China’s operational new-type energy storage capacity reached 167 GW/435 GWh at the end of September 2026, up 63% year on year, according to National Energy Administration (NEA) figures released on October 30. The category covers electrochemical, compressed-air and other emerging storage systems, but excludes conventional pumped hydro.
Capacity growth
At the end of 2025, the fleet stood at 135.93 GW/351.12 GWh. The latest figures therefore indicate a net increase of about 31 GW/84 GWh during the first nine months of 2026. The NEA presented the data at its quarterly press conference on national energy developments.
Utilization and duration
Average storage duration rose to 2.61 hours, about 0.27 hours more than a year earlier. Equivalent utilization reached around 915 hours during the nine-month period, an increase of about 10 hours compared with the same period in 2025. The figures suggest that China’s storage expansion is being accompanied by gradual changes in system configuration and use, rather than growth in installed capacity alone.
Renewables and market structure
China’s combined wind and solar generating capacity exceeded 2.01 TW at the end of September, accounting for approximately 48.7% of total installed power capacity. As variable renewable generation expands, storage is increasingly needed to absorb surplus electricity, shift generation to higher-demand periods and provide fast-response grid services, according to the NEA.
The NEA said policy support, technological innovation, industrial supply chains and growing demand for power-system flexibility have supported new-type storage development. Official 2025 figures showed that independent storage facilities accounted for 51.2% of cumulative new-type installations. Projects rated at 100 MW or above represented 72% of installed capacity, while systems with durations of at least four hours accounted for 27.6%. Lithium-ion batteries remained dominant at about 96% of installed new-type storage capacity, while compressed-air, flow batteries and other technologies are gradually expanding their presence.
Reforms and targets
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, gradually 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 operational efficiency.
Regional example
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. The example shows how storage can provide short-term balancing capacity in systems with high renewable penetration. For other countries expanding wind and solar generation, China’s deployment offers experience in large-scale storage manufacturing, grid integration and centralized dispatch.