Hithium Energy Storage announced on June 3 at the 19th International Solar Photovoltaic and Smart Energy Exhibition (SNEC 2026) that its long-duration energy storage capacity exceeds 70GWh, with delivery expected in 2027. Product Director Ye Zi stated that long-duration energy storage (LDES) is transitioning from small-scale demonstration to ultra-large-scale single-station applications as increasingly large storage projects emerge globally. This shift reflects energy storage's evolution from a grid auxiliary device to a critical foundation of new power systems, driven by rapid wind and solar installation growth over the past decade. China has issued multiple policies encouraging large-capacity LDES technology scaling, including the National Development and Reform Commission and National Energy Administration's August 2025 action plan for new energy storage scale construction from 2025 to 2027, which explicitly supports exploration of multi-technology hybrid and long-duration storage applications.
LDES Industry Transitions from Grid Auxiliary to Critical Infrastructure
Ye Zi outlined the industry's evolution across nearly 25 years: the initial 15-year period under traditional energy dominance saw small-scale exploration with storage primarily serving as grid auxiliary services. The past decade witnessed explosive growth as storage began pairing with renewable energy to address consumption issues amid rapid wind and solar installation expansion. Ye Zi projected that "long-duration storage will spiral upward alongside wind and solar installations" over the coming decades.
Long-duration energy storage (LDES) refers to systems capable of continuous charge-discharge cycles exceeding 4 hours, though no unified international standard exists for the duration threshold. Compared to short-duration storage, LDES offers advantages in longer time scales, larger storage capacity, and lower unit costs. LDES can achieve power regulation spanning intraday long-duration, cross-day, cross-week, cross-month, and even cross-seasonal periods. Large-scale LDES can substantially reduce levelized cost of storage (LCOS).
Technical Challenges and Economic Viability of Long-Duration Storage
Ye Zi identified three core challenges in LDES development beyond simply extending duration: high reliability, high integration, and extreme delivery capability required for large-scale power station deployment. These challenges impose three requirements on the industry: significantly reducing the number of integrated cells per station, continuously improving system integration, and synchronously upgrading manufacturing and delivery capabilities.
Regarding economic viability, Ye Zi analyzed that domestic 4-hour project installation volume is growing rapidly. Combined with capacity pricing rules across provinces, 4-hour-plus storage offers superior returns. "From the customer perspective, whether 8-hour charge-discharge duration makes sense depends on region and scenario. In areas with high wind-solar penetration rates and 6-hour or even 8-hour negative electricity prices, 8-hour systems deliver better returns than short-duration storage." Ye Zi emphasized that 8-hour systems' significance extends beyond optimal LCOS to contributing to grid stability as part of power infrastructure and meeting partial cross-day demand—value that cannot be measured purely economically.
From a technical composition perspective, current LDES remains dominated by compressed air, thermal storage, and flow batteries. Hithium is among the primary players advancing lithium-based LDES and is considered the most "aggressive" representative in the market. In its third year after establishment, the company pioneered long-duration storage deployment when LDES had not yet become industry consensus.
Hithium Releases 1300Ah Cells and 6.9MWh System for 8-Hour Storage
In December 2024, Hithium released ∞Cell 1175Ah/587Ah large-capacity cells and matching 6.25MWh system, achieving mass production and global delivery in the following year. In December 2025, Hithium further released the world's first native 8-hour long-duration storage solution—∞Power8 6.9MW/55.2MWh, the world's first 8-hour long-duration storage-specific cell ∞Cell 1300Ah 8h, and the world's first lithium-sodium collaborative AIDC full-duration storage solution ∞Power Solutions for AI Data Center.
At SNEC 2026, Hithium exhibited the ∞Power 6.9MWh system physical unit. The system employs 1300Ah long-duration storage-specific cells with native design at the cell level, achieving over 6.9MWh capacity and 8-hour stable output within a 20-foot standard container. System design life reaches 25 years, supporting side-by-side and back-to-back flexible deployment to effectively reduce power station land area and construction costs.
Beyond bringing the 6.9MWh system physical unit into the exhibition hall, Hithium unveiled ∞Cell 650Ah large-capacity storage batteries and publicly presented the ∞Power 10+MWh product plan for the first time.
Hithium Plans 70GWh+ Capacity with 2027 Delivery Timeline
Regarding the company's current production capacity for 8-hour long-duration storage systems and large-scale mass production deployment timeline, Ye Zi responded on-site that Hithium has planned long-duration storage integrated zero-carbon production bases in Chongqing and Heze, Shandong, with designed capacity planning exceeding 70GWh and delivery expected in 2027.
Global Energy Storage Shipments Reach 612.39 GWh in 2025
According to statistics released by InfoLink, global energy storage cell shipments in 2025 reached 612.39 GWh, up 94.59% year-on-year. Annual shipments showed quarter-over-quarter upward trends, with fourth-quarter single-quarter shipments breaking through 200 GWh. Industry concentration CR10 stood at 88.8%, falling below 90% for two consecutive quarters, indicating significant volume increases from second- and third-tier manufacturers and industry prosperity spreading from leading manufacturers across the entire sector. Hithium ranked second on this shipment volume list, displacing the previous year's runner-up EVE Energy (300014.SZ).
BloombergNEF Forecasts 8.1GW LDES Installations in 2026
From the long-duration storage industry development perspective, BloombergNEF in a report released in March stated that last year held critical significance for long-duration storage: new installations reached historical highs, reserve projects expanded rapidly, and an increasing number of markets strengthened policy support. However, current LDES deployment remains concentrated in a few mature intraday technologies, primarily compressed air storage and flow batteries. The report concluded that future technology pathways vary by market, but compressed air technology is becoming the primary choice in multiple major regions.
The report forecast that 2026 represents a turning point for long-duration storage applications, with global new installations surging to 8.1GW/35.4GWh, nearly triple 2025 levels. As more markets deploy LDES to support deep decarbonization of the power sector, new installations are projected to break through 10GW by 2030 and achieve further scaling growth in the mid-2030s as technology matures and supply chains become more complete.
FAQ
What did Hithium announce at SNEC 2026 on June 3?
Hithium announced that its long-duration energy storage capacity exceeds 70GWh with delivery expected in 2027. Product Director Ye Zi stated that LDES is transitioning from small-scale demonstration to ultra-large-scale single-station applications. At the exhibition, Hithium exhibited the ∞Power 6.9MWh system physical unit and unveiled ∞Cell 650Ah large-capacity storage batteries plus the ∞Power 10+MWh product plan.
What are the three core challenges in long-duration storage development?
Ye Zi identified three core challenges: high reliability, high integration, and extreme delivery capability required for large-scale power station deployment. These challenges impose three requirements: significantly reducing the number of integrated cells per station, continuously improving system integration, and synchronously upgrading manufacturing and delivery capabilities.
What did BloombergNEF forecast for global LDES installations in 2026?
BloombergNEF forecast in a March report that 2026 represents a turning point for long-duration storage applications, with global new installations surging to 8.1GW/35.4GWh, nearly triple 2025 levels. The report projected new installations will break through 10GW by 2030 and achieve further scaling growth in the mid-2030s as technology matures and supply chains become more complete.
