1. Global Energy Storage Market: Residential Storage Shines Brightest, Europe Takes the Lead

In 2022, the global residential energy storage market delivered impressive results. According to the White Paper on the Development of China's Home Energy Storage Industry (2023) released by EVTank and the Eway IVI Research Institute, global newly installed capacity of home energy storage reached 15.6 GWh in 2022, a year‑on‑year increase of 136.4% — more than doubling. Looking across the globe, Germany, the United States, Japan, Italy, and Australia ranked as the top five countries for new residential storage installations, together accounting for more than 10 GWh, or over 70% of the global market.

From a regional perspective, Europe is the world's largest application market for home energy storage. Due to Europe's heavy reliance on imported natural gas, the Russia‑Ukraine conflict led to energy shortages, combined with high electricity prices and supportive government policies. In 2022, Europe added 5.68 GWh of new residential storage capacity, representing 36.4% of the global market, with cumulative installations exceeding 10 GWh. Meanwhile, in 2022 the EU's monthly average wholesale electricity price peaked above €400/MWh, a year‑on‑year increase of 346%. Battery storage installations reached about 13 GWh, a three‑fold increase over the previous year.

The core driver behind Europe's residential storage boom was the surge in wholesale electricity prices, which followed natural gas prices out of control. In 2022, average wholesale electricity prices in European countries rose by more than 400% year‑on‑year. The sharp increase in residential electricity costs significantly improved the economics of installing residential PV+storage systems for self‑generation and self‑consumption.

2. China Market: Record High Solar Installations, Doubling Energy Storage

China's solar + storage market also experienced rapid growth in 2022. According to data released by the National Energy Administration (NEA) in February 2023, newly added wind and solar PV capacity in China exceeded 120 GW in 2022, reaching 125 GW — exceeding the 100 GW mark for the third consecutive year and setting a new historical record. Among this, newly added solar capacity was 87.41 GW. Renewable energy accounted for 76.2% of the country's total newly installed power generation capacity, becoming the mainstay of new power additions.

In terms of energy storage, by the end of 2022, the installed capacity of new‑type energy storage projects (excluding pumped hydro) that had been put into operation nationwide reached 8.70 GW, an increase of more than 110% compared with the end of 2021. Among newly added storage paired with renewable energy, the total newly operational PV+storage projects in 2022 amounted to 2,204 MW / 4,520 MWh. By technology, lithium‑ion batteries accounted for 94.5% of the total, compressed air energy storage for 2.0%, and vanadium redox flow batteries for 1.6%.

Regionally, the share of newly operational new‑type storage capacity was 28.6% in North China, 26.6% in Northwest China, 16.1% in Central China, and 14.7% in East China. The top five provinces in terms of cumulative installed capacity were Shandong, Ningxia, Guangdong, Hunan, and Inner Mongolia. Regarding mandatory renewable energy storage policies, by the end of 2022 more than 20 provinces/municipalities/autonomous regions had introduced requirements for energy storage with renewables, with typical storage allocation ratios of 10%–20% and durations of 2–4 hours. Mandatory storage for new renewable projects has become the largest driver of energy storage deployment in China.

In terms of market size, China's solar market grew from 55 GW to 83 GW between 2021 and 2022. Front‑of‑the‑meter (FTM) solar‑plus‑storage projects grew from 0.5 GW to 2 GW, and in the ideal scenario, market demand for solar‑plus‑storage increased from 1.4 GW to 3.9 GW.

3. Policy Drivers: Policy Resonance Across China, the US, and Europe

The rapid growth of the solar+storage industry in 2022 was inseparable from strong policy support across major economies.

United States: In August 2022, the US government officially approved the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), injecting strong confidence into the US renewable energy sector. Before the IRA, energy storage could only qualify for the Investment Tax Credit (ITC) if paired with solar. After the IRA, standalone storage became eligible for the ITC, greatly reducing storage’s dependence on solar. The IRA also extended the ITC through 2033, raised the base credit from 26% to 30%, and significantly reformed the ITC and PTC in terms of time horizon, eligible technologies, and subsidy levels.

Europe: In May 2022, the EU launched the "REPowerEU" plan, proposing to raise the 2030 renewable energy target to 45%. Germany and other countries also introduced supportive policies — the German Renewable Energy Act (EEG 2023) increased feed‑in tariffs for surplus electricity from rooftop PV+storage, while the Annual Tax Act 2022 exempted the 19% VAT on the import, purchase, and installation of small rooftop PV and storage systems. Together, these two policies improved the economics of residential PV+storage equipment by raising revenue from electricity sales and reducing system costs.

China: The "dual carbon" goal continued to advance, with the "1+N" policy system being implemented. Policies prioritise the development of wind and solar PV, accelerate the large‑scale application of new‑type energy storage technologies, and build a clean, low‑carbon, safe, and efficient energy system. In 2022, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), the NEA, and eight other government departments jointly issued the 14th Five‑Year Plan for Renewable Energy Development, clarifying the independent market entity status of new‑type storage and improving the trading mechanisms and technical standards for storage’s participation in various power markets.

4. Large‑Scale Projects Come Online: From Hundreds of Megawatts to GWh Scale

In 2022, large‑scale energy storage projects came online intensively around the world, with project sizes constantly setting new records.

In China, December was the peak month for storage project commissioning. According to incomplete statistics from China Energy Storage Network, by December 25, 2022, a total of 23 new‑type storage projects had been commissioned in December alone, with a combined scale of approximately 1.33 GW / 2.64 GWh. Among them, the CGN Zaozhuang Shanting 400 MW / 800 MWh storage project was completed and connected to the grid in December, achieving construction, commissioning, and operation within the same year.

Even more iconic was the first phase of the Ulanqab新一代电网友好绿色电站 (New Generation Grid‑Friendly Green Power Station) demonstration project — the world's largest "source‑grid‑load‑storage" integrated project. Located in Siziwang Banner, Ulanqab, Inner Mongolia, the project has a total capacity of 2,000 MW (1,700 MW wind, 300 MW solar) and is equipped with 550 MW × 2h of storage, making it the world's largest integrated "source‑grid‑load‑storage" demonstration project.

Overseas, the largest storage project in Southeast Asia to date — the Jurong Island 200 MW / 200 MWh storage project in Singapore — was constructed by the China Energy Engineering Group Shanxi Electric Power Engineering Co., Ltd. and was commissioned in December. In addition, the Dalian Vanadium Flow Battery Energy Storage Peak‑Shaving Station, the first large‑scale national chemical energy storage demonstration project approved by the NEA, has a total construction scale of 200 MW / 800 MWh and is the world's largest vanadium flow battery storage station, earning the nickname "King of Energy Storage".

5. Leading Companies: CATL, Tesla, Sungrow Accelerate Their Footprints

In 2022, the leading companies in the solar+storage sector delivered outstanding results.

CATL (Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited): Full‑year 2022 revenue reached approximately RMB 328.59 billion, a year‑on‑year increase of 152.07%. Net profit attributable to shareholders was approximately RMB 30.73 billion, up 92.89% year‑on‑year. Energy storage system sales revenue for the year reached RMB 44.98 billion. CATL's global market share in energy storage battery shipments reached 43.4%, up 5.1 percentage points from the previous year, ranking No.1 globally for the second consecutive year. Overseas, CATL successively reached exclusive battery supply agreements for the US Gemini solar+storage project and signed an agreement with US energy storage technology platform FlexGen to supply 10 GWh of storage products over three years.

Tesla: In Q3 2022, Tesla deployed a combined 2,100 MWh of its Powerwall home battery and Megapack large‑scale battery storage systems, a 62% year‑on‑year increase and a quarterly record. In terms of business model innovation, in December Tesla officially launched the "Tesla Electric" retail electricity plan in Texas, allowing Powerwall storage system users to sell surplus electricity to the regional grid. At the same time, Tesla launched several virtual power plant pilot projects in Texas, paying Powerwall users up to $2 per kWh of electricity supplied to the grid. Elon Musk said on an earnings call that fixed energy storage could grow even faster than electric vehicles, with annual growth rates potentially reaching 200%.

Sungrow Power Supply: In 2022, Sungrow’s global energy storage system shipments reached 7.7 GWh. Its energy storage business revenue exceeded RMB 10 billion, and its share of total revenue rose rapidly from 13% in 2021 to 25.15% in 2022, while gross margin also increased year‑on‑year. The company’s global market share of PV inverters reached 23%, ranking second in the world; its energy storage system market share was 16%, ranking first globally.