Driven by both the global energy transition and the sustainable development of the mining industry, energy storage systems, by providing backup power, performing energy time-shifting, participating in demand response, and stabilizing the power grid, can significantly reduce the operating costs, carbon emissions, and energy risks of mining enterprises. Therefore, they are rapidly becoming an indispensable key infrastructure for modern mining. Recently, several international authoritative consulting agencies have released research reports pointing out that in the first three quarters of 2025, the global demand for energy storage showed explosive growth and became the second growth engine for lithium demand. It is recommended that the company seize the window period of the energy storage industry's outbreak, focus on the mining energy storage segment to accelerate the integration of the new energy sector, and while accelerating the green transformation of the main business of metal mining, promote the new energy industry to a new level.

Energy storage is a key link in reshaping the core competitiveness of the mining industry in the future.

As a high-energy-consuming and high-risk industry, the mining sector faces dual demands in its energy supply: "safety guarantee" and "green transformation". Energy storage technology, through its three core functions of emergency backup power, load regulation, and new energy absorption, is reshaping the energy utilization model in mining and has become a key link in reshaping the core competitiveness of the mining industry in the future.

Energy storage can help address three core energy challenges in mining operations. First is the cost challenge: electricity costs can account for 15%-40% of the total cost of mining operations. Moreover, most mining areas are located in remote regions with weak power grids or rely on expensive diesel power generation. Energy storage systems can directly reduce electricity expenses and fuel costs, and in grid-connected situations, they can participate in grid frequency and peak regulation to generate additional revenue. Second is the safety challenge: energy storage systems provide seamlessly switching emergency power for critical facilities to ensure safe production, and offer charging infrastructure and buffering for electric mining trucks, drilling rigs, etc., supporting the electrification transformation of the entire mine. Third is the carbon reduction challenge: from the perspective of policy and regulatory drivers, carbon taxes and carbon trading mechanisms in various countries are forcing mining enterprises to seek low-carbon solutions, such as renewable energy proportion requirements and government incentive policies in some countries. From the perspective of ESG and social responsibility drivers, pressure from investors, downstream customers and communities has prompted mining companies to set aggressive net-zero emission targets, and the "wind-solar-storage" integration solution has become the best path to meet the challenge.

Market forces are driving the rapid development of energy storage in the mining industry. From an economic perspective, the widening peak-valley electricity price difference in some regions globally has shortened the payback period of energy storage investments to 3-5 years. The high costs of diesel transportation and power generation have given the "photovoltaic + energy storage" combination a significant cost advantage in off-grid areas. Meanwhile, the cost of lithium batteries has dropped significantly over the past decade, with system integration and energy management technologies becoming increasingly mature, and technical reliability has improved. The mining energy storage market is in the early stage of rapid growth. The integrated "wind, solar and storage" solutions are quickly replacing diesel power generation, and large-scale deployment is expected in the next decade, especially in remote off-grid mining areas and regions with high electricity prices. According to GEPResearch data, the global market size for mining batteries exceeded $8.5 billion in 2025, with the Asia-Pacific region accounting for 52%, where China and Australia contributed the main growth. The import dependence of the North American market rose to 68%, and Southeast Asia has become an emerging supply hub. The compound annual growth rate is expected to remain above 12% in the next five years, transforming from the current niche market to mainstream applications.

Energy storage is becoming a strategic asset for mining giants. Energy storage has evolved from an optional technology in the mining industry to a strategic asset for achieving the threefold goals of "cost reduction, enhanced safety, and emission reduction". The in-depth application of energy storage technology marks the transformation of the mining industry from a traditional energy consumer to an efficient energy manager and a sustainable resource provider. System intelligence and digitalization, as well as artificial intelligence and Internet of Things technologies, will be used to optimize energy storage scheduling and predictive maintenance, maximizing the efficiency of the entire energy system chain. Energy storage systems are deeply integrated with mine electrification, and collaborate with intelligent charging networks for electric mining vehicles and regenerative braking energy recovery systems to form a closed-loop clean energy ecosystem in mines. The cycle of "energy metals" and "clean mining": the mining industry not only provides key raw materials for energy storage, but also realizes clean production through the application of energy storage, forming a positive cycle of sustainable development. Leading global enterprises have taken the lead in layout; for example, BHP, Rio Tinto, Barrick Gold, etc. have piloted or deployed energy storage projects in their multiple mining areas and incorporated them into their core emission reduction strategies.

The global energy storage cell shipments showed a booming trend in the first three quarters of 2025.

In November 2025, InfoLink, a leading global market intelligence and consulting firm in the renewable energy sector, released several reports focusing on the energy storage field. The core data disclosed in the reports intuitively shows the explosive growth momentum of the global energy storage industry: the global energy storage system shipments reached 286.35 GWh in the first three quarters of 2025, a year-on-year surge of 84.7%. Among them, the shipments in the third quarter exceeded 100 GWh for the first time in a single quarter, equivalent to 80% of the total annual shipments in 2023; the shipments of energy storage cells even reached 410.45 GWh, with a year-on-year increase of 98.5%, which far exceeded the previous market expectations. InfoLink predicts that the shipment volume of cells will approach 600 GWh in 2025 and reach 800 GWh in 2026.

Driven by the triple factors of "AI + policies + costs", the global energy storage demand has surged. In 2026, the global energy storage demand will increase by 40% year-on-year, with emerging markets such as the Middle East, Latin America, and Africa growing at a rate of 30%-50%. China's energy storage installed capacity is expected to reach 150 GWh in 2025, a year-on-year increase of 69%; by 2030, it will reach 666 GWh, a 3.4-fold increase compared to 2025. The global installed capacity will exceed 1045 GWh by 2030. Emerging scenarios are experiencing breakthrough growth. Energy storage in AIDC (Artificial Intelligence Data Centers) has become a new variable in the "first year of demand". The rigid demand for highly reliable power supply from computing facilities has promoted energy storage to upgrade from a "backup power source" to a "core infrastructure". China's "Action Plan for Large-scale Construction of New Energy Storage (2025 - 2027)" clearly sets the goal of adding more than 100 million kilowatts of installed capacity within three years. Policies in Europe and the United States such as the "Inflation Reduction Act" and the "Net Zero Industry Act" continue to release subsidy dividends, promoting the concentrated release of demand for energy storage allocation on the power generation side and peak shaving on the power grid side. The cost of energy storage batteries has dropped by 67% compared to 2022, with a theoretical electricity cost of only 0.12 yuan per kilowatt-hour. With the surge in demand, the long-term profit margin of Chinese energy storage enterprises is expected to rise from a low level to 10%-15%. China's peak-valley electricity price difference has expanded to more than 0.4 yuan per kilowatt-hour, and coupled with the capacity compensation mechanism, the internal rate of return of energy storage projects can reach 8%-16%, and the industry is shifting from "policy-driven" to "market-driven".

Currently, the triple-game is reshaping the industrial order. The report reveals that the market pattern is characterized by "the coexistence of head concentration and mid-segment scuffle", and the global energy storage industry is entering a period of in-depth restructuring. In terms of system integration, Chinese companies occupy 8 out of the top 10 global enterprises, and Tesla, Sungrow, and BYD have formed a "leading trio with a gap" pattern. Tesla maintains an absolute advantage of 34.6% in the residential energy storage market with its Powerwall (a home energy storage battery system launched by Tesla) series products; Sungrow, relying on the advantage of photovoltaic-storage synergy, accounts for 83% in overseas markets; BYD's vertical integration barrier is evident. With its 2710Ah blade battery and CTS technology (cell-to-system technology), it has achieved a 20% cost reduction, and its shipment share in the Middle East market in the first three quarters of 2025 increased by 18.1% year-on-year. The cell segment shows a new feature of "loosening of the top and rise of the middle segment", with the market share of the top 10 enterprises falling below 90% for the first time; 500Ah+ large cells have become the core focus of competition. Relying on the recovery of European and American markets, shipments of Korean cell manufacturers have picked up, and it is expected that they will return to the global top 10 in 2026, intensifying competition in the high-end market. In the first three quarters of 2025, Chinese enterprises achieved a year-on-year growth of 131.75% with 308 overseas orders and a scale of 214.7GWh, but they are facing dual challenges: first, Tesla and Fluence are laying out integration factories in Asia in an attempt to narrow the cost gap; second, the requirements for "localized production" in Europe and the United States are escalating. At present, leading cell manufacturers are shifting from "binding large customers" to diversifying their customer structure to avoid the profit trap of "lowering prices for volume"; system integrators are hedging against the risk of raw material fluctuations through long-term orders with fixed prices and vertical integration.

Growth certainty and risk factors coexist. According to a report by InfoLink, the global energy storage industry is experiencing an explosive growth with an average annual rate of 35%. The global shipments of energy storage systems reached 286.35 GWh in the first three quarters of 2025, a year-on-year increase of 84.7%. It is also predicted that the global energy storage installed capacity will exceed 2000 GWh by 2030. This scale is equivalent to three times the current total global power battery production capacity, highlighting that the energy storage industry has jumped from a supporting role in the energy sector to a core engine. The industry still needs to cross three key hurdles in the future: first, the hurdle of technological iteration. The commercialization progress of technologies such as 500Ah+ battery cells, grid-forming energy storage, and flow batteries will determine the ranking of enterprises' competitiveness; second, the hurdle of profit balance. The transmission mechanism between raw material prices and terminal electricity prices is not yet fully smooth, and enterprises need to improve profitability through technological cost reduction and model innovation (such as virtual power plants); third, the hurdle of global compliance. With the intensification of geopolitics and trade barriers, Chinese enterprises need to build an elastic layout of "local production + global supply chain", while American enterprises need to break through cost bottlenecks. This evolving "two-way approach" will reshape the global industrial landscape.

The development of regional markets is currently showing a diversified trend. The growth rate of emerging markets has surpassed that of the traditional markets in China and the United States. The production capacity of the Asian supply chain continues to be released, and its impact on costs and delivery schedules is becoming increasingly evident. The synergistic effect of photovoltaic and energy storage has been strengthened, with leading photovoltaic companies such as Canadian Solar and Trina Solar performing prominently in the field of energy storage integration. In terms of traditional markets, China, the United States and Europe remain the core markets for global energy storage, but their growth rates have been overtaken by emerging markets. Affected by policy uncertainties and tariff expectations, the U.S. market still maintained an installed capacity growth rate of over 20% in 2025. Europe showed a high-speed development trend with multiple countries such as Italy and Germany thriving. Among emerging markets, the Middle East and South America performed brilliantly. In particular, the installed capacity in the Middle East and Africa is expected to approach 13 GWh in 2025, a year-on-year increase of 381%. Projects such as BYD's 2.6 GWh and Sungrow's 7.8 GWh in Saudi Arabia have become major growth drivers, and most projects in this region were won by Chinese-funded enterprises. Markets in Southeast Asia, South Asia and other regions have become key areas for Chinese and American enterprises to deploy due to power supply gaps and new energy installation demand. Regional customized products and localized production have become the key to enterprise competition.

Energy storage systems have become the core driving force behind the upward cycle of the lithium industry.

Recently, several internationally renowned consulting firms have released research reports, which mainly focus on two main themes: the demand for energy storage driving the lithium market into a shortage, and the lithium price entering an upward cycle. They have provided detailed predictions based on the supply and demand pattern and corporate value.

Bernstein Research released "Global Energy Storage: 2026 Lithium Outlook" on December 8, 2025, pointing out that the dual-drive of "energy storage + new energy vehicles" has put lithium prices on a certain upward trajectory. Energy storage has become the key to the cyclical reversal and "the biggest variable in lithium demand growth". In 2025, the global demand for energy storage batteries reached 556 GWh, a year-on-year surge of 85%, driving the proportion of lithium demand in the energy storage sector to exceed 25% for the first time. It is expected that the demand for energy storage batteries will further climb to 1513 GWh by 2030, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 22%. By then, the proportion of lithium demand from energy storage will exceed 40%, officially replacing new energy vehicles as the largest demand driver. The lithium market has bottomed out in 2025 (the market has gained a firm foothold). In 2026, the global lithium market will shift from a tight balance to a substantial shortage, driving lithium prices into a two-year rising cycle. The report predicts that the price of battery-grade lithium carbonate will soar from $10,300 per ton in 2025 to $17,000 per ton in 2026 and $25,000 per ton in 2027, which is much higher than the expectations of the futures market and market consensus.

According to the report "Energy Storage Drives Lithium Prices into an Uptrend Cycle" released by UBS Group AG on December 12, 2025, the global lithium market will shift from a supply surplus in 2025 to a continuous shortage during 2026-2028. The core driver is the higher-than-expected demand for Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS). Lithium prices will start an upward trajectory from March 2026 and reach a peak in 2027. Global energy storage installations will reach 412 GWh and 544 GWh in 2026 and 2027 respectively, with year-on-year growth of 49% and 32%. Energy storage will become the largest source of incremental lithium demand, and the global lithium demand forecast by 2030 has been raised by 10%. Due to the long expansion cycle of lithium mines (3-5 years) coupled with the contraction of capital expenditures, the supply growth rate in 2026 will only be 17%, far lower than the demand growth rate of 29%. The supply-demand gaps from 2026 to 2028 will be 22,000 tons, 120,000 tons, and 80,000 tons of LCE respectively. UBS positions this round of market conditions as the third major upward cycle in the lithium industry. Compared with the 15-fold increase in spodumene prices in the previous cycle (2020-2023), this round is expected to reach a peak of 3,100 USD/ton from the low of 610 USD/ton for spodumene in mid-2025, with a potential increase of about 5 times. UBS predicts that the average tax-included price of Chinese battery-grade lithium carbonate will be 135,000 yuan/ton (approximately 18,900 USD/ton) in 2026, 200,000 yuan/ton (approximately 28,000 USD/ton) in 2027, and 180,000 yuan/ton (approximately 25,200 USD/ton) in 2028, which is 56%-79% higher than the market consensus.

Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE: GS) released a report titled "Lithium: Short-Term Energy Storage Demand Exceeds Expectations, Mid-Term Oversupply to Press Down Prices" on December 16, 2025. The core logic of the report is that "energy storage will only support lithium prices in the short term, while mid-term supply expansion will dominate the oversupply pattern", which is in significant divergence from the long-term upward judgments of UBS and Bernstein. The report raised its forecast for lithium prices in the first half of 2026, clearly stating that energy storage demand plays a core driving role. The explosive growth of the energy storage industry on the demand side has become the biggest variable. In 2025, energy storage accounted for 44% of the global growth in lithium demand, achieving a leapfrog increase from 3% in 2020. Coupled with the strengthening of domestic energy storage policies and the clear strategic positioning of power grids, it has formed rigid demand support. At the same time, the report stated that the demand for power batteries is growing steadily. In 2025, the penetration rate of domestic new energy vehicles exceeded 50% for the first time, and overseas markets are also recovering driven by subsidy policies. The dual engines have jointly pushed the growth rate of lithium demand to 9%. The short-term tightness on the supply side has further strengthened the tight balance between supply and demand. The temporary suspension of production of lithium mica mines in China has led to supply constraints, and overseas new production capacity is restricted by factors such as technical difficulties and environmental protection requirements, making it difficult to quickly alleviate the short-term gap. Based on this, the report raised its forecast for lithium carbonate prices in the first half of 2026 to $11,000 per ton, and pointed out that global lithium supply is expected to increase by 27% year-on-year in 2026, and the market will gradually loosen after the concentrated release of supply in the second half of the year.

According to the consensus of leading consulting institutions in the current industry, the structure of lithium demand has shifted from a "single engine of electric vehicles" to a "dual engine of electric vehicles and energy storage". The explosive growth of energy storage systems has become the core driving force behind the new upward cycle of the lithium industry and an important engine for the green transformation of the main business of metal mining enterprises. More importantly, new energy storage is a key investment area of the 100 billion yuan national venture capital guidance fund officially launched this year.

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