieving the 2030 sustainable development goals.

Public data shows that in 2022, Konka Group will focus on the three leading industries of "consumer electronics+semiconductor+new energy technology" and the two supporting industries of "park+investment". With the promotion of the "dual carbon" goal, the results of the company's diversified strategic transformation are gradually emerging.

It is not difficult to see that Konka's layout in the energy storage field is not "neglecting its main business", but rather a deep extension of its new energy business, efficiently linking with existing industries such as photovoltaics, consumer electronics, and manufacturing parks to achieve an ecological loop of low-carbon energy, clean production, and intelligent terminals.

Lin Boqiang, Dean of the China Energy Policy Research Institute at Xiamen University, stated that China's new energy storage market is in the exploratory stage, with huge market potential that attracts companies to cross boundaries. Home appliance manufacturing enterprises have advantages in technology foundation, manufacturing foundation, and components, and their large-scale entry is in line with expectations.

Compared to the home appliance industry where market demand tends to be saturated, the energy storage track, which has good synergy and industrial complementarity with its main business, has become a new driving force for Konka to drive industrial transformation and upgrading, and create the second growth curve of the enterprise.

After the release of the "14th Five Year Plan for the Development of New Energy Storage", the local new energy storage industry has experienced rapid development. In 2022, the cumulative installed capacity in China exceeded 10GW for the first time, reaching 13.1GW/27.1GWh, with an annual growth rate of 128% in power scale and 141% in energy scale.

It can be said that we are currently on the eve of the outbreak of the domestic new energy storage industry. Conservatively estimated, the cumulative scale of new energy storage in China will reach 97.0GW by 2027, with a compound annual growth rate of 49.3% from 2023 to 2027.

Europe has become another "hot commodity" in the eyes of major energy storage manufacturers.

On April 15th, the three remaining nuclear power plants in Germany officially shut down, marking the end of the "nuclear power era" that lasted for over 60 years.

Due to multiple factors such as geopolitical conflicts, energy shortages, and low-carbon environmental protection, European countries are increasingly eager to reduce their dependence on external energy, achieve energy independence, and establish a more diversified green energy structure.

The soaring electricity prices have driven up the demand for household energy storage systems in Europe. Last August, the average wholesale electricity price in Germany exceeded 469 euros per megawatt hour, a year-on-year increase of over five times and nearly eight times that of China during the same period.

On the cost side, from 2010 to 2021, the average LCOE (levelized cost of electricity) of global solar photovoltaics (including centralized and rooftop) decreased by 88%.

It is not difficult to see that the significant decrease in the cost of distributed rooftop photovoltaics has also driven the rapid growth of household energy storage systems in Europe. The installed capacity of household energy storage in Europe will continue to increase in 2022, but the penetration rate of household energy storage is still low, with high room for improvement.

However, it is not an easy task for domestic enterprises to enter the European market. They still face many barriers in certification systems and channel development, and the phenomenon of "not adapting to the local environment" often occurs during the process of going global. How should enterprises seize the opportunities and challenges of the green wave?

As a well-established market with photovoltaic and energy storage installed capacity leading in Europe, Germany has a long history in the field of new energy and relatively high requirements for energy storage equipment. Konka, on the other hand, chose the challenging German market as the first stop to break the ice in its optical storage business.

At present, Konka has four major overseas branches, with business scope covering 110 countries and regions worldwide. Relying on its global brand and first mover advantage in channels, Konka plans to export energy storage products to countries in Latin America and Europe such as Argentina, Egypt, Russia, France, and Germany, providing small and medium-sized consumer energy storage solutions for global users.