Market research report of portable battery energy storage

Portable battery energy storage power supply, referred to as “outdoor power supply”, is a small portable power supply device with built-in lithium-ion battery that replaces traditional small fuel generators. It has the characteristics of large capacity, high power, safety and portability，It can provide a power supply system with stable AC/DC voltage output, the battery capacity is 100Wh-3000Wh, equipped with AC, DC, Type-C, USB, PD and other interfaces, which can match the mainstream electronic equipment on the market, suitable for outdoor travel, Emergency disaster relief, medical rescue, outdoor operations and other scenarios.

In 2016, only 52,000 portable battery energy storage devices were shipped globally, and it is reach 4.838 million units in 2021, with a compound annual growth rate of 148%. In terms of market size, the global portable energy storage market in 2016 was only 60 million rmb, and the market size is expected to reach 11.13 billion rmb in 2021. Looking ahead, it is expected that the global shipments and market size of portable battery energy storage will reach 31.1 million units and 88.23 billion rmb respectively in 2026.

1.Analysis of the development status of the global portable battery energy storage industry

Shipment of global portable battery energy storage

In recent years, while the popularity of mobile smart terminal applications such as mobile phones and tablet computers has continued to increase, it has become a trend to seek freedom and closeness to nature outdoor life, and the demand for outdoor electricity is increasing. Stability is affected, and emergency backup power has gradually become an important backup in family life.

In the past, small fuel-fired generators were mainly used for power supply outdoors and in emergency situations. However, fuel-fired generators are noisy, complicated to operate and pollute the environment. Therefore, the portable energy storage industry based on clean energy technologies such as lithium batteries is gradually emerging. At the same time, driven by the development of new energy vehicles, the upstream lithium-ion battery industry has matured, and the portable battery energy storage industry has developed rapidly. In 2016, only 52,000 portable energy storage devices were shipped globally, and it is expected to reach 4.838 million units in 2021, with a compound annual growth rate of 148%.

Fig 1. Global portable battery energy storage Shipments， 10,000 units

Scale of global portable battery energy storage

Portable battery energy storage only started in 2018. Although the industry has developed for a short period of time, it is green and pollution-free, safe and portable, easy to operate, no noise, large capacity, high power, can output AC and DC at the same time, adaptability Extensive and many other advantages, it accurately matches the consumption pain points of the power demand market in the new era, covering almost all commonly used electrical and electronic equipment, and is widely used in many fields such as outdoor travel and emergency equipment, and the market scale is growing rapidly. In 2016, the global market size of portable energy storage was only 60 million rmb, and it is expected that the market size will reach 11.13 billion rmb in 2021.

Fig 2. Scale of global portable battery energy storage, 100million

The distribution of major producing countries and regions of portable battery energy storage

Portable battery energy storage products are manufactured products and are sensitive to the cost of upstream components including batteries, electronic components, inverters, and structural components, as well as labor costs. China’s supply is relatively sufficient, and it has certain advantages in the supply of raw materials and components. At the same time, China’s consumer electronics manufacturing industry has complete upstream and downstream facilities and complete infrastructure. The manufacturing industry is comprehensive in cost, technology, quality, and supporting industrial chains in the global industrial chain. The advantage is obvious.

Therefore, the global portable battery energy storage factories are mainly distributed in China, accounting for more than 90% of the production and shipments. The second is the demand of the application market. As the largest application market, the United States and Japan have spawned some private brands, occupying a small part of the market, but some of its brands, such as Goal Zero, choose to use the production model of Chinese enterprises, and some other brands It also adopts the mode of independent research and development and production.

Fig 3.The global distribution of major producing countries and regions of portable battery energy storage in the world in 2020

The main sales countries and regional distribution of portable battery energy storage in the world

From the perspective of sales, at present, the United States is the world’s largest application market for portable energy storage, mainly due to the high proportion of American users’ outdoor travel, which is close to 50%. The shipments in the field of outdoor activities are about 800,000 units, the shipments in the emergency field are less than 100,000 units, and the shipments in other application areas are about 100,000 units.

The second is Japan, which accounts for 29.6% of the application side in the global emergency field, mainly due to the frequent occurrence of disasters such as earthquakes in Japan, and the high demand for emergency portable power supply equipment. In 2020, about 500,000 units will be shipped in the emergency field, while shipments of outdoor applications are relatively small, only about 50,000 units, and there are also some shipments in other fields.

In Europe, Canada and other places, the main demand is still mainly for outdoor activities and emergency. However, because the European region chooses more light travel methods such as bicycles, there is less demand for portable power supply.

At present, the outdoor market in China is still in its infancy. With the continuous development of China’s economy, the degree of urbanization and per capita consumption capacity are further improved, outdoor consumption habits are becoming more and more mature, and the market of portable battery energy storage has huge potential.

Fig 4.The main sales countries and regional distribution of portable battery energy storage in the world in 2022

2.Analysis of the development status of china’s portable battery energy storage industry

Shipment of portable energy storage products in china

The portable energy storage industry in China is an industry with obvious export-oriented characteristics. More than 90% of the industry’s output is exported. It is the world’s largest manufacturer and exporter of portable energy storage. Thanks to the rapid development of new energy vehicle, energy storage and upstream lithium battery industries, the portable battery energy storage field has grown rapidly.

In 2016, the total shipment of portable energy storage in China was 48,000 units. Tthe total shipment reach 4.388 million units in 2021, with a compound growth rate of 146%. With the further development of the economy and the further reduction of product costs, the market penetration rate of portable energy storage products will continue to increase, and the market space will be broad.

Fig 5. Shipment of portable energy storage  in china, ten thousand units

Output value of china’s portable energy storage products

Since most of the world’s portable energy storage products are produced in China, the Chinese market is mainly analyzed from the output value. Affected by the development of the lithium battery industry, the portable battery energy storage output value in China has grown rapidly, and the total output value is expected to reach 9.22 billion rmb in 2021. With the pull of the downstream application market, the industry will continue to maintain high growth.

Fig 6. Output value of china’s portable energy storage, 100 million rmb

3.Analysis of the competitive landscape of portable battery energy storage industry

Changes in the share of products with different capacities

Judging from the market share of products with different capacities, the current market is dominated by products with a capacity of 100-500Wh, accounting for about 50% of the market, and the market share of low-capacity products with a capacity of 500-1000Wh has increased. About 40%, while the market share of products with a capacity of more than 1000Wh can always account for a small proportion, but it still shows a trend of increasing every year, and with the improvement of the energy density of upstream cells and the control of battery costs, the high capacity of portable energy storage products will continue to increase.

Fig 7. Trend of product shares of different capacities from 2016 to 2021

The changing trend of the share of different application fields

Judging from the market share of different application fields from 2016 to 2021, the outdoor application field is still the main application scenario, with a market share of more than 40%. The second is the emergency field. With the frequent occurrence of extreme weather around the world, in areas with frequent natural disasters such as earthquakes, tsunamis, hurricanes, fires, and blizzards, portable battery energy storage can solve the problem of power shortages such as power shortages, power outages, and emergency rescue.

The further increase in the demand for emergency power backup by users and emergency rescue will drive the shipment of portable energy storage in the emergency field, and its market share will also increase, reaching more than 40%. In other fields such as car chargers, DIY, and power shortages, as the cost of lithium batteries decreases and users’ purchasing power increases, the market share of other fields will also increase.

Fig 8. Share change trend of different application sectors 

Changes in the share of different sales channels

Portable energy storage products are consumer electronic products. At present, almost all portable battery energy storage brand companies adopt a combined online and offline model to achieve global sales, of which online sales are their main sales channels. From 2016 to 2018, online sales accounted for less than 50%. Since the outbreak of the “new crown” epidemic in 2020, the global online consumption habits have accelerated, and the increasing popularity of consumption habits will contribute to the global development of the portable energy storage industry. In 2021, the proportion of online sales of global portable battery energy storage has exceeded 80%.

Fig 9. Change trend of share of different sales channels from 2016 to 2021

Market share of major portable battery energy storage enterprises

From the perspective of enterprise shipments, Hello tech has the largest market share, accounting for 16.6% of the market in 2020, followed by Ecoflow, Poweroak and Anker Innovation. Among global enterprises, Goal Zero has the largest market share. Its main It is manufactured by Highpower Technology and Boliwei in China. From the perspective of corporate operating income, Hello tech is still ranked first, occupying more than 20% of the market share. It is expected that the market share will increase to 22% in 2021.

Since some battery companies, power companies and power bank manufacturers also have the technical foundation and ability to enter the market, there are many small and medium-sized enterprises in the entire portable energy storage market, and the price of products of portable battery energy storage varies greatly with different capacities. And most of the bottom companies have small-capacity products, and most of them enter the market through low-price competition. Therefore, the top five companies in the industry occupy about 50% of the market share, and as the volume and price of the leading companies rise, the industry concentration will be further promote.

Fig 10. Competition pattern of global portable energy storage enterprises in 2020 (left/shipments, right/revenue)

4.Development characteristics of portable battery energy storage industry in 2021

The rise in the price of raw materials leads to the rise in the price of portable battery energy storage cells

Since 2021, downstream industries such as new energy vehicles and energy storage have grown beyond expectations. The upstream cathode, anode, electrolyte and other raw materials continue to be in short supply, and the cost of batteries has directly increased, resulting in a general rise in battery cell prices, with an increase of 5%-15%. The current NMC (811) battery price is nearly $110/kWh, and the price of Q4 will be $10 higher than that of Q1 per kWh. The price of lithium iron phosphate batteries in China, known for their high cost performance, has also risen by 10%-20% since September.

BYD and other first-tier manufacturers have also begun to renegotiate prices with contracted customers. The price of lithium batteries is expected to rise by about 20%. The price of first-tier battery manufacturers in 2022 may continue to rise, resulting in increased pressure on the cost side of portable energy storage.

The entry of a large number of enterprises leads to fierce competition in the industry

At present, the portable energy storage industry is gradually emerging, and it is still in the early stage of industry development. With the gradual decline of the cost of lithium batteries, the market profitability of portable energy storage has gradually become clear. In recent years, the average annual growth rate of the portable battery energy storage whole industry has reached more than 200%, and the industry has entered a period of rapid development.

Affected by the continuous change of fast charging technologies such as mobile phones and tablets, and the increasing popularity of outdoor travel, mobile power supplies have been unable to meet the diverse needs of users. As an emerging market segment, portable battery energy storage is gradually being used more and more. The attention of the manufacturers of mobile power, Yubo, Pinsheng and other mobile power companies seized the opportunity of industry development and moved to the portable battery energy storage and other markets, and quickly occupied a certain market share.

In addition, a large number of digital accessories companies have begun to take advantage of their own accessories supply to enter the portable battery energy storage domain. Due to the entry of a large number of enterprises, the competition in the portable energy storage industry has intensified, and the competition for product homogeneity is fierce. Some manufacturers have begun to win with price advantages, and product quality and price are uneven.

The long tail effect of the portable energy storage industry is obvious

With the acceleration of global intelligence, the increasing popularity of IoT terminal equipment, smart phones and tablet computers, notebooks, drones and other intelligent terminals, the number of smart terminals per capita has grown rapidly, and people’s demand for portable power will continue to increase. Portable energy storage products can be used in many fields such as home backup, outdoor travel, emergency rescue, and portable power supply.

The demand scenarios are rich, the user group is large, and the industry’s long tail effect is obvious. It has great market demand and market potential. With the influence of factors such as product improvement, brand fermentation, and consumption habits, the penetration rate of portable energy storage commodity will continue to increase.

There are many OEM and ODM manufacturers in the portable energy storage industry”

China is a global manufacturing factory. The upstream electronics manufacturing industry has a long-term advantage in the division of labor in the global trade industry chain. The upstream manufacturing industry of portable energy storage products has obvious comprehensive advantages in the global industry chain in terms of cost, technology, quality, and supporting industry chain. From the perspective of industry trends, both China’s ODM manufacturers and OEM manufacturers will only move towards the high end in the manufacturing field.

Among them, Dibico is a well-known fast charging power source manufacturer in China, and has become an ODM/OEM supplier of many well-known brands. On the one hand, the raw materials of the portable battery energy storage include batteries, electronic components, inverters, structural parts, etc. The supply in the Chinese market is relatively sufficient, and it has certain advantages in the supply of raw materials.

On the other hand, consumer electronics manufacturing industry in China has complete upstream and downstream facilities, complete infrastructure, and continuous optimization of the business environment, which is conducive to the overall development of the industry chain. In the medium and long term, China will continue to maintain its OEM advantage. Global shipments of its portable energy storage will still be dominated by Chinese factories.

5.Prediction of development trend of portable battery energy storage industry

Demand forecast in the field of outdoor activities

In terms of the scale of outdoor activities, outdoor leisure includes camping, rv, road trip, mobile phone, computer, tablet, uav, lighting, photography and many other scenes.

Field scale from outdoor activities, outdoor recreation, including camping, rv, road trips, mobile phone, computer, tablet, unmanned aerial vehicles, lighting, photography, and many other scenarios. It is expected in the outdoor activities in the future market, still give priority to with outdoor leisure, while outdoor work with more high volume products will also occupy a certain share. It is estimated that by 2026, the new demand for outdoor activities will reach 13.55 million units.

Fig 11.Forecast of new demand for outdoor activities: 10,000 units

From the perspective of the total outdoor activity market space, it is estimated that the number of outdoor activity households in the world will be about 150 million in 2021, and the market penetration rate is only 2.3%. It is estimated that the total number of outdoor activity households will reach 193 million in 2026. According to the life cycle of portable battery energy storage equipment is 3 years, the outdoor activity market penetration rate will reach 15.9%.

Fig 12. Number of outdoor households and portable battery energy storage penetration forecast, 10,000 households, %

From different parts of the demand quantity, outdoor activities are mainly composed of the United States. The permeability of ascension, as the market is expected in 2026, the United States outdoor activities new demand will reach 6 million units, the Chinese market gradually improve, around 2.6 million, the European market has reached around 1.65 million units, while Japan because there are part of the common field of outdoor activities and emergency needs, As a result, new demand in the outdoor sector alone is only about 1.3 million units.

Fig 13. Forecast of new demand for outdoor activities in different regions, 10,000 units

Demand prediction of emergency electricity consumption scenarios

Take Japan, a country with a high risk of disasters, for example. In September 2018, the east Hokkaido earthquake caused a power outage in the entire Hokkaido region, resulting in direct economic losses of more than 150 billion yen. In September 2018, Typhoon Tamai caused power outages to more than 70,000 households in Okinawa Prefecture. Portable energy storage products can solve the power shortage problems such as power shortage in disasters, power failure and emergency rescue, and can be combined with solar panels to form a small solar power generation system, which can realize continuous off-grid power generation for post-disaster life and guarantee the basic living needs of victims in the case of post-disaster power grid paralysis and destruction.

In 2019, Japan Disaster Prevention Association has listed portable battery energy storage as disaster prevention and safety materials certification products. In the future, with the gradual popularization of emergency backup power and the gradual substitution of portable energy storage products for small oil-fired generators, portable battery energy storage products will have a broader demand space in the emergency preparedness market. Global demand for emergency response is expected to reach 11.55 million units by 2026.

Fig 14. Projected new demand in the global emergency response sector, 10,000 units

In 2021, the total number of households in the global emergency storage syatem domain will be about 110 million, with a market penetration rate of only 3%. It is expected that the total number will reach 140 million households by 2026, and the market penetration rate of the emergency response sector will reach 19.4% based on the three-year life cycle of portable ebattery nergy storage facility.

Fig 15. Overall market space and portable energy storage market penetration rate in the emergency sector: 10,000 households, %

In terms of the demand quantity in different regions, due to the particularity of the region and the formation of consumption habits, Japan still dominates in the field of emergency electricity. With the improvement of market penetration, it is expected that in 2026, the new demand for emergency electricity in Japan will reach 3.3 million units, and that in the United States will reach about 2 million units. In addition to 1.9 million units in China and 1.2 million units in Europe, countries such as Africa and South Asia are expected to add more than 400,000 units, and other countries and regions are expected to add more than 2.3 million units in the emergency sector.

Fig 16. Forecast of new demand for emergency electricity in different regions from 2021 to 2026, 10000 units

Demand prediction in other application fields

In addition to outdoor activities and emergency power consumption scenarios, it can also be used in various fields such as car charging, DIY and electricity consumption in areas lacking power. As the cost performance of products improves, the penetration of other areas will also increase. By 2026, additional demand for portable battery energy storage in other sectors is expected to reach 6 million units, increasing the market penetration rate to 8.3%.

Fig 17. Additional demand and penetration forecast for portable energy storage in other sectors: 10,000 units

Enhanced product performance and reduced price will effectively enhance market penetration

With the rapid development of the global new energy industry, lithium battery is the most widely used chemical secondary battery. In recent years, with the continuous improvement of its cost performance, lithium battery has gradually replaced lead acid and other secondary batteries and become the first choice for power, consumption and energy storage batteries.

Driven by new energy vehicle and energy storage industry, power and energy storage battery Chinese enterprises to speed up production capacity, the expansion of scale advantage to further lower the price of lithium ion batteries in addition, the lithium iron phosphate and sodium ion battery technology mature and further control the cost of battery, so the lithium battery as the main component of portable battery energy storage system is expected to further reduce the price, Its advantages of replacing traditional small oil-fired generators will be more obvious, and its penetration rate in the overall market will also be rapidly improved. The penetration rate of the global portable energy storage market is expected to reach 14.5% by 2026.

Fig 18. Forecast of overall market penetration rate of portable energy storage

6.Analysis of substitution of portable energy storage to traditional small fuel mobile generator

Energy-saving and emission reduction policies promote the replacement

With the development of global low-carbon economy and the introduction of energy-saving and emission reduction policies, the trend of new energy vehicles gradually replacing fuel vehicles and electric motorcycles gradually replacing fuel motorcycles promotes the acceleration of portable battery energy storage to replace traditional small fuel generators.

Portable battery energy storage not only fills the gap between charging banks and generators, but also has the advantage of replacing small oil-fired generators due to its whole life cycle cost is cheaper than oil-fired generators, and it is more convenient to operate, more efficient and cleaner. In amazon’s Outdoor Generator category in the US, which includes diesel, gasoline generators and Outdoor power sources with batteries, portable energy storage has been recognized by the industry as an alternative to small generators.

Overall scale and forecast of traditional small fuel mobile generator

According to statistics, in 2020, the global portable power station market size is 25 billion RMB, mainly portable is oil-powered generators, the unit price is about 2,000 RMB, mainly DuroMaxPower, Generac, Honda brand. As portable battery energy storage gradually replace small fuel-mobile generators in the portable power station industry, its market scale will decline, but due to the high price of large-capacity portable energy storage devices, some high-power fuel-mobile generators will still have a certain market space. Shipments are expected to fall to around 9 million by 2026.

Fig 19. Total size and forecast of conventional oil-fired mobile generators, 2020-2026. 10000 unit

Analysis and prediction of portable battery energy storage replacement ratio

With the gradual popularization of emergency portable power supply and the gradual substitution of portable power station products for small oil-fired generators, products of portable energy storage will have a broader demand space in the emergency and rescue and disaster relief market.

Optimistic view, under the circumstances of the trend of the development of the global new energy, clean advantages of portable battery energy storage for small generator of alternative fuel has certain inevitability, but cheap fuel generator, mature technology, at the same time the output power is bigger (usually up to 2-8 kw), can add fuel through constant output power over a long period of time, However, portable energy storage is only suitable for backup power and short-term applications, with a power of about 1000Wh, which is not suitable for continuous power consumption or users with large power demand. Therefore, it is estimated that the replacement proportion may reach about 18.6% by 2026.

Fig 20.Replacement ratio of portable battery energy storage to small oil-fired generators (%)

Replacement logic analysis of portable energy storage

Compared with traditional oil-fired generator, portable energy storage equipment has certain advantages, but also has disadvantages, so it can only be replaced in some application scenarios. From the point of view of output power, the maximum power of portable battery energy storage is 3KW, while the maximum output power of traditional oil-fired generator can reach 2-8KW, so the replacement ratio may be low in the scenario of high power consumption.

From the perspective of portable battery energy storage , the portable battery energy storage capacity is generally 100-3000WH, while the traditional oil generator can provide sustainable power supply, so the substitution is poor in the field of long-term electricity consumption.

However, in terms of volume and weight, portable energy storage is lighter and more convenient to carry, so it is more likely to be replaced in light travel or emergency rescue of complex terrain.

From the use of the method, portable energy storage is simple to operate, no pollution, no noise, comfortable to use; From the perspective of periodic cost, portable battery energy storage of 1000Wh is about 3000 RMB, and no maintenance is required. The energy is electric power, and the kWh cost is about 0.5 RMB /kWh based on the residential electricity and electricity charges. While the stand-alone cost of 2KW traditional fuel generator is about 2000 RMB, but the periodic maintenance cost is high.

In terms of service life, portable energy storage is about 80% of the initial charge after 500 full cycles, while traditional oil-fired generators can last 10,000 to 30,000 hours and have a longer service life.

Table. Comparative analysis of portable battery energy storage and conventional oil generator

7.Forecast of total shipments and market size of portable energy storage

Shipment forecast

With the development of social economy and the reform of energy structure, intelligent terminals are increasingly popular in the era of interconnection of everything, and electricity has become the core of modern economy. Despite chip shortages and the negative impact of COVID-19 on supply chains, the market for the Internet of Things continues to grow.

The number of connected iot devices is expected to grow 9% globally in 2021 to 12.3 billion active terminals. By 2026, there are likely to be more than 27 billion Internet of Things connections, and the advent of the Internet of Everything era will further drive the increase in per capita electricity demand, especially for portable electricity per capita. After the cost of portable battery energy storage based on lithium battery is further controlled, there will be large-scale replacement and the increase of new users. It is estimated that the shipments of portable battery energy storage devices will reach 31.1 million units globally and 28.67 million units in China by 2026.

Fig 21. Global portable battery energy storage shipments forecast, 10000 units

Market size forecast

With the increase of portable storage equipment capacity, high capacity of the product price will be improved, but the low volume products with declining upstream battery costs will decline, the overall trend, the average price is still present the trend of rising gradually, the overall size of the market will continue to rise. It is predicts that in 2026, the global portable energy storage market size will be more than 80 billion RMB, the total output value of the Chinese market will exceed 70 billion RMB.

Fig 22. Global portable energy storage market size Forecast. billion RMB

8.Prediction of portable battery energy storage development pattern

Prediction of demand competition pattern in different regions

From the perspective of market space, the main markets are concentrated in North America, Japan, Europe and China, followed by Southeast Asia, South America, Africa and other potential poor electricity markets. Although the potential of southeast Asia, South America, Africa and other poor lack of electricity market space is larger, but because of its weak purchasing power.

Although southeast Asia, South America, Africa and other potential poor electricity market space is large, due to their weak purchasing power, it is difficult to quickly open the market of high-end products in the short term. The biggest way is to enter the market with low-end products in the early stage, and then gradually open the market. In the long run, due to the necessity of power demand, there is a large market potential in the future. Therefore, in 3-5 years, the main global markets will still be concentrated in North America, Japan and Europe, and the Chinese market will also have certain competitiveness with the increase of the proportion of outdoor travel such as self-driving travel and peripheral travel.

Forecast of competition pattern of major brand enterprises

At present, the portable energy storage market is in the early stage of industry development. The market is constantly opened, and there are many entrants. It is difficult to gather to the head in the short term. With the increase of the number of downstream terminals and the gradual improvement of users’ acceptance of portable energy storage, the market of portable energy storage is gradually opening up.

The first enterprises to enter the market, such as Hello tech and Ecoflow, have occupied part of the market and expanded their market share by continuously expanding capacity. At the same time, some enterprises that produce UPS power supply, charging pile, lithium battery, mobile power supply and other enterprises with certain technology and industry accumulation, with the popularization of fast charging technology, product profit space is gradually compressed, so they start to open up the new market of outdoor portable power supply , such as Pinsheng, Yubo, etc., and the market competition pattern is gradually dispersed.

In addition, Internet giants such as Xiaomi and Huawei have begun to launch portable battery energy storage new products, which will soon occupy a certain market share with their popularity and technological advantages. However, in the long run, with the development of industry standardization, enterprises with technological advantages and brand advantages will seize the market faster, and some low-end capacity will be eliminated. The whole portable energy storage industry will gradually gather to the head enterprises, and the industry concentration will gradually improve.