Energy storage industry is booming, large power bank market is vast
Portable power station vs home energy storage
Home energy storage refers to large household energy storage equipment with a charge of more than 3 kWh. Portable power station devices, also known as large power banks and outdoor power supplies. Strictly speaking, it is a small energy storage product like mobile phone batteries and ordinary power banks. However, it is not the same as home energy storage, and the product categories, application scenarios and business models of the two are significantly different.
The capacity of portable power station is generally in the range of 1000-3000Wh, which can only be used by an induction cooker with a power of about 2000W for 1.5 hours. It is mainly used in outdoor activities such as camping, photography, fishing, and emergency scenarios such as earthquakes and fires. Home energy storage refers to large-scale home energy storage equipment with a capacity of more than 3000Wh, which is mainly used in off-grid household self-generation, power storage backup and peak-valley electricity price arbitrage.
Higher capacity naturally means higher selling price. According to Hello Tech’s prospectus, the average unit price of its portable power station products is 2,759 RMB, and the average price of the product series with the largest capacity (≥1,000Wh) is 5,738 RMB. Home energy storage, such as Tesla’s home battery pack, the Powerwall, sells for about 48,600 RMB.
Due to different product categories, the business models of portable power station and home energy storage are significantly different. Portable power station is cheap, more consumer electronics, and can be more easily sold through e-commerce. However, home energy storage not only has a high price, but also has higher requirements for safety. Therefore, it requires the cooperation of local distributors and installers, which requires relevant manufacturers to deploy offline channels.
Click on the picture to learn about portable power station products
Home energy storage and portable power station market differences are huge
There are significant differences between portable power station and home energy storage. In almost all business models, the industry track is the first step, and it is the basis for all subsequent realizations. From the perspective of downstream markets, there are significant differences in market size between portable power station and home energy storage. As mentioned above, portable energy storage is mainly used in outdoor activities and emergency scenarios. Therefore, its main consumer markets are located in the United States, Japan and Europe.
The consumer groups are scattered and small, especially the United States, which has a high penetration rate of outdoor activities, accounting for nearly half of the market share. The development of home energy storage is mainly due to the support of government subsidies and the economic improvement (peak-valley arbitrage) brought about by high electricity prices. Especially in the European market, due to the rising electricity prices, the Russian-Ukrainian war, and the impact of the energy crisis, this year’s home energy storage market has achieved an unexpected outbreak.
Due to more rigid demand and wider application, the market size of home energy storage will also be larger. Our website has organized top 5 home energy storage system countries, mainly introducing the development of home energy storage in these countries. It is estimated that the scale of the global home energy storage industry in 2025 is estimated to be about 111.7 billion RMB based on an average annual cost reduction of 5% of the energy storage system. The development of the portable power station market always has to face the problem of niche demand. Its future market space mainly comes from the needs of outdoor sports and lightweight emergency disaster preparedness. At present, there is a lot of controversy in the market for the development of portable power station.
However, some institutions believe that portable power station will always be a niche market with limited size, and the demand for portable power station in countries that are not keen on outdoor sports will always be very limited. Although the development of the outdoor market in many countries is still in its infancy. For example, the proportion of the population participating in outdoor activities in China is only 9.5%, which is far lower than about 50% in the United States. It seems that there is a lot of room for improvement, but the lifestyle of Chinese residents may not be able to evolve like the European and American markets.
In addition, the rapid outbreak of portable energy storage in the past two years is largely due to the increase in demand for outdoor activities under the epidemic – self-driving tours, camping, picnics, photography, etc. It is doubtful that demand will last as the pandemic fades. Hello Tech’s growth also saw a notable deceleration. In the first half of this year, its revenue increased by 35.77% year-on-year, and its net profit increased by 2.2% year-on-year. Compared with the doubling of the past two years, the growth rate has slowed down significantly.
Hello Tech is one of the top 100 portable power station companies in China, which started with a power bank, also has plans to enter the home energy storage track. However, household energy storage has a larger charge capacity and has higher requirements for safety. Its household energy storage system has certain technical thresholds on components such as cells, PCS, and power modules. If you want to cut into this track, both in terms of technology and channel construction, it is not difficult.
Strong competition in portable power station industry
Different market segments and segmented tracks also mean different industry patterns and competitive strengths. From the perspective of the industry structure, the technical threshold of the home energy storage track is higher, and the competition situation is relatively moderate. Home energy storage products are mainly sold overseas, and overseas channel certification is complicated and the cycle is long. Energy storage manufacturers often build good channel relationships with downstream integrators and installers, and it is not easy to form vicious competition.
In contrast, the threshold for the portable power station track is lower, more companies are involved, and the industry competition is gradually moving towards the Red Sea. The composition of portable energy storage products is relatively simple, and there are no high technical barriers. For example, Hello Tech’s cells, inverters, structural parts, and solar panels all rely on external procurement. Its R&D expense rate in 2021 is only 2.8%, less than half of Pylontech’s.
Pylontech not only produces its own special cells for energy storage, but also has independent research and development and manufacturing capabilities for core components of energy storage such as cells, modules, battery management systems, and energy management systems. The maturity of the foundry industry chain also makes it easier for new companies to quickly enter the portable power station track. This is far from good news for existing companies. The leading companies on the portable power station track have generally been established for only a few years.
They have a certain first-mover advantage, but it is difficult to talk about how high the brand barriers and market barriers are. If competition intensifies, Hello Tech’s future growth will inevitably be hit by competition. Especially in the face of leading companies, the current market size of the portable power station track of nearly 10 billion is not enough for the giants to mobilize too many resources. Once the market expands rapidly, giants start to bet heavily on this track, and the existing market pattern may be rewritten.
