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Main route and business model of household energy storage battery
Household energy storage battery material system
Lithium iron phosphate is the main route, and sodium-ion batteries may also be promoted in the future.
Lithium-ion battery: The positive electrode uses lithium iron phosphate as the main route. Ternary lithium batteries have high energy density and power density, but the cost is high and the safety is relatively weak. The performance of lithium iron phosphate batteries has a high degree of adaptation to energy storage needs.
Its safety performance is excellent, its cycle life is long, the metal resources used are abundant, its cost is low, and it is environmentally friendly. It may become one of the main choices for energy storage batteries. According to the data, in 2019, lithium iron phosphate batteries accounted for 95.5% of China’s power storage battery shipments and 41% of global home storage lithium battery shipments;
At this stage, as Chinese battery companies gain a higher share in household storage batteries, and giant energy storage batteries such as Tesla and LG in top 5 energy storage battery companies turn to iron-lithium solutions, lithium iron phosphate batteries are expected to become the mainstream route for household energy storage batteries.
Sodium-ion battery: a cost-effective alternative with potential for promotion. In terms of performance, the energy density of sodium-ion batteries is lower than that of lithium batteries, and the cycle life is similar, but the safety and high and low temperature performance are better;
From the perspective of cost and resource availability, sodium is abundant, and the material cost of sodium-ion batteries can be reduced by 30-40% compared with lithium batteries. Therefore, sodium-ion batteries are expected to be popularized and applied in the field of energy storage that does not require high energy density but requires higher safety and cost control.
Household energy storage battery cell form
It has not yet been finalized, and the cylindrical and soft package routes may become the first choice under the trend of small capacity. Cylinder, soft package and other routes are selected by the company. The scale of household energy storage systems is usually at the level of 5-10kWh. Large cylindrical batteries (single capacity 10Ah-50Ah), square (50Ah-300Ah), and soft packs (30Ah-80Ah) are all selected by the company.
At present, the battery packaging route adopted by household storage has not been finalized. Small-capacity batteries may become the mainstream of household energy storage. At present, the European household storage market is undergoing an iteration from low-voltage to high-voltage products. The high-voltage platform can reduce the current, thereby controlling the heat generation of the system and improving the discharge efficiency.
When the capacity of the energy storage system remains unchanged, the capacity of the battery cell corresponding to the high-voltage system decreases. For example, the energy storage cells of the low-voltage platform are mostly 100Ah, and the high-voltage platform gradually transitions to 50Ah. Small-capacity batteries below 100Ah will have a longer life cycle in the field of household storage.
Under the trend of capacity batteries, cylindrical and pouch batteries with relatively smaller monomer capacity, flexible mass production, and more uniform specifications may become mainstream batteries for household storage.
The business models of major players include selling batteries, battery systems, and integrated machines. At present, there are three main forms of international mainstream lithium battery companies participating in the household storage track: providing batteries to integrators, providing battery systems (battery + BMS) to installers, or directly provide end customers with integrated energy storage machines integrating batteries and inverters.
Major household energy storage battery companies in China
The business model is mainly to provide batteries and battery systems.
Paineng Technology: The main products are battery systems. The company focuses on energy storage batteries and adopts the soft-pack battery route, which is mainly used in household storage scenarios and sold to regional distributors or integrators.
The company’s business focuses on markets outside of China, and in the first half of 2022, business revenue in other countries will account for 81%. The company’s energy storage battery modules are well compatible with different brands of converters, and have a certain market position in the European market. Sonnen, the leading household savings system in Germany, is one of the company’s customers.
Geatpower Energy: Household storage products are mainly batteries. Geatpower’s products include power and energy storage batteries, and its strategic direction focuses on energy storage. In the first half of 2022, energy storage batteries accounted for 50% of revenue, and home storage business (including household storage and portable power station) accounted for 70% of energy storage business revenue. Here are the top 100 portable power station companies for your reference.
According to Geatpower announcement, Geatpower’s household storage batteries are mainly sold to Europe and Australia, and are trying to enter the North American market; Geatpower’s household storage customers include Sungrow, Arlo, Sanjing, RCT, Deye, Zhenghao, Bulls, etc.
CATL: The company has household storage cells and battery system products, but the main sales model is unknown. CATL is the leader of energy storage batteries in China. According to data, CATL’s energy storage battery shipments accounted for 60% of Chinese manufacturers in 2020.
CATL energy storage batteries are mainly used in large-scale energy storage systems on the power generation side or grid side. There is no public information on the shipment scale and business proportion of household storage batteries. According to the CATL energy storage product manual, the company has energy storage cylindrical cells, battery modules and other products.
BYD: Household storage products include battery systems and all-in-one machines. BYD’s household storage products include all-in-one Energy Pod, battery system HVM, etc., all of which use lithium iron phosphate batteries, and use a modular design for easy expansion.
BYD products already have a place in the German market. In 2020, the company’s household storage products accounted for 19% of the German market, second only to the leader Sonnen (21%).
Major household energy storage battery companies in other countries
The business model is mainly based on battery systems and all-in-one machines.
Panasonic: It is Tesla’s battery supplier and has launched its own all-in-one product. Panasonic is Tesla’s largest power battery supplier, and the two parties have a long history of cooperation. Gigafactory 1, Tesla’s main battery production base, is jointly built and operated by Panasonic and Tesla.
Tesla’s home storage product powerwall battery also uses batteries jointly developed with Panasonic. In 2019, Panasonic launched EverVolt, a home storage all-in-one product, which is mainly sold in the North American market.
LG: Household storage products are mainly battery systems. LG’s household storage battery system RESU uses ternary lithium batteries, with 48V low-voltage products and 400V high-voltage products, and there are various options for capacity specifications such as 6.5/9.8/13kWh.
Sonnen: The household storage product is an all-in-one machine. Sonnen is Germany’s leading lithium battery manufacturer and the largest residential energy storage company in Europe. Sonnen ECO is a household storage all-in-one machine with a built-in converter, using 2.5kWh lithium iron phosphate modules provided by Pyener or Sony.
Tesla: All-in-one household storage products. Tesla Powerwall is an integrated product with a built-in converter, which has a very high market share and popularity in the United States. Powerwall 2 uses a 21700 ternary lithium battery jointly developed with Panasonic and uses an advanced liquid cooling system for thermal management.
