Currently, in the energy storage market, new energy storage technologies such as lithium-ion batteries, sodium-ion batteries, and vanadium redox flow batteries have attracted the attention of many investors and are sought after by a number of energy storage companies.
The main reason is that this type of electrochemical energy storage technology has advantages such as flexible configuration, fast response speed, excellent performance and low cost.
The core components of an electrochemical energy storage system include a battery compartment, a power storage inverter (PCS), a battery management system (BMS), and an energy management system.
In terms of cost structure, energy storage inverters account for about one-fifth, and are the key to cost reduction and efficiency improvement in electrochemical energy storage systems.
Therefore, electrochemical energy storage is the current hot trend in the market, and energy storage inverters are the hottest trend within that trend.
Introduction to Energy Storage Inverters
An energy storage inverter, as the name suggests, is a device that connects an energy storage system to power sources such as wind and solar power plants, grid sources such as regional power grids, and load sources such as factories, shopping malls, supermarkets, and residential buildings.
Based on system differences, they can be divided into hybrid inverters, AC-coupled energy storage inverters, and off-grid energy storage inverters.
Direct current (DC) is generally used in electrochemical energy storage batteries such as lithium iron phosphate batteries and sodium-ion batteries to store electricity, or in power generation at the power source end of wind farms and photovoltaic power stations.
Alternating current (AC) is generally used for power transmission at the grid end, such as regional power grids, and for power consumption at the load end, such as factories, supermarkets, and residential households.
When the power grid transmits alternating current to the energy storage system, the role of the energy storage inverter is to convert the alternating current transmitted by the power grid into direct current and store it in electrochemical energy storage systems such as lithium iron phosphate batteries and flow batteries.
When the grid or load side needs electricity, the energy storage inverter converts the DC power stored in the energy storage system into AC power, which is then transmitted to the power grid and used by the user.
In summary, energy storage inverters can provide power users with bidirectional conversion between AC and DC power.
Energy storage inverter application scenarios
If that doesn't seem vivid enough, let's take a simple example. In Youma Village, Zibo, Shandong, a household equipped with photovoltaic modules and an energy storage system uses a hybrid inverter for energy storage.
On a sunny Thursday morning, the power supply was normal and it wasn't peak electricity consumption time.
Hybrid inverters convert direct current (DC) generated by photovoltaic power generation into alternating current (AC), which, together with the local power grid, provides the electricity needed by residential households, ensuring the normal operation of appliances such as mobile phones, computers, refrigerators, induction cookers, rice cookers, and televisions.
After photovoltaic power generation supplies electricity to residential households, any surplus is first converted into direct current and stored in an energy storage system. Once the energy storage system is fully charged and there is still surplus power, it is converted into alternating current and transmitted to the local power grid to generate revenue.
At noon, when the sun was shining brightly, the local power outage made photovoltaic power generation the main source of electricity for residents, with household electricity and energy storage systems all coming from photovoltaic power generation.
In the afternoon, the power outage continued, with torrential rain and no sunshine. Photovoltaic power generation was suspended, and energy storage systems came into play, storing electricity from the grid or during photovoltaic power generation for residential electricity supply.
Energy storage inverter deployment companies
According to incomplete statistics from Vico.com, companies in my country that have deployed energy storage inverters include Sungrow Power, Kehua Data, Sungrow Power Supply, Soying Electric, NARI Group, Huazi Technology, Shenghong Energy, and Kunlan New Energy.
Among them, the top two energy storage inverters in China in 2021 were Kehua Data and Sungrow Power, while Sungrow Power, which had won the championship for two consecutive years in 2019 and 2020, fell to fifth place.
Sungrow Power Supply Co., Ltd. is the top energy storage converter manufacturer in my country, with a presence in more than 20 countries. In the future, it has the opportunity to break into the North American large-scale energy storage market and the European residential energy storage market.
According to its third-quarter report released on October 28, 2022, Sungrow Power's revenue in the third quarter was approximately RMB 645 million, and its net profit attributable to the parent company was approximately RMB 22.4477 million; its revenue for the first three quarters of 2022 was approximately RMB 1.066 billion, and its net profit attributable to the parent company was approximately RMB 45.4103 million.
Kehua Data is one of the top two energy storage converter manufacturers in my country, with significant advantages in both large-scale and residential energy storage, and has business operations in both domestic and international energy storage markets.
Overseas, its market covers more than 30 countries including the United States, France, and Poland. It has also signed an agreement with Juniper in the United States to supply 10,000 iStoragE series residential storage systems annually. In my country, Kehua Data has a clear advantage in the field of large-scale storage system integration.
According to its third-quarter report released on October 27, 2022, Kehua Data's operating revenue in the third quarter was approximately RMB 1.43 billion, and its net profit attributable to the parent company was approximately RMB 122 million; its operating revenue for the first three quarters of 2022 was approximately RMB 3.643 billion, and its net profit attributable to the parent company was approximately RMB 288 million.
Sungrow Power Supply Co., Ltd. currently ranks first in the world in terms of shipments of photovoltaic inverters and large-scale energy storage inverters, and its global shipments of energy storage systems reached approximately 3GWh in 2021.
According to its third-quarter report released on October 26, 2022, Sungrow Power's revenue in the third quarter was approximately RMB 9.943 billion, and its net profit attributable to the parent company was approximately RMB 1.16 billion; its revenue for the first three quarters of 2022 was approximately RMB 22.224 billion, and its net profit attributable to the parent company was approximately RMB 2.061 billion.
