As renewable energy capacity expands, electricity demand continues to rise, and the need for greater grid flexibility grows worldwide, battery energy storage is evolving from a supporting component of renewable energy projects into essential infrastructure for modern power systems.

Recent industry data shows that global new battery energy storage capacity increased by approximately 40% year over year in 2025, setting another record. Utility-scale battery storage additions reached about 87 GW, accounting for nearly four-fifths of total new global battery storage capacity. Energy storage systems are increasingly being used for peak shaving, frequency regulation, renewable energy integration, and backup power.

Energy Storage Becomes a Key Part of the Power System

Wind and solar power are inherently intermittent and variable. Peak power generation does not always coincide with peak electricity demand, which can lead to excess supply during some periods and insufficient supply during others.

Energy storage systems can store electricity when supply is abundant and release it when demand rises or renewable generation declines, helping balance the timing difference between power generation and consumption.

In addition to supporting renewable energy projects, energy storage can also be used for frequency regulation, peak shaving and valley filling, backup power, microgrids, and commercial and industrial energy management. As application models become more diverse, storage systems are evolving from simple energy storage devices into important nodes for power system operation and energy management.

Under global energy transition scenarios, grid-scale battery storage capacity will need to grow approximately 35-fold from 2022 levels by 2030, reaching nearly 970 GW. Rapid growth in installed capacity will drive the coordinated development of storage batteries, power conversion systems, thermal management, control systems, and power semiconductors.

Power Conversion Systems Determine Storage Efficiency

Battery energy storage systems cannot exchange energy directly with the AC grid. A power conversion system is required to convert electricity between AC and DC.

During charging, the power conversion system converts grid-side AC electricity into DC electricity suitable for battery storage. During discharging, it converts the battery’s DC output into AC electricity that meets grid requirements.

Throughout this process, MOSFETs, IGBTs, SiC devices, diodes, and driver-control components perform functions such as high-frequency switching, rectification, inversion, and protection. Their conduction losses, switching losses, voltage capability, and thermal performance directly affect conversion efficiency and operating temperature.

For large-scale energy storage plants, even a one-percentage-point improvement in system efficiency can reduce significant energy losses over long-term operation. Reducing power device losses, optimizing circuit topologies, and improving control accuracy have therefore become important ways to enhance the competitiveness of energy storage equipment.

High Voltage and High Power Drive Technology Upgrades

Energy storage plants are developing toward higher voltages, larger capacities, and greater power density.

Increasing the DC-side voltage can reduce operating current at the same power level, lowering cable losses and some conduction losses. However, as voltage and power rise, power devices must withstand more complex electrical stresses.

Energy storage power conversion systems must often cope with frequent charging and discharging, grid-voltage fluctuations, sudden load changes, short-term overloads, and wide temperature variations. Devices require not only sufficient rated voltage but also appropriate voltage margins, strong current-handling capability, and good transient response.

In conventional energy storage systems, silicon-based IGBTs remain an important choice for medium- and high-power conversion equipment because of their mature manufacturing processes, strong current-handling capability, and well-established product portfolios.

As systems demand higher efficiency, smaller size, and greater switching frequency, SiC power devices are also entering more high-voltage storage applications. Their lower switching losses and strong high-temperature performance can improve conversion efficiency while reducing the size of certain magnetic and cooling components.

These technologies are not simply substitutes for one another. Device selection still requires comprehensive consideration of system voltage, output power, switching frequency, thermal conditions, reliability requirements, and total cost.

The Energy Storage Market Enters a Reliability-Driven Stage

Energy storage equipment is typically expected to operate continuously for many years and undergo a large number of charge-discharge cycles. Compared with ordinary consumer electronics, storage systems place much higher demands on long-term reliability, parameter consistency, and environmental adaptability.

During prolonged operation, power devices must withstand combined stresses from thermal cycling, power cycling, voltage surges, and continuous current. Deficiencies in chip design, packaging materials, or thermal structures may result in performance degradation, solder fatigue, bonding failure, or localized overheating.

Energy storage power devices therefore cannot be evaluated solely by their rated parameters at room temperature. High-temperature performance, thermal resistance, short-circuit withstand capability, surge capability, and long-term power-cycling life must also be carefully assessed.

As the energy storage market moves from demonstration projects to large-scale deployment, industry competition will gradually shift from focusing mainly on installation volume and equipment price toward system safety, conversion efficiency, service life, and total lifecycle cost.

Intelligent Management Becomes a New Development Direction

Future energy storage systems will not only store electricity but will also participate in more complex grid operations through digital control.

Energy management systems can dynamically adjust charging and discharging strategies based on electricity prices, load changes, renewable generation, and grid dispatch instructions. Intelligent diagnostic systems can monitor battery status, device temperature, and system efficiency in real time, enabling early identification of potential failures.

This trend will promote closer coordination among power devices, sensors, control chips, and communication systems. Power semiconductors will need to work more closely with gate drivers, thermal management systems, and control algorithms to meet the requirements of intelligent and precise energy storage operation.

Supply Chain Collaboration Determines Long-Term Competitiveness

An energy storage system is a comprehensive engineering solution involving batteries, power electronics, control software, thermal management, and fire safety. Weakness in any single area can affect overall efficiency and operational safety.

The energy storage industry will need to strengthen collaboration among battery manufacturers, power electronics companies, packaging and testing providers, system integrators, and end users. Unified testing requirements, improved reliability evaluations, and accumulated long-term operating data will help raise product design and project construction standards.

As global power systems accelerate their transition toward cleaner, more digital, and more flexible operation, the energy storage market will continue to attract strong attention. Highly efficient, high-voltage, and highly reliable power semiconductor devices will remain an essential foundation for the continued advancement of energy storage systems.